Basically did this trying to rally my 6N as you can see, the corner of the subframe where the wishbone is mounted got caught on a slab/rock of some kind and has been bent in.

When you drive the car, the bushing creaks alot as that spikey bit sticking in is obviously fouling the bushing and the actual wishbone.

Will this fail in an MOT test or not? I've heard there needs to be 'excess movement' to fail but I don't really know how to interpret that.

Would love to hear from someone who actually carries out MOTs, and whether they would put this down as a fail, or just an advisory.. or whatever.

If it is a fail, would I need to replace the whole subframe? Or could I just take the wishbone out and hammer away that spikey bit so it no longer points inwards and doesn't foul the bushing/wishbone?

Pretty desperately need an answer on this, if I need to replace the whole subframe then I got my work cut out and MOT is in a week.. can't afford it failing!

Please help! :-D

dont know if it would fail, but get the hammer out mate and try to get it straight as you can even if it does fail you will have 10 days to get it sorted and you can go back for a retest free of charge

surely this is structural/geometric damage = write off?

id use a pry bar to lever it a bit straighter ...i recon it will pass , but they might get snotty and say its binding against it

and no...its not a write off

Ooh, write off's a bit strong

10 mins with a big pry bar and its done

its a bump that has alterd the geomitry of the car.. if this part is SOLID to the chassis it IS a write off (as in cat a) if its unboltable from the car then its still a write off untill the defective part is broken..

ANY chassis/drivetrain alighnment damage IS a write off.. go look on the dvla. you need to change this..

dont know if volkswagons are different as to being magical german cars, but the things that hold your wheels in place HAVE to be the correct shape. if these cannot be removed from the chassis (or are a part of the chassis) it cannot be licenced as road legal as its clearly not.. cant pass a mini wiht a bent subframe (write off untill repaird) OR if you bend the crossmember on a ford.. same old same old. it holds the wheel in place, its a write off as soon as its spotted so replace it

however you want to look at it.. this IS chassis damage, no chassis damage is allowd. its torn (can even see the hair of a crack front to back) forget pass, you wanna hope your wishbone doesent rip itself free!!!

Edited 20 November, 200916 yr by MiNoR cOnFuSiOn

it's not part of the chassis - hence subframe

i doubt very very much if it's altered the geometry whatsoever

there is no where near enough damage there to suggest you'd rip the wishbone off

as above bend it back into shape with a pry bar maybe a blob of weld to tidy it up.

Olly

its a bump that has alterd the geomitry of the car.. if this part is SOLID to the chassis it IS a write off (as in cat a) if its unboltable from the car then its still a write off untill the defective part is broken..

ANY chassis/drivetrain alighnment damage IS a write off.. go look on the dvla. you need to change this..

dont know if volkswagons are different as to being magical german cars, but the things that hold your wheels in place HAVE to be the correct shape. if these cannot be removed from the chassis (or are a part of the chassis) it cannot be licenced as road legal as its clearly not.. cant pass a mini wiht a bent subframe (write off untill repaird) OR if you bend the crossmember on a ford.. same old same old. it holds the wheel in place, its a write off as soon as its spotted so replace it

however you want to look at it.. this IS chassis damage, no chassis damage is allowd. its torn (can even see the hair of a crack front to back) forget pass, you wanna hope your wishbone doesent rip itself free!!!

no its a minor dent on the sub frame , no biggie at all

as said lever it out and its all good ...have the tracking checked if you really want , loads of people with low cars have bashed up subbys

take a look at the top of the forum

DONT GIVE OUT DUFF ADVICE

Edited 20 November, 200916 yr by steveo3002

so bending it back will somhow fix where the metal hads split/cracked? cracks/splits grow..

so if 50 people on here have no horn that make sit legal? bent subframes have always been a mot failure on any mini.. the fact is this once secure and geometrically true mount is now half broken and bent well out of shape.. this WILL get worse wiht time (the edges are rolled for a reason, you know, the bit thats now split half way) wich will let the crack spread and sooner or later the outer part of the wishbone mount WILL come apart. i may be a little out of date wiht mot standards (haven't worked at a test centre for over 10 years) but i sure as hell know metal and forces. this is DANGEROUS and needs bending back as you say and WELDING (once in place altho its a bodge) and the tracking set OR a new subframe installed.. regardless of what a few people on a forum say, th9is is plain dangerous, those that dont recognise this should be the ones branded with "duff advice"

heres an idea, dont threash your car around fields/rough roads full of rocks and you wont bend the hell out of essential mounting pointds of your suspention.

