The Mini FAILED Its MOT, Here's Why.. 

Not 51-49% that would be a pass. One side is braking 49% more than the other 👍

Jack rear of car up. With handbrake off spin both wheels make sure they’re not binding then pull handbrake up 1 click and try spin both wheels they should fully lock on an equal amount of clicks. 1 click difference should still be okay to pass. If one side is fully locked. And the other isn’t then that’s the side usually needs looked at. Good video 👍🏻

Hi James, watched all your videos, but the first thing I always do when I buy a second hand car is to check all the breaks and tires. You can only check the when they are are off the car. Then I take out the pads and slide pins clean everything, this also includes removing the rust ring on the disc. Lub where necessary, check operation, then check the drums brakes the same as the front. If anything needs changing, I do it. If I bleed the brakes, I bleed them all, and completely change the brake fluid. 45 years servicing my own cars and still going strong

It gets to 38c here in Texas and that's why I do all my DIY early morning or at night. Very good video on the Mini.

I really enjoyed this video james. This is the type of savage garage video i enjoy and you explain it all so well. Love love love your vids mate. Top work 👍👍👍

I’ve tried rebuilding callipers before and 75% of the time there’s more wrong with than the kit comes with. I’d say if you can afford it just replace the callipers. Great video, very informative. Keep up the good work.

Good to see an informative video dude for us other driveway mechanics 👍😊

With your callipers mate try dropping them in a bath of oil overnight if the pistons are tough to push in. I have a pt Cruiser that has been sitting for 14 years did that and they freed up really well

I could watch you all day 😊👌 I’ve just bought a second hand Mini One - love these wee minted cars . You definitely know your stuff .

Nice to see the wire wheel out there nice clean install you did alright getting them calipers as cheap

That 49% isnt a ratio, it'll be a 49% difference so one is working half as well as the other, so its failed by quite a lot.

fantastic video as always, why do old cars always seem to need brake pipes surly car manufacturers could come up with something better

Here in northern queensland 33 deg is a normal day here so i know what you had to suffer, dont think i could come back and live in yorkshire again,, by the way shouldnt use mole grips on the rubber brake pipes ! Love the videos by the way ,,,,

Here in Arizona, the state does the Smog Check. Don't check anything else but plug into test port, and pressurize fuel tank for evaporative leak. My car had bald tires, cracked windshield, they don't care! Freedom! Maybe you can bring some crumpets and tea, to help pass.

piston side pads fitted incorrectly, the spring clips on the back side of the pad should be in the groove of the piston.

James funny you say about rebuilding the calipers i started mine from the st today video will be up soonish lol. The st passed its mot yesturday

Top lad back in full form better then some pros .. i just can't stop watching your vid's when i start ... im feeling you on the heat im a tradesman that works out side all day no matter what weather last week at 36 degrees in the sun wow omg hot

Probably the only guy in the Uk that is happy when his car fails an MOT. Yass, get to make a youtube video.

11 out of 10 Thanks for taking the time to show this to us. Very informative and interesting 👍👍👍

@james the metal bit on the inner pad has to slide on to the piston, this is why it wears the pads at an angle as it doesn’t sit flush to the piston. Seen this problem many times! Sorry you got to strip them down again.

22:19 I would recommend the Pagid brake disc over Eicher especially on rear. The Pagid ones were coated, therefore provides much better resistance against rust and corrosion. And since it is the Girl friends' car, I would certainly spent a little more extra just to make her happy =)

I bought a 1973 Dodge D200 3/4 ton truck from my mom's, in So California. 400 miles from my house. Drove it home, 7 miles to the gallon. Fixed it up to pass state smog test, took it over and they told me can't test because the back drum brakes don't work! Truck stopped good with just fronts! Try to take off calipers to wire brush off all the rust, and buy a rebuild kit and rebuild them. Like $15 for kit both sides. Put some anti- seize compound on little bolts for disc. You got the flying ants, we got mosquito's with West Nile Virus! I'll trade.

You look like a rapper,not a car guy,so TOTAL RESPECT

Did you lock the inner pad onto the piston that’s what that wire clip is for.

I know you are on a break, just want to thank for your videos this happened to me this week and your video help as well as your Mondeo brake lines video you did, hope your ok buddy 👊

Nice break job James and that on a very hot day 😓 but the job is done. 👍🏻

you inspired me to carry out work on my fiesta for the mot, gladly it worked, well done you, im in Eccles on sea, not far from you.

Excellent video and work. You did the right thing replacing the discs, calipers, and pads. The old discs may be too worn to be safe. Usually there is a minimum thickness stamped somewhere on the disc. Yours were pretty worn, witness the ridges either side if the area the pads ride. Here in California, any car over 6 years must have a SMOG inspection every 2 years. People always complain. Any car well maintained usually passes. Your annual MOT inspection is a lot more stringent. We’re lucky and don’t know it.

