Will I pass the yearly vehicle inspection with this exhaust?

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:38 pm

My car failed the yearly inspection pass due to those reasons:

Rear muffler - Deficient mounting
Rear muffler - Leakage

It's leaking where the muffler and exhaust pipe meets together and I will fix this with exhaust paste. When I got home I realized that the exhaust clamp did not sit very tight over the muffler so I could basically pull the muffler off the exhaust pipe without any issues. This is where it was leaking.

During the inspection the inspection man gave me the inspection protocoll and said "Muffler is loose, if I kick on your exhaust system it falls off". I asked "Okay, is there something wrong with the exhaust hanging?" and he said "Ye...". He was rude as fuck.

I have been passing the yearly inspections a lot of times with this exact exhaust hanging without any issues. Before I didn't even use a exhaust clamp to hold the muffler onto the pipe. It was just until one time where the muffler fell off that I realized that it might be good to install a clamp on the muffler to keep it in place. But it was always passing the yearly inspection...

Here is a video of the exhaust hanging: https://vid.me/X9ry

My concern is: Will it be enough to just fix the muffler clamp. Fix the leakage and screw the clamp on the muffler hard so it sits really tight.

OR did the inspection man cry over the whole exhaust hanging? According to the inspection protocol he gave me it looks like all problems would be solved by just fixing the clamp, but then again he mumbled about the exhaust hanging was bad when I spoke to him. Or spoke and spoke, more like I received shit talk from him about my car.

I have the inspection tomorrow and I need a super fast fix for this. I don't know who installed the exhaust mounting on my car. I know its not good but the pipe is not fucking falling off...

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:03 pm

Its not really a fail in my eyes, but it is a lash up that looks like it was done by somebody with minimal brain cells so i'm not surprised that they are not happy about passing it

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:06 pm

DanThe wrote:Its not really a fail in my eyes, but it is a lash up that looks like it was done by somebody with minimal brain cells so i'm not surprised that they are not happy about passing it

I know its kind of a shitty job and now I have to come up with a quick fix for the problem which will probably be pretty shitty too.

I have to get the car through the inspection tomorrow. I can't be without a car for additional few weeks.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:06 pm

If I was testing that lash up, then I think my attitude would be similar to your man, and I'd be looking for reasons to fail it!
Rubber support completely missing from the rear subframe, and the silencer, or rather its pipe, supported by cable ties and builders perforated strapping!!! That should be tying joists together in your house, not bodging your car together.
Get the correct strap(s) around the silencer, supported from the correct brackets with the correct rubber supports,fit the rubber strap from the subframe, and you'll get a complete change of attitude from the tester, where he might give you the benefit of the doubt on anything marginal.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:20 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:If I was testing that lash up, then I think my attitude would be similar to your man, and I'd be looking for reasons to fail it!
Rubber support completely missing from the rear subframe, and the silencer, or rather its pipe, supported by cable ties and builders perforated strapping!!! That should be tying joists together in your house, not bodging your car together.
Get the correct strap(s) around the silencer, supported from the correct brackets with the correct rubber supports,fit the rubber strap from the subframe, and you'll get a complete change of attitude from the tester, where he might give you the benefit of the doubt on anything marginal.

I have to order those parts because I live in a shit place and that means I will have to be without a car for weeks which is not an option. The muffler is a Simons muffler so original E30 mountings will probably not fit at all.

I don't even know what mountings to buy.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:20 pm

You need to make or buy a band to go a round your rear muffler maybe even two! Your cars not to bad

but that hanging set up on the back of your exhast is shocking,sorry to bag on you man!,and the other mounting point on the axle beam doesnt seem to be there but its on your exhast,its rubing and to some unhelpful inspector it just screams missing parts(im thinking remove it with angle grinder or tap a hole buy the hanger and do it properly,i made mine from scrap tube a cut a peice from a old jack)good luck,hope ya sort it by tomoro

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:27 pm

andysheep wrote:You need to make or buy a band to go a round your rear muffler maybe even two! Your cars not to bad but that hanging set up on the back of your exhast is shocking,sorry to bag on you man!,and the other mounting point on the axle beam doesnt seem to be there but its on your exhast,its rubing and to some unhelpful inspector it just screams missing parts(im thinking remove it with angle grinder or tap a hole buy the hanger and do it properly,i made mine from scrap tube a cut a peice from a old jack)good luck,hope ya sort it by tomoro

The only band I have is perforated strapping, but even if I would wrap that around the muffler I would have nowhere to mount it. Except for drilling a hole in the beam but I guess that would not be allowed...

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:02 pm

Because its a non standard back box it should have hangers welded on that line up with the body mounting points so the correct rubbers can be used

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:09 pm

DanThe wrote:Because its a non standard back box it should have hangers welded on that line up with the body mounting points so the correct rubbers can be used

Yea, well it doesn't have any hangers. :/

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:15 pm

id fail it if i saw hangers like that :/

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:24 pm

yeti wrote:id fail it if i saw hangers like that :/

I get that it looks like shit, my problem is that I need to get this fixed right now. The inspection booking is FULL for the next 6 weeks forward. I can't be without my car for weeks.

