My 20 year old has a new MOT. No advisories

[perelaar]

Rustic, how do you keep the interior (especially the seats) so clean and intact? My T2 is a bit younger, with rather high mileage, and the seat sides are all torn...

 

[rustic]

Rustic, how do you keep the interior (especially the seats) so clean and intact? My T2 is a bit younger, with rather high mileage, and the seat sides are all torn...

We have also dragged up two kids too, I guess the no eating drinking or smoking in the car policy I had from day one helps.:nenau
Also I am not really a Jeans person, so the seats don't take the wear and tear of those rivets and studs from the pockets of the jeans.
I'm sure they don't help.

I'm not sure if Ford's spec on the Mav was higher in terms of wear quality than say the later Terranos.
It certainly was higher on the under body protection.
This was the first car that Ford were pioneering with a full three years warranty from new, at that time all other Fords were 1 year.
Clearly to promote the Maverick vs the Terrano, it had to match Nissans three year warranty.
And to be fair... Ford were now onto a winner with the Maverick.

 

[rustic]

This would be my number plate if I could have it lol...

 

[Terranical]

This would be my number plate if I could have it lol...

Mine (21 years old) has gone for it's Spanish MOT too today, son-in-law has taken it to Estapona, the other side of Marbella, about 30 miles away - not optimistic - 155k on the clock and in continuous daily use up and down rocky, rutted, potholed and muddy Spanish tracks (and although he and my daughter have free use of a totally funded car they do nothing to it maintenance-wise, hence my lack of optimism at getting a pass) (

 

[rustic]

Mine (21 years old) has gone for it's Spanish MOT too today, son-in-law has taken it to Estapona, the other side of Marbella, about 30 miles away - not optimistic - 155k on the clock and in continuous daily use up and down rocky, rutted, potholed and muddy Spanish tracks (and although he and my daughter have free use of a totally funded car they do nothing to it maintenance-wise, hence my lack of optimism at getting a pass) (

Good luck with that, it's the suspension that takes a hit I guess, speed humps wreck ours lol...and the pot holes.
Is corrosion an issue in your region of Spain? we in the UK probably think that Spain is always hot and dry, and wonder why you have windscreen wipers lol

Would you consider the Spanish MOT is more stringent than UK? if so what areas?

We in the UK seem to allow advisories, like a bit of slack in a ball joint, or bearing, but to be fair, if I found that on mine, I would change it or make adjustments.

 

[Terranical]

Good luck with that, it's the suspension that takes a hit I guess, speed humps wreck ours lol...and the pot holes.
Is corrosion an issue in your region of Spain? we in the UK probably think that Spain is always hot and dry, and wonder why you have windscreen wipers lol

Would you consider the Spanish MOT is more stringent than UK? if so what areas?

We in the UK seem to allow advisories, like a bit of slack in a ball joint, or bearing, but to be fair, if I found that on mine, I would change it or make adjustments.

You're right about the suspension having a hard life (had a rear spring snap last year), plus the bushes harden and wear quickly. Although Spain is obviously drier than the UK they still do get their share of rain (quite a lot the past few weeks). This runs off the mountains and across the tracks leaving ruts that can be 12" deep or more, also exposing buried rocks and boulders, not good for the springy bits under the car!

Rust is less of a problem for Spanish-sourced cars, but mine came from the UK about 5 years ago, so the tin worm already had a pretty good hold. Luckily it's only the lower sills in front of the rear wheels and the wheel arches so nothing structural (apart from the front bumper hangers). Areas around the rear sear belt mountings are all sound. I think it was probably undersealed from new, as most of that still remains.

Re the ITV (Spanish MOT), I would say that the stringency is about the same, however, there are no advisories, it's either pass or fail, so it's possible to have a fail for say, empty windscreen washers. This would mean another 60 mile round trip for a retest (all tests are at dedicated ITV stations, mostly by appointment only. In some respects this is better than the UK system, as there is no mileage for them in finding things wrong - if a brake light bulb is blown that's a fail, but the downside is that wherever the test is done usually requires a lot of driving. The two available to me are Malaga, about 20 miles away or Estepona, about 30 miles away. Allegedly Estepona are slightly more forgiving than Malaga, hence the reason my son-in-law has taken the Terrano there today.

Still waiting to hear from him (with bated breath!) We will be over there next week for 2½ weeks and I really don't want to spend a large part of that time sorting car problems, then having to go for a retest (which has to be done within two weeks, or a fresh charge applies).

 

[rustic]

This is the view from my study... The Mav rests about 8 feet away.
I decided that it was time to put the Mav to bed, and fill it back up with all that junk you carry, jump leads, tow strap, two stroke oil, tow rope etc etc.

You can see from the photo at the clearance above the car roof and garage door, that a body lift, or even roof bars, might stop the Mav being put to bed in the warm dry garage. Sorry that is NOT an option.
This has probably been the main reason for the low rust, well that and 20 litres of waxoyl lol. and many hours of care.lol.

 

[jims-terrano]

Brilliant, words fail me at just how good your car is. It is a credit to your efforts.

