wow

[gold84gmc]

i went to get a sticker for my truck today and it supposedly needs a whole list of stuff to get one...the guy wrote this stuff on a piece of paper

-cab marker lights not working(i unhooked them)
-driving lights unhooked
-no turn signals(thats because i just put those LED lights and i need to put the flasher/resistor
-left rear spring shackle(i put one of those universal shackles)
-brake lines on the axle(even though theyre basically rust free)
-main feed rear line
-right rocker panel
-exhaust not properly hung
-front brake lines(where they go onto the caliper)
-both upper control arms(both rusty, and one side the busings are bad)

[Donut]

Was an independent garage or a local "chain"?

If there are lights on the truck, they must work.  Aftermarket driving lights, running lights, they even make sure my plow lights work if they're on the truck.
Didn't I mention the spring shackle to you?  As you found, there a no go.  (the local "chain" store loves to sell parts they KNOW won't pass inspection  )
Brake lines on the axle, rules are changing all the time.  Main feed on the rear, soft line or hard line to it?
Exhaust not properly hung.  NO wire, rope, or silly-string.  Must be exhaust hangers.
Front brake lines, rubber must be cracked.  That's why I asked about the rear.
If they found bad bushings in the control arms, change them.  They more than likely found them while checking ball joints.  Rust they won't fail you on, unless it goes through.  It may have been a warning, if you talk to the mechanic, he can tell you if they need replacing or not.

He may have just said "why is this guy wasting my time".  Most of the things you listed, you could have picked up on with a quick 15 min. inspection on your own before you left your driveway.  You KNEW the turn signals didn't work!

Use the hood scoop bondo on the rocker.

FWIW, the local "chain" store tried to fail me on an engine oil leak once, I calmly asked the to please point out where the state police said that an oil leak is "unsafe". (spot on the oil pan gasket was damp iirc. whatever it was it was minor)

[gold84gmc]

haha ya but the chief of police for my town saw my sticker because it expired in july, so he told me to get a new one today so i didnt really have a choice....it was a local garage but i guess this place is always picky, so im gonna fix the lights and blinkers and the rocker then try a garage thats up the road...but until i get a new one i get to drive my dads 76 chevelle 

[Donut]

Actually you DID have a choice.  The truck could have been parked, the blatant things fixed, then gone to get a sticker.

I look at it like this.  Your young, by rolling in with BLATANT things wrong (and new hood scoops) you got labeled "punk kid", no different than the guy who has a 25yr old Honda, partially installed wing on the back, new chrome exhaust tip. and 4 bald,mismatched tires. (and duct-taped rust holes you could kick a cat through). get the picture?

I actually want my inspection mechanic to be "picky".  If I miss something, it'll get fixed.  Changing a brake line in October is better than January when it fails.
Trust me, brake lines in Jan. when it's -5 is not fun.

Over the years I've found most mechanics will cut you more slack if you at least attempt to keep the thing repaired.  Also a little at a time seems to hurt the wallet less. Now you've got a whole list of things that have to be fixed IMMEDIATELY.

BTW (an afterthought)  If you get caught driving it (by the Staties) with a bad sticker, they can order you to the next inspection station.  If you fail, they can/will impound you.  If you have a good sticker and something else wrong that they see ("unsafe" motor vehicle) They can/will peel the sticker on the spot and point you to the nearest inspection station.  They will witness the inspection.

A couple of years ago, a local mechanic lost his license to do inspections.  Guy came in, mechanic inspected the vehicle (passed), guy left.  Guy went home, put on his "big" mud tires and cherrybombs.  Guy got pulled over and towed, mechanic lost his inspection license and fined even though it was something he didn't do. 
The state police control the inspections, the mechanic is nothing more than a subcontractor.

[aussie]

i know thing in maine is that you cant have a speck of rust on a brake line!!!! and rust in a rocker also is tuff they think Carbon monoxide will enter the cab im in the sanford area i have a good friend that help me out if you know what i mean!! 

[Donut]

I wasn't sure what the rules were on brake lines, used to be on steel, they didn't care (thanks for the info, now I know why my mechanic recommended that I spray new steel lines with something).  Rubber lines with a crack was an immediate fail.