so bending it back will somhow fix where the metal hads split/cracked? cracks/splits grow..

so if 50 people on here have no horn that make sit legal? bent subframes have always been a mot failure on any mini.. the fact is this once secure and geometrically true mount is now half broken and bent well out of shape.. this WILL get worse wiht time (the edges are rolled for a reason, you know, the bit thats now split half way) wich will let the crack spread and sooner or later the outer part of the wishbone mount WILL come apart. i may be a little out of date wiht mot standards (haven't worked at a test centre for over 10 years) but i sure as hell know metal and forces. this is DANGEROUS and needs bending back as you say and WELDING (once in place altho its a bodge) and the tracking set OR a new subframe installed.. regardless of what a few people on a forum say, th9is is plain dangerous, those that dont recognise this should be the ones branded with "duff advice"

dude i appreciate you are trying to help, which is what i wanted.. but are you sure you know what you are talking about? are you qualified in this field? as i mentioned, i was looking for the advice of people who look at this kind of thing for a living. please don't take any offence to me asking this, i am simply curious. haven't heard much from you on the forum before as I have the other guys so the trust isn't there yet. to me, you are just a username and as of yet - nothing more.

i suppose the pics aren't that good, but i can tell you there are no 'splits or cracks' on the subframe mount. just those bends and dents. i know the dent is close to the mounting point, but not close enough to have effected the strength of the joint surely?

you mention mini's.. their subframes are alot different to polo's and play a much more crucial role to the cars structural well-being, do they not?

please don't think i'm trying to say you are wrong, as i have no experience with this kind of damage at all. i'm just probing for more info really.

heres an idea, dont threash your car around fields/rough roads full of rocks and you wont bend the hell out of essential mounting pointds of your suspention.

As for that though, that wasn't really called for or helpful. Would you prefer I took it to the open roads instead?

it's fine, I really wouldn't worry about it, as suggested above bat it back into place or go run over the minorly confused guy.

Put it to good use eh?

if that is a crack it will fail.

it is not a write off as this is an insurance term and you are not making an insurance claim.....

that part of the subframe could be straightened off and a plate welded underneath, job done!

i admit I've not been aropund vw's for long atall, just a few friends wiht them but i have been a mechanic/engineer (structural) for many years aswell as working in an mot centre (to wich i left because they wouldent put me through my qualification) i can only advise on what i see and yes there are alot more members on here with more vw experience.. there should also be a few mot testers on here aswell to coroborate but tbh if you read through the mot info/requirements this is a fail

as for a "write off" being an insurance term, yes this is true, yet its DVLA controled.. its till applicable as the damage to the vehicle IS structural wether its the body of the car rotting away or somthing holding the wheel on wiht a big tear out of it.. it may not look cracked but i can clearly see a crack or atleast the path of a crack there.. if an mot can be failed on somthing as trivial as a little rust on the wheelarch (risk of tearing the tyre IF it ever touches, wich it wont) then the fact one of 2 of the ,main mounting points for a wheel is in this condition is an obvious fail.. if it were to go through an engineers report (wich I've done many of) it would fail and be classified a write off (see, insurance companys adopt this term FROM engineers) yes its not written off till recorded, but your mot tester has the discression to hold your vehicle for dvla inspection, at wich point the write off stature apply's. so a structural part of your subframe (counts as chassis) is damaged/bent, this needs to be rectified, it may pass an mot as alot is down to discresion and opinion but this vary's from cewntre to centre.. id personally try my best to bend it back to shape and weld it back together, wether there is a crack there or not there is a path (clearly visable) and over 30mph there is ALOT of vibration.. wont take long for it to grow.

so yes, ignore my advice if you so wish, thats the whole point of a forum, to get a mixed opinion otherwise youd just be down your garage asking a qualified mechanic not a bunch of people on a forum.. i personally would NOT drive this vehicle and i would personally change the subframe.. it may be out of place, tracking will corect the toe in/out BUT the travel on the suspention could be comprimised, meaning varyation of tracking under large suspention travel. (ie in corners one of your wheels will be turning more/less than the other)

fact is, if this WAS inspcted by your insurance company it would be deemd a write off (wich just means not fit for the road... to what degree is down to costr of repairs).. untill the parts are rectified

but ye, jsut food for thought,, ether way even if it did pass a snydey mot test from a m8 wiht a centre its not safe/needs to be atleast bent back/WELDED (if it could be made with less metal it would, vw desighned this to NOT be bent,bits broken)

mate - there is no need for it to be inspected by an insurance company and even a scratch on a bumper would write off an old polo.

