It failed the MoT

I wasn't surprised at this. It wasn't too bad though. Chris the MoT man said that a short section of brake pipe was corroded, the handbrake was poor and the bottom balljoints were worn. All easy to sort out but the balljoints are part of the lower suspension arm which Chris can source and liberating them might be a pig of a job. I've got 3 weeks before the current MoT runs out so I'll book it in to get the work done for the retest.

MoT time

I've dropped Becky II off for her appointment with the MoT man tomorrow. It is the same guy who tested Brown so I know she's in good hands. He's not the cheapest but I'd rather pay a bit more for the test to be done properly.

MoT preparation Part 2

Today I checked the front brake pads. There's plenty of meat on the pads (they're only half way down) so they don't need replacing. When I last replaced the pads I noticed that the seal in one of the calipers was leaking brake fluid so I left it. I seemed to have got worse so I decided to change the caliper. I swapped Becky's caliper over to Becky II. The job went without a single problem and it was much easier than I thought it would be. The Acclaim has a banjo type connector from the fliexihose to the caliper so once I removed the 14mm bolt it came off. Whoever designed the front caliper was a genuis because they are so easy to fix. Even easier than the Fiesta I had to do earlier on this week. I bled the air out of the replacement caliper, put some more air in the front tyres and took the car for a quick road test. When I was doing the brakes I treated any areas of rust with some Kurust. The only other thing I can do is to check the car over and make sure everything is working correctly. Last year I was caught out by a faulty bulb so I won't repeat that mistake this year.

MoT prepartion Part 1

I bought a set of brake pads & shoes. I fitted the brake shoes and it went without a single hitch. I'm getting quite good at it. The linkage for the handbrake needed freeing off again with the help of some PlusGas and I applied some grease to hopefully prevent any reocurrence. The handbrake is holding much better and should pass the MoT. I also greased the end of the cables where they connect to the linkage on each side. I also regreased the rear wheel bearings. While the drums were off I cleaned the brake dust off the drum and backplate.

More to follow...

MoT and insurance

I've booked Becky II's MoT for next Tuesday so I'll need to check the car over for any obvious stuff. I'll be doing the brakes now that I've ordered pads & shoes. I can change the fluid and get the handbrake adjusted at the same time. The insurance is also due so I got it renewed. When I removed Becky & Blue and told them that I live in Halifax the premuim went down to about £250 so I was able to pay for it straight off. The reason I've removed Becky & Blue from my insurance is that Becky is a spares car and is unlikely to return to the road (unless I win the lottery) and Blue is going to be put up for sale as I'll be moving home later on this year and there might not be enough room at the new place. Both these cars are on SORN so I can legally do this. Brown is still a non-starter so I'm looking at investing in brand new electronic ignition to get her running again.

Time for the service.

I was able to get the service done on Becky II after I'd picked up the air and oil filters from Champion Motor Spares. The service went without any major problems. One of the HT leads got damaged when I was replacing the spark plugs but a quick rummage in the garage soon turned up a usuable one which will see me through until they need replacing. I still managed to spill some oil though when I was filling up. I've seen a spout in my local Wilkinson which is perfect for filling up with engine oil without any spillages so I'm definitely getting one for the next oil change. With my daily commute to York (a 90 mile round trip each day) I will be reaping the benefits and my fuel consumption should improve with fresh engine oil, new oil filter, a clean air filter and brand new spark plugs.

It all comes at once...

...like buses. My insurance, MoT and tax will be due all next month. On top of that Becky II needs 2 tyres and a service having passed 90,000 miles. The car is doing 450 miles a week going to work in York. I give a couple of work colleagues a lift which offsets my fuel costs. When I set off from work today the car wouldn't start and I'd left my booster battery in the garage so I had to bump start the car in the car park so I could be looking at a new battery as well. I might try those Bataid tablets to buy me a bit more time.

It never rains, it bloody pours!

Clutch problems

Becky II's clutch is slipping. I've been expecting this since I nearly burnt it out last year towing a Fiesta off the drive. I've adjusted the cable which has improved things but has only bought me some time. I've changed the clutch twice before on Becky & Margaret (2 of my previous Acclaims) so I can avoid the pitfalls I've encountered before. Also, it isn't expensive. Being front wheel drive with a transverse layout the gearbox oil has to be drained and the driveshafts have to be removed before the gearbox can be removed. Unlike most manual gearboxes the Acclaim's uses engine oil which is cheaper than gearbox oil. I'll refill the gearbox with fresh oil as I don't know how long the oil has been in there. I hope it doesn't let go before I can do the work.