Cab holes are an immediate fail (like aussie said, CO).  Exhaust must exit passenger confines (or something like that)  With a pickup, under the bed is OK.  Put a cap on it and it's not.  No flex lines on the exhaust, unless it came from the factory with them. No glasspacks.  We don't have emissions testing up here, but if it came with cats it better have them.  My inspection guy was looking at my truck, he looked underneath, "ah", he said "no cats", I said "ah, '73"
he just smiled...it passed.

Aussie, does Maine still have the "e" sticker?  I know the southern part of the state had them, I'm just not sure if they still do. ("e"= emissions) Being just outside of Augusta, we didn't have them. (just being curious)

[beastie_3]

Glad I dont live in Maine...

[zieg85]

We had them in Indiana but now just on the bigger trucks and buses.  I feel your pain being in the rust belt.  My truck wouldn't pass body wise and if the brake lines are that critical my 05 Sable wouldn't either.

[pwrfool]

Ditto Donut! I live in PA (and work for the towing company that does the police impounds) I have towed quite a few with stickers that have been scraped off.  Most of them don't have insurance either which is why the sticker is out (no insurance= no inspection). 
If you knew it was going to fail you should have parked it until it could be fixed.  The mechanic did probably take it as you were wasting his time.

[Donut]

The inspections I now treat as more of a pain in the butt kind of thing.  Way to many people on the road don't look at there vehicle, let alone maintain it.
The steel brake lines actually make sense.  Something has changed, either the way the roads get treated in the winter, or the quality of the steel in the brake lines themselves (or both).  I've replaced more steel lines on my vehicles in the past 5 years, than I have the rest of my life.

pwrfool-up here no insurance = no registration, and you must show a current registration to get it inspected.  If you "drop" your insurance, the state DMV gets notified.

[gold84gmc]

it probably wouldve passed if i couldve brought it to the garage i wanted to but this garage was the only one that could do it yesterday...the good thing is that he didnt charge me and he didnt cut my sticker in half.

[aussie]

I wasn't sure what the rules were on brake lines, used to be on steel, they didn't care (thanks for the info, now I know why my mechanic recommended that I spray new steel lines with something).  Rubber lines with a crack was an immediate fail.

Cab holes are an immediate fail (like aussie said, CO).  Exhaust must exit passenger confines (or something like that)  With a pickup, under the bed is OK.  Put a cap on it and it's not.  No flex lines on the exhaust, unless it came from the factory with them. No glasspacks.  We don't have emissions testing up here, but if it came with cats it better have them.  My inspection guy was looking at my truck, he looked underneath, "ah", he said "no cats", I said "ah, '73"
he just smiled...it passed.

Aussie, does Maine still have the "e" sticker?  I know the southern part of the state had them, I'm just not sure if they still do. ("e"= emissions) Being just outside of Augusta, we didn't have them. (just being curious)

no E sticker in york county just cumberland i thinks because its  close to portland (city) also those hi nickel lines are the best you can bend them into circles and they dont bend and cant rust!!!!

[pwrfool]

Good to hear you didn't have to pay!

And Donut it's the same here.  Our stuff is rusting faster (in the last few years) than ever before.
  The current trend is to pay the registration, pay the insurance (get the card) drop the insurance, and drive.  Our DMV also gets notified but unless the police stop them for something else and run them through the system they go un-noticed.  If asked to show proof of insurance they have a card with a valid date.  Our town is not real big but we still tow 3-4 a week for no insurance,no current registration, forged insp stickers,or un-fit for road use. Money is getting tight everywhere and people are trying to play the system for all it's worth.

[gold84gmc]

ya so today i quickly scraped the loose rust off the inside of my frame and the axle and parts of the brake lines and then undercoated/painted them, to make them look better, and just temporarily put metal tape over the rocker panels and painted over them, fixed the lights and blinkers, so now all i have to do is fix the control arms. and i was looking at the left one (the one with the bad bushing) and i noticed a small hole in it so i took a screw driver and took out the other rotted metal and now theres a hole a little smaller than a dime....so im going to replace that side.....are these one of those things that if you change one side you should change the other side too?

[pwrfool]

We have replaced just one lots of times on accident repairs etc. You just have to find a better one in a junkyard.  But check the other side bushings real good too, remember it's probably the same age and mileage as the bad one.