 

[Terranical]

Well, mine failed (as I suspected it would!) BUT, it appears only on the rear anti-roll bar bushes. The tester's writing on the sheet was, in my daughter's words "worse than on a doctor's prescription" so she can't even translate it, so it may be something totally different. More will be revealed tomorrow once she has been to the local garage to see if they have any more success in interpreting what it failed on. (The rear anti-roll bar drop links and bushes were replaced late last year, so I don't see how it can be them)

 

[rustic]

Well, mine failed (as I suspected it would!) BUT, it appears only on the rear anti-roll bar bushes. The tester's writing on the sheet was, in my daughter's words "worse than on a doctor's prescription" so she can't even translate it, so it may be something totally different. More will be revealed tomorrow once she has been to the local garage to see if they have any more success in interpreting what it failed on. (The rear anti-roll bar drop links and bushes were replaced late last year, so I don't see how it can be them)

I wonder if it's the bushes on the rear axle, and not the drop links...:nenau

 

[Sweety]

Fantastic new on it passing & doesn't have to be sadly sorn off the road until you were well enough to sort it out:clap I really sorry Rustic but after looking at the photo's your truck isn't as clean as you've made out it to be, I mean look at those tyres:doh they need some tyre dressing put on them:augie:lol:lol

 

[Terranical]

I wonder if it's the bushes on the rear axle, and not the drop links...:nenau

That is a possibility, hopefully will have the answer tomorrow.

 

[rustic]

Fantastic new on it passing & doesn't have to be sadly sorn off the road until you were well enough to sort it out:clap I really sorry Rustic but after looking at the photo's your truck isn't as clean as you've made out it to be, I mean look at those tyres:doh they need some tyre dressing put on them:augie:lol:lol

I did say it was due for a wax.. Hasn't been washed for 7 weeks, mind you in that time it has only been out for an MOT.
I'm really embarrassed about those tyres, and the mud flaps too...:augie
I'll post some pics in a few weeks when I get those sorted...:thumb2

:lol
Need to road tax it on line today.
In all the 20 years, The Mav has been available to me 24/7 365 days of those 20 years, except during the few hours of having a service or MOT. Well and the time it was garaged for a rear wheel bearing at a Nissan dealer, and that was only for half a day lol.

The important thing is that the Mav has been available should my wife need it, if there was a problem with her car.

 

[Terrano Steve]

:thumb2 Reliability is everything I take my hat off to you can't imagine my truck passing mot 1st time when it is 10 years old

 

[rustic]

:thumb2 Reliability is everything I take my hat off to you can't imagine my truck passing mot 1st time when it is 10 years old

Well it has had 17 MOT's in my ownership, it has had a few advisories in that time though...
Stone chip on the windscreen,( mind you... still the original windscreen), tow ball obscuring part of the number plate, wiper blade started to split, errrmmm... I think that's about it.
Oh, and a bulb that failed on the day, but the garage changed that, and just charged for the bulb.
However I still loose sleep for the two nights before the test, and very anxious during the test, which I now book as a while you wait appointment.
I usually have two coffees, read the newspaper, pace up and down like an expectant father, and talk to the girls on reception...:augie
It is our local Ford garage, and the Mav only goes there for the MOT.
So it's in their interest to find work, but they seem very fair.

When we had the Picasso done there, it had a few advisories, mismatch on rear parking brake, bit of play in the front ball joint, a yellow painted bulb that was more white than yellow, two tyres that were close to the limit.
I was waiting for a pass before I invested in new tyres lol. The rear parking brake was a simple calliper replacement, only took 20 minutes. I always had problems with one side, it ate hand brake cables. The handbrake cable worked a cam, that manually pushed the piston onto the brake disc, and it often stuck on.
A new caliper solved that one.
I prefer preventative maintenance than fire fighting.
Having had a few second hand rust buckets before, I always thought... if only something was done before all the rust came through.

When we bought the Austin Ambassador, I looked at the older Princess, and noticed where they had started to rust, eg behind hidden trim etc, it's that what made me start to remove trim and waxoyl behind it. We had that car 13 years, and when we sold that it was immaculate.

It used to make the neighbours laugh, when we got a new car, as on day one the headlights were on the grass, the battery was out, the door panels on the floor...

 

[Banshee]

It used to make the neighbours laugh, when we got a new car, as on day one the headlights were on the grass, the battery was out, the door panels on the floor...

This had me in hysterics [emoji38]

 

[macabethiel]

A very well kept Maverick by Rustic

It used to make the neighbours laugh, when we got a new car, as on day one the headlights were on the grass, the battery was out, the door panels on the floor...

Wow that's impressive the above comment reminds me of when I bought my only brand new car a Mk1 Astra 1600 SR in Gold Metallic with Recaro Seats like the GTE.

I drove it home from Ilkeston to Hilton where I used to live in the dry. I put her up on 4 axle stands, then brush painted her underneath from front to rear with black underbody seal. It took a week to dry properly then I sprayed her with Waxoyl to which I had added a small amount of yellow paint so I could see where I had missed with the spray. Did all the cavaties, sills, door panels, tailgate, bonnet etc.

When I parted with her after 7 years she looked like new and I saw her once when she was 12 years old and she had no rust on the front wings!

My stance now is when I buy a used vehicle I want the bodywork to be frozen in time from my ownership so I do the Waxoyl, regular underbody washing etc and have never needed to replace rusted bodywork even though I have kept some vehicles for 10 years.

Sadly as I have got older the waxing has become less often but my 1997 Merc is still in good condition, we have had her for 11 years now.

 

[rustic]

One thing is for sure, it's never too late to start the waxoyl process.
It does help to stop the rust in it's tracks.
Provided the right preparation and application is followed.

However... it is not a one time application.
If the rust gets behind the underseal, it still continues to travel behind the paint finish.
It is essential to look for this separation, that starts to look like a split in the underseal, at this point you need to remove any loose or flaking underseal, waxoyl or paint, and reapply the waxoyl again.

Hi wash areas like wheel arches and the lower suspension wishbone require yearly application, and the underside requires regular top ups.

As I have said before, I keep a couple of jam jars full of waxoyl, and a brush in a poly bag, everytime I do something, like remove a wheel, I apply waxoyl to anything that needs it. Brake bleed screw and the brakepipe unions on the rear of calipers and slave cylinders. Avoid anything rubber as it swells it up.

My Mav is not without rust, :doh but you have to keep on top of it, prevention is always better than cure.