Failed MOT - Few Questions

5th May 2010, 13:49

I took the car into the garage the other day for an mot and it failed on brake disks and pads, which Ive sorted, just a couple of other things now,

Rear brake load sensing valve seized - can i sort this myself? do i need the wheel off and where is it located?

Nearside/offside headlamp aim too high - Again can i sort this myself? i have morettes on the car.

thanks

Mike.

5th May 2010, 17:00

Is this what the sensing valve is i presume?

(not my pic)

it says the linkage is siezed, does it just require some wd40?

what should i remove/clean/spray?

5th May 2010, 19:21

If its seized it will need replacing, it does look a little worse for wear.

5th May 2010, 19:25

sorry that was a picture i found on here,

how easy is it to go about replacing? i have till friday morning, but the garage said they could fix it but im trying to do as much as possible myself.

thanks

5th May 2010, 19:40

Its a very hard job and fiddly one too do, what price did the garage say?

5th May 2010, 19:45

arrrgh, i was hoping i could fix it with a little wd40 and some fiddling.

I didn't ask the garage on a price, but he said it wouldn't be a problem to sort so i presumed it was a quick fix.

will a replacement definitely be needed?

ive not had any problems with brakes, and my car hasn't been lowered

6th May 2010, 01:01

Hopefully its just seized a little and you can spray a little WD40 on it and adjust it. However they do tend to seize up pretty bad.

As said its a fiddly job if it has gone solid, and you need to have an 11mm brake spanner and a litre or two of brake fluid. You need to remove the brake lines (the ends round very very easily hence the requirement of the brake spanner), unbolt the valve and fit a new one (around £90). Then refit the lines and bleed the system. Its a reasonably simple job with the right tools, but if you do decide to do it yourself make sure you read up on it. Theres a guide here that will help;

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=252214

6th May 2010, 02:23

the garage where i take my car adjusts my headlights when hes testing them so they are right and mine failed on the brake bias valve as well but the garage fixed it for me with out replacing it

6th May 2010, 10:15

got the car jacked up and im just about to take the wheel off to have a look,

what should i be spraying with wd40 and what am i looking to free?

6th May 2010, 10:40

(pic taken from saxo sports club)

is it the lever next to the number 1? do i just keep spraying that with wd40 and try freeing it by hand/hammer ?

6th May 2010, 11:46

managed to free it, took a little wd40 a hammer and a pair of pliers but it wasn't too seized, when i push/pull it by hand there is alot of movement but when i apply the brakes it only moves slightly, is this correct? it shouldn't have the full travel should it?

oh and how do i go about adjusting the lights to get the correct height? is it easy to do?

6th May 2010, 16:50

Yes, its purpose is to adjust the brake pressure to the rear according to the weight in the back of the vehicle. So when the boot is full, the rear lowers, adjusting the valve and the pressure is adjusted to compensate. As long as you havent adjusted the valve, only loosened it, it will be fine.

Headlight wise the only way to do it without an alignment module is to park in front of a wall at night and adjust the lights so that the cutoff of the two lights at the top of the beam meets perfectly. This is obviously not hugely accurate though, so its usually worth just paying the garage to do it with their equipment. It shouldnt cost more than a tenner.

7th May 2010, 09:41

thank you mate, i think its best i get the garage to do the lights, might aswell.

didn't loosen anything on the valve, gave the spings a clean with a wire brush and some wd40 as they looked a little worse for wear

taking it into the garage this morning to get the lights adjusted then it'll hopefully go in for its mot,

ive been without a car a whole week now !