Fixing a front bulkhead Vehicle structure which has excessive corrosion

[HappyCamper]

Help!

I'm looking into buying a 1994 Romahome and have found some concerning things in the MOT History.

In May of this year it failed an MOT for a number of reasons including; Spill pipes Fuel hose leaking (7.2.3) and Front bulkhead Vehicle structure has excessive corrosion which adversely affects braking or steering (6.1.A.1). It also had several advisory notices including; Nearside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d) and Offside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d)


In June it failed its MOT again but this time at a different garage and the only reasons given were; Nearside Front Brake hose excessively deteriorated (3.6.B.4d) and Offside Front Brake hose excessively deteriorated (3.6.B.4d). Four days later it passed its MOT at this second garage with the following advisory notices: Headlamp masks/converters fitted, N,s,f,and o,s,f and n,s,r, tyres side walls starting to deteriorate and Fuel pipe corroded.

The owner claims to have a full service history which I'm going to look through in detail but my questions is can a bulkhead with excessive corrosion be fixed or is this a fault which the second garage has failed to spot? I did notice that all four tyres were new so the owner has had some work done but rectifying a problem with the bulkhead strikes me as being too big a job to justify on a vehicle of this age.

I've become a big fan of Citreon Romahomes so am keen to buy one but am worried this one isn't safe.

[ant]

Hi Happy Camper.
The C15 was built using the technology of the 70's as a result it has reasonably poor rust proofing. The bulkhead is a common victim of rust, some look worse than they are but all with rust will need some attention soon. An MOT will fail a bulkhead if it is seen to move/flex when the brake pedal is depressed, it is also within 300mm of the suspension towers so if there are any holes or the bulkhead is significantky weakened within the 300mm range it will be a failure under the steering criteria of the MOT also.
If caught early bulkheads are reasonably cost effective to repair but if they're allowed to get too bad the whole dash has to be removed to repair them and the cost of that renders the repair questionable.
The other items you've listed are just normal maintenance items to be expected as vehicles age.Some MOT stations have their pet hates and will always find fault with those items so it's not unusual to have some advisories on one MOT and not another.
Ant

[Twolitre]

Hi Happy Camper.
.................................................. .................................................. Some MOT stations have their pet hates and will always find fault with those items so it's not unusual to have some advisories on one MOT and not another.
Ant

Very true Ant!
There used to be three authorised testers in our MOT team years ago.
One frequently failed vehicles becaise he insisted that ageing tail lights were no longer RED. Though no one else thought so.
The other had a thing about rusty brake pipes on vehicles from the days when originals were inevitably painted. If the paint was chipped it was "rusty".
Advisories were unknown then. It was just Pass or Fail.
For myself, I don't think I has any obsessions - but............?
JimW.

[HappyCamper]

Thanks for your replies, they're a huge help. I'm going to see it again tomorrow so I'll talk through what repairs have been done. Thanks again.

[HappyCamper]

The bulkhead is a common victim of rust, some look worse than they are but all with rust will need some attention soon.

Do you have an idiots' guide to checking the bulkhead bearing in mind I'm not entirely sure where it is...

[ant]

Hi.
Just mimic the MOT test, ask the seller to push the brake pedal down hard, if the bulkhead behind the engine ( between engine and cab) moves or flexes it may be an expensive repair, if its solid then the rust may not have gone too far yet.
Ant