Yaris Front Hub/MOT

[sproutdreamer]

The sheet metal dust/rain cover at the back of the front driver side disc has rotted away at the bottom. I am not sure whether or not this is an integral part of the hub assembly or not. It is obviously a common thing as all the s/h hub assemblies for sale e bay have the same corrosion.

Where the metal has gone it does not do much, except as a cover-is this an MOT failure item. If it is can you get the cover only rather than a full hub asembly?

Thanks as usual for replies which are appreciated.

[Mooly]

I can't see it being  an MOT failure because it isn't structural and it also isn't dangerous to pedestrians (like rusty jagged bodywork). 

[Cyker]

It's a fairly common issue in older cars, esp ones that drive over rougher roads or salted roads.

 

In the past people just remove them; The only potential issue is the back face of the disc being more prone to corrosion from road spray than it would otherwise be, but it also means stones can't get stuck in there. I think its real purpose is a heat shield, but TBH unless you're taking part in the Toyota Sprint Series or something it shouldn't really cause any problems if removed. My first car didn't have them at all!

 

[sproutdreamer]

Removal or replacement looks to be a disproprtionate sized job as must involve taking off the hub, separating bottom suspension, track rod etc. I think I might just make a repair using a piece of sheet aluminium pop rivetted and painted over.

Having just replaced front springs, rear springs, rear brakes shoes, rear shock absorbers and had to drill out and tap front ABS sensor retaining bolts which sheared. Both sensors very clogged with iron particles. Hope nothing else for the MOT.

[Cyker]

Ugh, nightmare!

Hmm, actually, if yours is only gone at the bottoms, you can probably get away with just wire-brushing away the worst of the rust, applying some rust treatment on the rest and then painting it with stonechip. It's probably not worth going to more effort than that, and given that it's iron or steel you probably shouldn't use aluminium anyway because of galvanic corrosion!

The people who removed theirs did so because it was rusted so bad there were holes through it so they were practically flaking off anyway! (There are some downsides to living near the seaside I guess... )
 

[sproutdreamer]

My ideas to repair this with a piece of aluminium sheet is not going to work due to the shaping of the piece to add and the difficulty of accessing the cover. My latest plan is just to cut away the ragged corroded part, hopefully neatly so that it does not look too different to the other side. An area of about 3"x1" is gone and I need to tidy it up as I cannot face taking all the hub apart-on my drive in this cold weather.

Thanks for ideas and comments.

[Cyker]

Sounds like a good plan; It's not a critical piece so IMHO not worth spending too much time/effort/money on. Esp., as you say, in the current weather!! And if it's as rusty as my old car's one then just be a bit careful as some of the rust flakes were like razors and the rest of it was like a very coubik sand paper! I always scraped my hand on the edges of it when trying to clean the inside of my alloys!

 

Edit: Seriously, "coubik", as in a synonym for "rough" is blocked by the filter?!