Tip to try next time you have a tight countersunk bolt. Get a drift the same size as the OD of the head and whack it with a hammer onto the head 5 or 6 times. It works every time

You got lucky removing the old rear calipers. Usually the metal sleeve of the cable binds itself to the caliper bracket. Great work though.

Always amazes me how people think o that’ll do and on something as important as brakes lol 😂

Great step by step instructions,,well done your a talented fella,

The imbalance is between sides so offside and nearside. one side has a 49% stronger braking force than the other

This channel is sooooooooo addictive !!!!

Jam break peddle as to close the ports and then no need to clamp Hose also very minimal bleeding required... Oil leak is a horrible advisory ,second only to corrosion. Guess it's OK if keeping the car

Those breaks are a hell of a mess. This is why I work on my own cars. How can anyone leave a mess like this.

Why would you put the screw back in that holds in discs in place??? Relying on your wheel bolts to hold it all together then...

Great vid James. The calipers were a great price.

Your not alone with the disc bolt not wanting to budge. It's a T50 and I ended up buying a Clarke mains impact driver. Took at least 30 seconds before it shifted.

This video just shows why the motor trade should be regulated like gas engineers are,clearly have no idea with comment like ial use this grease probably not right but won’t make much difference.also should never clamp hoses with mole grips as it can make the hose collapse or bulge under pressure. Typical Sunday warrior the type of guy I normally end up sorting out there mistakes while at work

"Come with me on this journey"...I was waiting for Moog to pop up!

Oil leak? What do they expect when they open the hood? Pot Puri?

Disc screw: couple of hits with your hammer should break the rust. Otherwise a blast with a blow torch should do it. Heat is wonderful for exhaust bolts too since the nuts will expand faster than the bolt. Heat can be done with care; I mean safely and not doing any damage.

Not too bad fails, a credit to you for sorting it so well when you got the car considering what it did need 👍🏼

Thank you very much. Now I will do my Mini Brake discs without too many problems. Thanks.

He always complains about the weather😂 its either too cold, rainy, too dark or too hot 😂 Reminds me of me 😂

Not a fan of minis but am a fan of your vids.....and i love what u do....so yeah

Fair play to you for replacing both of the calipers, that should leave the brakes more balanced. You can tell by the colour of the passenger side disc that it had been binding (sticking). Don’t take this as an insult but just a couple of things I noticed. Copper grease isn’t needed and to be honest it isn’t doing anything, also after fitting the caliper and brake pipe you should bleed the system before fitting the handbrake cables. It can damage the new calipers. Just talking from experience, cheers.

I always use a blowtorch on the disc retaining screw if it's seized , about a minute of heat usually does the trick.......😜 Cheers for another great video........👍

Hi James, another job done on the Mini,that's why they're imbalanced with the piston with the new ones it should sort it, awesome video.good luck with the M.O.T..it will pass 👍

you're doing your best... massive respect 😅

Leak behind engine will most likely be the oil filter housing gasket... if you’ve yet to do it. Not a expensive part but definitely a pain in the ass... while you there might as well replace the chain tensioner if not done yet also. Good luck 🤙🏻

in the carservice business you are now fired. -clean it better -don't squeez brake lines - last video you let the car go when clearly the brake lines were leaking - you need to clip them pads on the piston - first pump the brakes before you put the ebrake cables on -lube the pads !

I've just picked up a 1.6 mini for £150 has a bad power steering pump and a oil leak in same place as yours. Ordered the pump for £180 re-manufactured. Will you be uploading a video on fixing the oil leak?

I noticed when you did the drop links on the rear the one of the disc looked like it had been overheating at some point - sticking pads or slides ?

Try being a mechanic as a full time job, no choice but to work in this hot weather 😥

yep doing long section of brake pipes is a nightmare on the driveway

It's good that the UK had these standards. It would be hard to pick that one up without a roller tester.

When you're squeezing the brake flexi pipe with grips like that, it can puncture or lead to premature wear. Get some 99p long nose grips and slide some hose over both the jaws and you can clamp all kinds of hoses safely & effectively.

You worked hard 👍👍great job

my girl freind has a cooper s .it had a rattle in the dash some where. she got a can of foam filler, sprayed it in the passenger air vent till it came out the drivers air vent.and its gone now .no rattle ..she doing the tappets next week as the can is empty now.shes getting a new can .1.99 screw fix .

Your videos are really really nice man.