if this was done by an event which is insurance claimable on a much newer car that would be repaired with the vehicle not going near Vcar list by jigging if excessively bent or/and adding a new part (yes this can be done if done properly much like cut and shuts they are legal if doen properly) - now quit it.... write off is an insurance term. assessors/engineers - they assess the damage and assign an ABI write off category based on automotive engineering experience...

i can also see a crack or a PROPAGATION line (to use correct engineering terminology) and if so it would fail, no need to go into your quals or experience!

Edited 21 November, 200916 yr by bobby_hill

i didnt say it would be inspected as theres no claim, just wehat WOULD happen if the incident was reported/insurance claim was made... but as you say its an irelevent point.

are we atleast in agreement this wont pass and needs to be bent back/welded at bear minimum? replaced if too out of shape?

tbh yes i did waffel on a little, simply because i dont like to be made fun of by clueles people who seem to think this is fine and to "come run me over" not helpfull and could kill somone. so no I'm not giving out duff advice...

anyway, rant off... fix your car properly and ignore anyone who says "ye its fine m8" as its really not

I run 13"s my subframe is bent to fook! I passed an mot 2 weeks ago fair enuf what these dudes are sayin but it all comes down to how sound your tester is! But only if the bush is not there and the wishbone can move away from you are subframe can they fail it!

dude I'm a CURRENT mot tester and id pass that but id do an advisory sheet.

id tell you to bend the sharp bit down so it didnt catch the arm, infact id probably do it

myself while its over the pit. this is no way a write off.

bottom line is the mot test is bollocks, its not worth the paper its printed on

unless something is an obvious fail ie dangerous 99% of testable items go on testers disgression

if we are unsure in any way we have to pass and advise

if it were me id bend the prong away from the arm and forget about it

good reminder that an mot in no way means your cars fit for the road...ah well..

WHAT A LOAD OF CAMELDICK! , just bend the eff-ing thing back and weld it up to stop it from spraying or splitting, or at the worse just replace the bits.

its a bump that has alterd the geomitry of the car.. if this part is SOLID to the chassis it IS a write off (as in cat a) if its unboltable from the car then its still a write off untill the defective part is broken..

ANY chassis/drivetrain alighnment damage IS a write off.. go look on the dvla. you need to change this..

dont know if volkswagons are different as to being magical german cars, but the things that hold your wheels in place HAVE to be the correct shape. if these cannot be removed from the chassis (or are a part of the chassis) it cannot be licenced as road legal as its clearly not.. cant pass a mini wiht a bent subframe (write off untill repaird) OR if you bend the crossmember on a ford.. same old same old. it holds the wheel in place, its a write off as soon as its spotted so replace it

however you want to look at it.. this IS chassis damage, no chassis damage is allowd. its torn (can even see the hair of a crack front to back) forget pass, you wanna hope your wishbone doesent rip itself free!!!

What the fuck lol?

It's not a CAT A at all. Even if it was structural damage to the chassis it still wouldn't be a CAT A. It's part of the subframe, the subframe can be removed? Even then, if it's deemed repairable on the main chassis of the car it may not be a writeoff, just because the chassis may not be straight doesn't automatically make it a write off. If it can be put in a jig and straightened to how it was before, and there isn't and excessive damage it can be repaired, IE CAT C, in the worst case scenario it would be a CAT B, where everything can be salvaged apart from the main chassis of the car. CAT A's only really apply if the car has been involved in an accident resulting in fire or death, crime or has incurred a large amount of offenses.

i keep a spare k frame under my bed in case this exact thing happens.

Thing is, I'm being serious.

One way to settle this... get it in for an MOT and post the results up. I doubt it'll fail on that whatsoever.

One way to settle this... get it in for an MOT and post the results up. I doubt it'll fail on that whatsoever.

Very true mate. I'm just a little concerned now after what minor confusion has said about them 'failing it on the spot' and getting it 'written off', and held back for DVLA inspection.

I can't really afford to change the subframe on it yet, so I might just bash it back to normal and then see what they say. Got a few other things to sort on the car anyway, but once they are done I will post up and let you all know

I'm telling you, keep a spare under your bed.