2001 V70 2.4T Failed MA Inspection :-(

[prwood]

I had a very similar experience. My 2002 V70 T2.4 failed state inspection for the same thing. On my car their was hardly any movement but they failed it never the less. I replaced the inner tie rod end with no change at all. I took it to another shop and it passed without comment. It has now passed inspection 6 times (50K miles) since then at 3 different shops, one of them a Volvo dealer. I asked them about the small movement (after they passed it). The mechanic said he would be fine with his mother driving the car, he saw no problem with it at all.
The original mechanic was very honest, he was not trying to rip me off. He was just very exacting, he said so himself.
I think another shop is worth a shot.

I suppose it could be worth a shot. I have been getting this car inspected for 5 years at the same shop which is close to my work, but this year for the first time I took it to a different shop that is closer to my house, since I'm working from home. In MA we're entitled to one free re-test at the same inspection station, which I've already used up, so any further inspections I'd have to pay for again regardless of which shop I took it to. I could probably take it to the shop I had previously been using and see if I have better luck there.

I reviewed the MA vehicle inspection law, and it doesn't have an exact specification for allowed play:

(6) Steering and Suspension.
(a) Check for free steering by turning the steering wheel through a full right and left turn.
Reject a vehicle if binding or interference occurs during the procedure. With the front
wheels in the straight ahead position (and the engine running on vehicles equipped with
power steering) measure lash or lost movement at the steering wheel rim.
(b) Lash or lost movement on passenger cars and station wagons, as measured at the
steering wheel rim, should not exceed two inches if the vehicle is equipped with manual
steering. Lash or lost movement on antique motor vehicles will be measured by steering
wheel diameter in accordance with the following schedule:
Steering Wheel Diameter Lash (shall not exceed)
16 inches 2 inches
18 inches 2¼ inches
20 inches 2½ inches
22 inches 2¾ inches
Antique Motor Vehicles Over c turn
(c) The front end (each side) of all vehicles will be raised by jacking and visually examined.
Vehicles equipped with ball joints will be raised and checked in accordance with the
applicable manufacturer's specifications.
(d) Reject a vehicle with excessive wear or play in any part of the steering mechanism,
suspension or drive train of the vehicle that would affect proper and safe operation.
(e) Reject a vehicle with broken, bent or missing shock absorbers or suspension springs.

It just says "excessive" play. So I guess it leaves some discretion for the inspector as to how they interpret it, which I guess also allows for the chance that another inspector would be more lenient.

Another option is to file a complaint with the state, in which case they send one of their staff out to meet with you and the shop's inspector to observe a re-test and make a ruling.

[ljsommar1]

When the mechanic at the dealership heard my story about the shop that failed it he said that he had noticed the slight movement but he felt it was negligible. He said he would be fine with his mother driving it. As I said it has now passed 6 more times.
Another story, I sold my 98 Ranger when my wife bought a new V60. The guy who bought it called me recently complaining that the backup light failed inspection after I told him they would pass. I had installed a manual switch and indicator because the transmission setup was frustratingly intermittent.
It does meet the requirements but the shop didn't like it. After a lot of argument they finally relented and passed it. Some shops just like to fail things.

[darrylrobert]

i recently had this "play" in my 2001 rack,had a steering wobble at hwy speed. On lifting the vehicle i noticed an unusual amount of play. My first suspect was the inner tie rod but seeing a few people have issues with that boot clamp i decided to swap the whole rack with my spare and do the boots on the bench. It turned out the play was coming from the rack. On a side note the wobble turned out to be a failed shock absorber. As a bonus i found the low pressure rack connection was finger tight, suprised there was no leak...i re-used the o rings which is not recommended but no leaks so all is good.

[prwood]

Update:

1. I had the car re-inspected at a different station, and lo and behold they gave it a pass. It took him about 60 seconds to jack up the right wheel, test it, lower it, jack up the left wheel, test it, lower it, and shout "It's good!". Then he was printing out a sticker and I was on my way. Phew and woohoo!

2. I did my own testing at home, and while there IS some play on both sides, there IS ALSO noticeably more play on the left side. So it seems like there is definitely something internal to the rack that is causing more play on the left side, since everything external to the rack is basically new and doesn't have any visible signs of play on its own. My father-in-law's layman's theory was that maybe there were bushings inside the rack that were more worn out on one side that could allow for that play. The rack on its own definitely has some left-right play (when viewed facing inward from the side of the car; front-back play if you're sitting in driving position). Clearly it wasn't enough to concern the second inspector, but I suppose it could get worse over time.

