Brake pipe MOT failure.
 

No not on my 75 :}

My 1998 200 coupe went for it's MOT this morning and they said the O/S rear metal brake pipe failed while being tested.

Now I know brake pipes do require replacement in time BUT,they said it failed and leaked brake fluid while being tested on the rollers,and that it happens all the time on 'Old cars' while under test.The pedal just went down according to them.They said it's a much sterner test on the rollers than normal braking on the road.

I've owned the car since it was under a year old,it's always been garaged and a weekend only car.And it has never before now had any brake pipes replaced.So the brake pipes haven't had a hard life year after year in harsh winter weather.

I have used this garage for MOT's on all three of my cars for several years and trust them as much as you can trust any garage, but I wasn't aware this is apparently a common occurence.

What are your thoughts please.Do brake pipes on old cars regularly fail while being MOT'd? If it is the case then surely some of early 75/ZT's will be experiencing the same :shrug:

A pic of the failed area would help ;) I don't think the rollers replicate real world driving.

I had a trike with a single caliper on the front wheel, this brake passed every MOT the trike went in for, in the real world it wouldn't stop the trike by itself!

Don't know really if it was just coincidence but a friend, who is also an ex Rover mechanic, tested his 75, passed. Drove out from the testing station and at the first roundabout felt the brake pedal go to the floor - burst pipe. Nursed it home and replaced.

Regards

That's another thing Andy.I asked what the rest were like and they said they didn't know as they couldn't see most of them.How strange that the only easily accessable section was the part that failed.Can't really get a pic while it's on the ground.

I'd rather be safe where brakes are concerned even if in some cases the work has been engineered.




That would suggest as Andy has said that the rollers are not as demanding as normal driving.This morning they told me the opposite and it happens all the time on old cars.

My coupe did the same, brake pipes seemed fine but once on the rollers the pressure can be more concentrated than normal use, when on the road as you slow down you use less pressure. Mine was the near side rear above the plastic cover covering the fuel filler pipework, the tester swore he didn’t use excessive force. I’ve also seen similar when people put their foot on the brake to tighten front hub nuts.

I would go with Andy's suggestion first. I picture of the effected area should provide much more information if it's possible.

I would much prefer that my MOT picks these things up like most I'd imagine. Would be horrendous if a brake pipe failed during hard breaking to avoid an incident.

I recently put my diesel 75 in for MOT, expecting it to fail. As expected it failed on a corroded sill, however they completely missed to broken rear coil springs.

She is currently undergoing a rear suspension and brake overhaul. As with most jobs, one job leads to another to another . . . . Removing rear spring pulled apart the rear upper arms.

Thanks Mark,I'm glad it happened on the rollers and not on the road.The possible consequences of that don't bear thinking about.I hadn't heard of this happening before and it seemed rather coincidental.

It is quite common with older cars for the pipes to go whilst on the rollers. The steel pipe on my coupe didn’t even look that corroded and if it could of been seen wouldn’t of even been an advise but it was within a mounting clip

Ultimately it should not make any difference whether you are braking on a road or on a Mot roller , The pressure in the brake system is created by how hard you stand on the pedal ! The only difference is when you normally brake you do it in a more gentle controlled way to reduce speed rather than progressively braking harder to create a force on a roller similar to doing an emergency stop .Standing hard on the pedal will and induce greater pressures thus increasing chances of brake pipe failure
If one pipe has failed I would checking the other brake pipes
It is a good practice when you service your vehicle to actually press your brake pedal and keep weight on it to see if you actually have any pedal creep