S210 corroded brake pipes: mot failure

[welland99]

My s210 failed the mot today due to corroded brake pipes. Although I didn't spot this before hand, I'm not unduly surprised on a car of this age (1999).

Anyway, funny thing is that they told my missus that they couldn't give an estimate for the work.

The failure note said:
001 offside rear (to flexi hose) brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)

002 nearside front (to rear at rear)brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)

Does this sound like a big job? Can anybody hazard a guess about an estimate?

 

[WG M-B]

The subframe has to be lowered to replace the pipes. I would quote 5/6 hours labour. The pipe and fittings are reasonable.
They can be put on with the subframe still in, but will not look right. The only way to get the pipes back in correctly involves lowering the subframe

 

[welland99]

Thanks. I take it that you mean rear sub frame? It sounds a big job.

 

[flango]

How bad actually are they? If they are not dangerous rub down and paint and submit to a different MOT station

A lot of MOT testers go OTT on brake pipes and misidentify crud as corrosion

Obviously if they are badly corroded don't mess about and get them changed as this is an item that literally could mean the difference between life and death

 

[johnsco]

I agree Ian.
I've suffered from this in the past and I've argued it out with the test station on the line that a bit of surface rust is not a fail.
Severe pitting corrosion obviously is.
I didn't lose the argument !

 

[DSM10000]

My s210 failed the mot today due to corroded brake pipes. Although I didn't spot this before hand, I'm not unduly surprised on a car of this age (1999).

Anyway, funny thing is that they told my missus that they couldn't give an estimate for the work.

The failure note said:
001 offside rear (to flexi hose) brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)

002 nearside front (to rear at rear)brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)

Does this sound like a big job? Can anybody hazard a guess about an estimate?

Not directly comparable but after 3 years of advisories my car failed due to excessive pitting (I saw the pipes that were removed and they were very corroded), replacement cost by my Independent was £600 for a C Class, parts were £33!

I believe the MB book time was around 8 hours as in this car the fuel tank needs lowering and also the rear suspension.

My neighbour had the rear pipes replaced on a W211, that was around £500

 

[bob6600]

I had an advisory 3 years ago for corrosion and the subsequent 2 years nothing! I did inspect and it only required a rub down and some paint.

You can bend slightly to fit, might be a bit out of shape but as long as they clip in corrected and don't foul should be OK. With the age and value of the car you have to see what is viable

 

[kingdave]

I haven't done this myself but you might like to read this:
How to replace rusty brake pipes or brake lines in a Mercedes E-Class (W210) and other cars

I've heard before that the inflexible steel pipes which make the replacement so difficult are not necessarily the best option. Copper and cupronickle (kunifer) are easier to work with and better at resisting corrosion.

 

[welland99]

I haven't done this myself but you might like to read this:
How to replace rusty brake pipes or brake lines in a Mercedes E-Class (W210) and other cars

I've heard before that the inflexible steel pipes which make the replacement so difficult are not necessarily the best option. Copper and cupronickle (kunifer) are easier to work with and better at resisting corrosion.

This is a very good article. Thanks a lot for sharing.

My garage (where the test was done) were very vague about how much time it would take them, and therefore wouldn't contemplate giving me an estimate. They said that the sub frame would need to be lowered. However, this article said that the sub frame (on a W210) doesn't need to be lowered.

Mine is an S210, so is the clearance around the sub-frame the same as a W210?

 

[welland99]

How to replace rusty brake pipes or brake lines in a Mercedes E-Class (W210) and other cars

Having read this guide, it seems ike there are four pipes. They all begin at the junction box, and one pipe goes to each corner.

So looking at the MOT failure notice, I'm confused about what it is saying.
The failure note said:
001 offside rear (to flexi hose) brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)
This sounds like only a part of the pipe to the off-side rear is corroded (the bit near the wheel-end)

002 nearside front (to rear at rear)brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)
This sounds like corrosion is widespread along the length of the pipe.

Is the wording of the failure reasons prescribed by DVSA? And is there an amplified version available?

Obviously an examination will identify where the corrosion is located, but if the whole pipe to the offside rear doesn't need replacing (yet) then I'm content to leave it (assuming that it is possible to find a suitable place to join a new bit of pipe.