Nice video James i have just bought my daughter a 53 cooper a lot of people moan and groan about the mot but I look at it that you are paying a skilled technician a reasonable fee to tell you how safe or unsafe the car there driving is so i hope your better half appreciate your graft in the sun and you get many brownie points keep the videos coming Les in norwich

Hello Mr Savage Just a heads up mate the metal bars on the piston side brake pad are clips. I found this out last weekend doing work on my R53 JCW. The piston boot should slide back to the second ridge/groove on the piston then that pad clips on to the first. Not sure if you done this as you skipped putting the pads in. Good work though mate 👍🏻

Cracking honest vlog and thanks again for sharing buddy!

Hi, you should never put mole grips or pliers on the piston to move them if you wish to use it again. You can put heavy scratches in the metal and then that could damage the seals thus making them leak.

all this talk of quite frankly in depth parts......here in north cyprus with an R56 if the brakes, lights and your front windows aren't tinted your good to go for 3 years on your MOT :-D

Fantastic video as always, my advice use FERODO brake pads and discs.

You have to get a caliper rebuild kit, that has all the rubber o rings, slider rubbers, and that boot, and you may as well do it all while you have it apart. And to release the caliper piston, you just press the foot brake

My car failed it’s MOT at a main dealer(Arnold Clark)!!! Something very petty and minor. So, I’ve took to a Vietnamese owned garage and it passed.

Great video again man! Love this channel. Nice to see someone doing work on normal cars themselves. I have one question for you. What’s happening with the fiesta? That’s the car that I found this channel from. All the best man

Replace the Disc screws ,you have done a good job apart from that

Spot the mot tester out of 153 comments are they the ones who spell brakes correctly and “breaks” is that another name for trousers. James is gonna make mistakes mechanics learn from collage and serve there time then you still learn something new. It won’t be long until this government passes a law saying you can’t work on your own car unless you qualified mechanic. Make the most of it while you can

The 51/49 split can just be due to a tiny air bubble in one of the lines. Try bleeding them and lightly "ruffing up" the pads on some 80 grit sandpaper to remove any possible glaze before shelling out on new parts. A good way to test is take it out cold... Get up to 40mph and do one medium stop with just medium pressure on the pedal..... Then get out and feel the heat in each rear disc. Should be equally hot. You can get "caliper rebuild" kits with new boots on eBay for about £12 a pair As for Eicher ... The discs are fine, but i would pay extra for Pagid pads.

Hi mate youve put the piston pad in wrong the springs on the back of the pad slide over the piston

How did you remove your brake cable from the old caliper ? Mine is doesn’t moved I tried every system it’s not working I think I’m gonna change this brake cable as well

Maybe you should get a gazebo for the hot days and rainy days may not be a garage but still a roof over your head lol

Restore a classic cooper

mini dealer should be able to provide you with a dust cover for that caliper

You'd love making brake pipes. So easy when you buy the correct tool. I was afraid of tackling them until I got my tool and pipe and fittings. Don't get the universal kit ad it's fiddly and you won't need most of it. Look up "backstreet mechanic" on RU-vid for brake pipe making.

I know this video is a few years old now but when it comes to brake imbalance some places try it on and some have dodgy equipment I once had a Ford Focus fail the MOT on brake imbalance I drive the car home checked the brakes were free and grabbing evenly took the car back for retest the same day passed no advisories I did nothing to the brakes to change how they were when first tested just drove it home and drove it back to the test centre again 😂

12:18 get yourself a butane torch from ebay and heat up stubborn bolts and nuts comes off easy peasy!

You seriously need to change mot garages!

always you have incomplete job,you could of painted the caliper bracket ,even if it's not effecting the job of braking,but for cosmetic reason,it would be nice to paint it in silver so it match the new caliper and discs,also the clip needs painting to have 100% job done.

An other great video James I say you got a good tan it’s not as hot over here in Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪 and best of luck with the mot mate 🤞

Again, absolutely brilliant

That metal clip on the back off the pad clips onto the piston ..... molegrips to clamp the pipe fucks the flexi up

First video of yours I have watched, but loved it, you're great on camera, good edits too... I'll Subscribe 👍👌👌

Looking forward to seeing new calliper installation 👍🏼

Great one James👍👍

You should do a track build.

Just a tip mate you can damage the piston by putting the handbrake cable back on without bleeding the caliper and pumping the pedal out otherwise it’s a good video mate

I am so glad we don't have that (MOT) in the states....

Great videos, really useful for working on my own mini. I saw in one of the other videos your rewind set. Can you let me know were you got it from? Cheers

not 51 49 that would be a 1% diffrence aka close to perfect 49 percent imbalance would indicator one side half as strong as the other

Well done mate. 👍

🤣 spoiler alert it passed its mot today

meant ask did you take lid of the brake fluid reservoir before you touch the pistion

Hi bud 2 mates of mine had brakes imbalanced, both needed abs pumps. 2 different types of car hope for you that's not your problem

Hey man where those callipers reconditioned or where they brand new ?