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[Ocracoke]

I'd hold off until after the move personally, never know when the money comes in handy. I had a set of Fortwo Monoblocks knocking around here for well over 6 months or so before I got them powdercoated. Monoblock A's eh? Niiiiceee.

[mr singh]

couple of up dates.

Mono 'A's have been fit and strangely the ride feels different
it doesnt seem to crash like it did with the cheese wheels.



currently its sat at mercedes of leeds as its failed its MOT on 3 items. 2 of them are simple things.

Brake hydraulic reservoir retaining device missing (3.6.A.2d).
(the cap is missing, my fault for it being missing, mercedes fault for not ordering it)

Offside Front Brake hose twisted (found during steering lock to lock check) (2.2.D.2b)
(apparently the front flexies are too long and the r/f is stretching on lock )

Offside Rear Registration plate lamp not working (1.1.C.1d)
(its a bulb, they can go at any time...)

and 2 advisories.

Brake hose modified but not seriously weakened all (3.6.A.3)
(iv fitted braided flexies, how they can be an advisory i dont know)

coil spring modified but not seriously weakened all (2.4.A.2)
(its been lowered, again how they can be an advisory)

im also considering removing the lowered springs and fitting standard ones. it has the factory fit sports dampers, so will the springs be different or are they all the same?

[Problemchild]

you may just have the brake lines positioned through the clamp incorrectly

i had that on mine

too far one way and they stretched

too far the other way and they tap tap tapped on the wheel

you will have the brabus suspension no? dampers and springs?

strange those being advisories

such a lovely looking car

JJ

[CrazyG]

I agree with JJ...re the flexi hoses.
As for Advisories on non standard parts....that's really not on !
MoT Advisories are specifically for the notification of any
Items that need looking at or into replacing sometime before
the next MoT...not for any modifications or non standard parts.

Oh, and standard springs will 'jack' your car up 35 - 40mm
and spoil not only the looks of the car but also the handling.
As for the springs being Brab spec....l would expect so, but
without spare time to trawl through an MB EPC l can't say
that they are for sure.

[cecil]

In theory braded cables do not pass the test. This involves whacking the cable repeatedly off a wheel until it fails. The cotton and more flexible hose will pass this test more readily. The metal braid will harden and fail. I do fail to see the relevance of that test to real world situations. I had a long discussion once with a MOT tester who wanted to fail my car for having them.......It passed.
The testers are asked to list more and more under advisories to justify the time taken for the MOT
 With the brake reservoir cap missing - have you got polythene over it to help stop water ingress? It may be worth draining the reservoir and filling with fresh fluid when the cap turns up.

[mr singh]

Im with you on doing a brake fluid change when i get time, and yes i have covered the reservoir with polythene and a rubber band, cecil.

I tent to disagree with the whole braided brake flexies get hard. S-Type, XF and XK all have braided flexies and they seam flexable enough after years of use... Although when i have replaced them for being corroded, they have kept the shape they had been bent to, but still flexable.

I'll have to check on the springs tomorrow with mercedes if brabus and non brabus springs are any different. I know mine has the sports package as Mercedes have confirmed it when i went to ask which dampers it had fitted.
It appears that it has the factory sports dampers but after market lowering springs, as looking back at previous MOT advisories it states that all 4 springs were corroded.

There is a reason why i want it a little higher. The first set of braided flexies i fitted, the R/F started chaffing on the drive shaft... And when i had it on a 4 poster the drive shafts are pointing up instead of down which isnt going to help with brake flexi clearance!

[Scoobysook]

Looking good Mr S.

[Problemchild]

You have the correct length brake lines fitted

I have no issues with my braided ones

JJ

[Alex]

OEM sports springs are lower and have thicker coils than OEM normal springs. (aprox -25mm shorter and +0.25mm thicker coils)

I changed my front springs to diesel ones, +20mm taler and +.45mm thicker coils. I use (JJ's old) HEL braded lines with no issues,and also had them on when the car was on lowering springs without issues.

[mr singh]

the only thing is i dont know who manufactured the springs that are fitted. they are silver and have what looks like a Mitsubishi part number, but nothing comes up on google when i type the number in.

and it also depends on the lowered drop as well, would it not, on the flexi clearance on suspension travel.

[Problemchild]

are the braided lines for the car or something you had laying around?



you have the middle mount yeah?

JJ

[mr singh]

for the car, i would never think about fitting something what wasn't right for the car especially something as vital as brakes.

and yes they do have the middle mount, although the side the flexi screws on to the brake pipe was deliberately left short to prevent chaffing on the drive shaft.

[CrazyG]

I nearly wore through to the inner rubber of my n/s braided flexi hose
that I had on my Brab. I have BC coilovers and they did not have the
same 'middle' mount for that rubber 'strap', so it was 'secured' to the
strut using cable ties. However, somehow it came loose !
Luckily I saw it when I had it up on S2's ramp...and quickly ordered
a new set and fixed the new one's in place using a custom fitting
that I made up to adapt to fit the middle rubber 'strap' on the hose.
Now I have no problem with the braided flexi touching on the driveshaft
even though the ride height is a lower than standard.

[CrazyG]

I can't swear on it, but standard springs are usually black, and
Brabus springs are usually silver...
So if your springs have what looks like a Mitsi part number, why not
Google the part and see what comes up....could be Colt CZT/CZC..

[mr singh]

i have typed the number in to google and came up with nawt.

even substituted some of the numbers like 5 and 8 for 6 and 0