Irish Driving Test

[madder]

I am doing my driving test this week. There are some additions to the test. I have read 'Get It' the book, and am fairly confident about most aspects of the test. But some of these new things about maintenance etc are a slight worry.

I have a 1996 xli 1.3 petrol Corolla.

What should the tyre pressure be, as all I know is it should be somewhere between 20 and 30? But what is the exact answer and how exactly would I check? I mean I have a compressed air pump and usually just set it slightly below 30 to pump my wheels up?

Secondly, where in my car, under the bonnet are the power steering sluid and brake fluid located and what levels should they be at?

Can anyone help?

Oh an one last thing. I got the CAT replaced on my car just before my NCT and it passed the test. However, I have noticed that some ramps on the road are too high and my exhaust scrapes on them. I brought the car back to the mechanic but he said the exhaust is not unstable, but that it was secure in the correct position but that it could not be fixed any higher and that I'd have to live with it. I'm doing my test in Finglas where there are a lot of ramps and while it doesn't happen over all of them, it does happen over some? Any suggestions there, or will it matter at all?

Thanks in advance!

[Jock Fran]

Do you not have an owner's manual? All the answers should be in there.

Tyre pressures will also be somewhere like the fuel filler flap, glovebox lid or door sill.

They're probably between 30-40 rather than 20-30 so your tyres are probably a bit low on pressure.

If you've not got a manual you could put up a pic of your engine bay. But basically all fluid levels should be between the min and max lines on the expansion bottle.

[madder]

Thanks Jock Fran. I actually do have a manual but there is no mention of the Power Steering or Brake Fluid in the under bonnet diagram. I'll just pop the hood myself in the morning and see if I can find them myself. Probably not too difficult.

Thanks for the tip about the tyre pressure information locations! I'll have a look at that tomorrow too, hopefully it's in one of the places you suggested. So you reckon it should be around 30-40psi?

If anyone can help with some of the other stuff that'd be great.

Or if anyone has any more info about the test new sections that'd be a help too!

[Pompey Gaz]

the brake fluid and clutch reservoir is at the back of the engine bay by the windscreen, the brake has a tag on it, a yellow one, with the o in brackets on it

Power steering is in the middle on the same side I THINK

hth will try and get some pics if needed but my engine is a bit dirty lol

[madder]

Thanks Pompey Gaz, I have seen them, and they are where you said they are. The Power Steering one is there too and actually says power steering on it! Ok, So now I think I'm ready.

[Pompey Gaz]

no worries dude and good luck :)

[T600]

The 94 UK Rolla has its tyre pressures on a sticker in the glove box (and also in the manual). There are four settings - light/heavy loads, and low/high speed. We use only the light/low speed on ours as it's fine for everyday motoring and up to 2 or 3 passengers. Yours should be the same, but if not, let me know your tyre sizes and I'll send you the info. Note tyre size can affect recommended pressures, so if you find the settings be sure you're looking at the ones for your car model and tyre sizes.

Also, tyre pressures best checked with a guage rather than a pump as the gauges on pumps are notoriously unreliable. You can get a good electronic gauge for less than £10 at most shops, or less on line these days.

With regard to Ramps, you have a few options. If they're not too high then you can go over them slowly - just be careful not to let the car hit either the up part of the ramp, or the down part on the other side to hard as that compresses the suspension lowering the car and causing impact.

The worst ones are often those that are just a raised area in the centre of the road, that look as if you can just about straddle them with your wheels. They're great for Fire Engines which can whizz over them, but not so good for medium size cars. Sometimes it's necessary to take those by letting one of your wheels ride over the bump rather than straddling it. That raises one side of your car and gives you a bit more clearance. But be careful of pedestrians or oncoming traffic if you're forced to do that as you'll be diverting from your ideal route up the road. And check with an instructor whether the examiner would penalise you for taking that approach on your test.

Good luck with the test.

[madder]

Thank you all for your help. Test passed!

[T600]

Yay! Congratulations, well done, etc!