Horror story: Broken rim
Well we have seen cracked and broken wheel rims before but not many as bad as this. It is a surprise that the tyre has remained inflated, let alone on the rim, and made it to the VTS for its …
Horror stories
Horror story: Track rod end on its last threads
Sent in by Dave Allott of the MOT Testing Centre, Tameside, this customer was unaware of how close they were to a steering failure when presenting their vehicle for test. Dave told us that not only was the locking nut …
Horror story: Hanging by a thread
Binny from Chana Car Centre sent in this photo of the BMW 530 Sport he was testing. He found that the lower suspension arm bolt was hanging out and was surprised that the owner had not complained of any noise …
Horror Story: Feeling out of shape
At first sight this tyre may appear flat, but Vaughan Shacklock from Southdale Service Station in Lincolnshire assures us it is not and was in use only an hour before being presented for test. Fitted to the nearside front of …
Horror story: Safety pinned
Fida Muhammad sent us this picture of a repair to the nearside rear seat of the vehicle he was testing. On first inspection the belt was latched and all looked fine, however when he unlatched the belt and pulled it …
Horror story: Don’t do it yourself
A bit of D.I.Y. here on the brakes of a Ford Focus, seen by Robert McKinnon of McKinnon Bros Garage, North Ayrshire. This was presented for a retest with the near side rear handbrake repaired by the owner! - As …
Horror story: Feeling bushed?
When Paul Heskel a tester at Southall MOT Ltd. in West London pulled the 2006 VW Polo he was testing on to the ramp he felt it to be very unstable, so he was expecting to find the suspension bushes …
Horror story: Grounded
Sam Ballaam from Motor Engineers Grantham Lincs sent us this picture of a lower ball joint on a VW Passat brought to them for test. On discovering the lower section of the ball joint to be missing they showed the …
Horror story: Worn of a kind
Sticking with brakes, here’s a picture of a worn disc sent in by Kevin Lee of E H Roberts in Benfleet. Although pictures of worn discs are quite common, this one must be as close as you can get and …
Horror story: Splitting the difference
At first glance this issue’s horror story looks like another brake pad ’gone missing’. But Mike Evans from Heath Tyre Services in Cardiff found something a bit more unusual. The customer came in complaining about a rubbing noise from the …