Doing an inspection of the rear disks and pads today after buying 2010 vrs i noticed the rear splash guards that go behind the brake disk were missing on both sides. now are these an mot requirement if not do peeps recommend putting them back on or leave off. thanks for any help steve

I don't think it's an MOT fail but they are there for a reason so better on than not. A car manufacturer is not going to waste any money on unnecessary parts. They will protect the discs from getting scuffed/pitted.

Edited 19 August, 20205 yr by Aj77

If you are having other work done on discs/hubs it may be worth replacing them otherwise many people dont bother, they have the tensile strength of  tinfoil pie dishes which is why they snap off.

Agreed, they also hide how corroded the rear of the discs are, mine had only a 1cm band left on the hidden rear face, the outside was bad enough for me to replace but I was shocked to see how bad the inside was.

 

As has been said replace them when you need to replace the discs, they may even last longer without the protection of work hardened Bacofoil.

thanks for the answers it looks like the previous owner replaced the brake disks and removed them at the same time. As disks are fairly new and i will only be replacing the pads tomorrow  

If you get new panels, if you cut the centre bit of metal out, you can fit them without stripping everything down.

 

They react chemically with the bolts and it makes them fatigue and break off after time. You could try painting the fixing holes or try washers on them.

 

Edited 20 August, 20205 yr by FatblokeVRS

I found that bit of guidance about cutting the splash pans very helpful. Who would want to undo all that stuff.

 

Off topic I noticed you as a VRS enthusiast when I read the problem you had with coolant. I didn't notice you got any resolution on that. Is it still losing the coolant periodically?

 

Perhaps I should find your post and respond in the proper place so others might see the conclusion if there was one.