[XC70Rider]

Glad you passed MA inspection! Lucky the first mechanic didn't throw an R on your windshield.

Down here no inspections are required but I see lots of abandoned cars on the road due to that.

[prwood]

Glad you passed MA inspection! Lucky the first mechanic didn't throw an R on your windshield.

Down here no inspections are required but I see lots of abandoned cars on the road due to that.

I did get an R sticker the first time around. Took it back to the same guy after fixing it and kept the R. Took it to a different guy and got the pass.

I grew up in Ohio where we didn't have inspections and was gobsmacked when I came out here to discover how rigorous they were and how much it meant I'd need to spend on car repairs, which is the primary reason I started fixing my own cars.

[XC70Rider]

Glad you passed MA inspection! Lucky the first mechanic didn't throw an R on your windshield.

Down here no inspections are required but I see lots of abandoned cars on the road due to that.

I did get an R sticker the first time around. Took it back to the same guy after fixing it and kept the R. Took it to a different guy and got the pass.

I grew up in Ohio where we didn't have inspections and was gobsmacked when I came out here to discover how rigorous they were and how much it meant I'd need to spend on car repairs, which is the primary reason I started fixing my own cars.

When you do get a Rejection I thought you had to take it back to the same mechanic to get it cleared? Guess I was wrong!

I started fixing my own vehicles back in college days. Couldn't afford to pay mechanics up in MA. Half of them are rip-offs!

[prwood]

Glad you passed MA inspection! Lucky the first mechanic didn't throw an R on your windshield.

Down here no inspections are required but I see lots of abandoned cars on the road due to that.

I did get an R sticker the first time around. Took it back to the same guy after fixing it and kept the R. Took it to a different guy and got the pass.

I grew up in Ohio where we didn't have inspections and was gobsmacked when I came out here to discover how rigorous they were and how much it meant I'd need to spend on car repairs, which is the primary reason I started fixing my own cars.

When you do get a Rejection I thought you had to take it back to the same mechanic to get it cleared? Guess I was wrong!

I started fixing my own vehicles back in college days. Couldn't afford to pay mechanics up in MA. Half of them are rip-offs!

In MA, if you fail the initial inspection, you are allowed one free reinspection at the same station where you got the initial inspection. After that, you must pay the fee again for any further reinspections, whether at the original station or a different one. So I paid for my first (failed) inspection, got a free (failed again) reinspection at the same station, then paid again for a third (passed) inspection at a different station. That may be the reason that it seems like you have to get your car reinspected at the same station, but technically you are free to take it wherever you want for any reinspection... you just have to pay for it if it's not the same station.

[prwood]

I finalized things today by getting an alignment done at a tire shop. They actually tried to do one yesterday but the right inner tie rod lock nut was frozen, and their policy is not to use any extreme measures (since they do tires and alignments but are not a full-service repair shop, and don't want to break customers parts), so I had to loosen that up myself and bring it back this morning. I soaked it in PB Blaster overnight and broke it loose with a couple of Vise-Grips this morning. Oddly enough I don't have any long, open-ended wrenches in either the 13mm or 21mm sizes that are needed to properly grip the inner tie rod and the locking nut. The Vise-Grips worked ok but were a bit wide compared to the gripping surfaces.

The prior alignment attempt had shown the right rear toe-in was off, but the nut on the right rear end link (for rear toe-in adjustment) was also frozen so I loosened that as well. I had communicated this to the staff when I dropped it off for the alignment, but I noticed when I got it back that the report showed the before/after on the rear toe were the same, so I had them recheck and it turns out they did not actually adjust or tighten the nut for the right rear toe-in. Apparently between me breaking it free at home and them driving it up onto the rack, the toe-in adjustment had gotten itself into the green zone so they didn't try to adjust it, which means they didn't tighten it back down like I assumed they would. Luckily they took it back on the rack and tightened it up for me. Phew.

Now I've got the passing inspection sticker, a pair of good Bosch wiper blades, an unnecessarily-replaced left inner tie rod (but replaced for free thanks to FCP), front and rear alignment now within manufacturer spec, with an as-yet-unexplained extra amount of play in the left side of the steering rack. Hopefully that's about all I will need to do this winter! There are a couple of other potential projects for spring/summer, but more on those later.

[abscate]

Well done , Peter

Another one saved