I just need to get this fixed. Can't I just replace the metal wire with a perforated strapping and then just add a clamp that holds the exhaust in place towards the mounting in the front.

I MUST get this "fixed" now. No matter how bad it is, as long as it passes the inspection!

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:52 pm

Looking forward to more 'modz' pics

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:53 pm

pacerpete wrote:Looking forward to more 'modz' pics

Tell me what to do and I will do it and show you a pic.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:44 pm

Went for an MOT like that here in northern ireland the tester would hit you a slap!

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:09 pm

That's shocking. I would be ripping that out and sticking something OEM-like that fits properly

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:11 pm

ross_jsy wrote:That's shocking. I would be ripping that out and sticking something OEM-like that fits properly

How do I find the proper mounts for my exhaust and the muffler?

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:12 pm

For your current one? Well it's a lashed together mess by the looks of things, so you are going to have to get handy with a mig

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:29 pm

ross_jsy wrote:For your current one? Well it's a lashed together mess by the looks of things, so you are going to have to get handy with a mig

I don't have one and I'm not allowed to drive anywhere with the car.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:42 pm

Well you are up a creek without a paddle then aren't you sunshine.

Call a mobile welder out and get him to fab you some mounts out of round bar to pick up on the standard rubber mounting points. Obviously you will need a new set of these.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:44 pm

What country are you in?
Presumably there is an allowance where you live, similar to that in the UK, that allows you to drive the car to "a place of repair". You'll have to drive it to an exhaust specialist, and get them to sort it out.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:45 pm

ross_jsy wrote:Well you are up a creek without a paddle then aren't you sunshine.

Call a mobile welder out and get him to fab you some mounts out of round bar to pick up on the standard rubber mounting points. Obviously you will need a new set of these.

My car is worth like £1k, I'm not spending £500 on this piece of shit.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:46 pm

Well scrap it then.

Not sure what part of my suggestion will cost £500, but you seem like the defeatist type/unwilling to do anything properly.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:47 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:What country are you in?
Presumably there is an allowance where you live, similar to that in the UK, that allows you to drive the car to "a place of repair". You'll have to drive it to an exhaust specialist, and get them to sort it out.

Yeah I'm allowed to drive to a repair shop but I don't think I can drive around the city buying parts for the car. This car is starting to cost more than its worth and I'm getting tired of it. I'm not ready to spend hundreds on this car...

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:52 pm

ross_jsy wrote:Well scrap it then.

Not sure what part of my suggestion will cost £500, but you seem like the defeatist type/unwilling to do anything properly.

If the car would be in good condition I would of course want to get the job done properly. The previous owner did every repair cheapest possible way and that's why the whole car is full of shitty repairs like this. The car has been smashed in the front and in the back. The rust is starting to spread. The engine has been swapped with tons of electrical faults which came with that. The diff is leaking. Oil is leaking from engine. Engine chain is rattling.

I'm starting to not giving a fuck about this car. It's not a sexy E30. The body is skew. Tomorrow I have the inspection time booked in. If I fail to get the car accepted tomorrow I will have to wait almost 1.5 months before I can get a new appointment. I CAN'T be without a car for that long time!

It's not like the exhaust mounting is a crucial thing. It's not a risk that someone will get hurt because of it. The car has passed 5+ years with this piece of shit exhaust mounting without anybody saying a word about it.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:56 pm

Why the hell did you buy?

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:59 pm

E30REDD wrote:
It's not like the exhaust mounting is a crucial thing. It's not a risk that someone will get hurt because of it. The car has passed 5+ years with this piece of shit exhaust mounting without anybody saying a word about it.

Leaking exhaust can cause CO poisoning to the occupants of the car, and an exhaust falling off in high speed traffic could easily land you with liability running into hundreds of thousands of Euros.
Instead of complaining about the current tester who's doing his job, you should be reporting whoever passed it like that for five years.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:59 pm

As a tester, even though it's not correctly secured, it looks secured enough to pass an MOT. Definitely warrants an advisory though.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:04 pm

Blitz wrote:Why the hell did you buy?

Because all faults were more or less hidden when I bought it.

Post Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:06 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
E30REDD wrote:
It's not like the exhaust mounting is a crucial thing. It's not a risk that someone will get hurt because of it. The car has passed 5+ years with this piece of shit exhaust mounting without anybody saying a word about it.
Leaking exhaust can cause CO poisoning to the occupants of the car, and an exhaust falling off in high speed traffic could easily land you with liability running into hundreds of thousands of Euros.
Instead of complaining about the current tester who's doing his job, you should be reporting whoever passed it like that for five years.

But there is no risk for it to fall off at all...