SLROC Forum

HI
Ive posted in forsale section im after a proper 300tdi R380 gearbox crossmember but can anyone answer this for me.
The current lt77 gearbox crossmember fitted to my 300tdi convertion had to be modified to allow the factory 300tdi decat downpipe to pass it. Basically the crossmember has a 3inchx 2inch channel cut out of it close the the passenger side but not onto the upright section. The channel then was boxed in so its not a open its fully closed. It just allows the exuast to sit within this channel and carry on as designed. Would this cause an issue come MOT time?.
Cheers.
Scott

am not a mot tester scott and some one may correct me but if it done right eg looks good welds etc then should be ok in my opinnion but if looks like dogs dinner of welds and cut too close to frame as to weaking crossmember then i would say no can u post a foto and let us see ?
 after all u can weld half chassis ,crossmembers/outriggers on chassis ave seen some horrors of welding on landrovers over the years and thats from well known garages

If its on the road you could always take it round to your friendly MOT man and get an opinion - or is it off the road pending MOT ?

I will say was not me that welded it would look like pigeon droppings... got a chap who welds daily as a part of his job used a big old huge gas mig welder. Same chap that welded my engine mounts. He reakons no loss in strength as its been boxed in and no other weld was touched. But he also stated he aint a MOT tester but has done this befor and had no comeback. Im gona try get hold of the thinner version just incase. It got Mot till november so got plenty time. Ill post a pic tomorow if i remeber. best thing i ever done this convertion the thing has a hell of alot of power now and sounds great. Thanks for the advice guys.
Scott

Hi
 Firstly if the modification/repair is not within 30cms/12 inches of a testable item ie steering, seatbelt mtgs, suspension etc then it should not be relevant to the MOT. If such repair/modification is within the 30cm area then the repair must be full welded with no gaps in the welding.
 These standards only apply to load bearing areas and not to cosmetic items. Based on the above I would think it unlikely that your mods as described would fall within the prescribed areas as noted above. At worst it may be advised on @ time of test but unlikely to fail.

 Allan

Thank you Alan
Some good advice there. Ill pop down the to garage this week ask their opinion as their the guys that do the MOT on my motors. Hopefully for the fact the gearbox crossmember is held on by 4 bolts and nothing hangs from it for support means its not gona be an issue. Just one of these things i wana make sure is ok to do. Cheers.
Scott