Help! emissions test failed!

[bennyboy]

earier in the year i swapped my M40 for a M42 lump. The M40 did have a cat and lambda but the M42 has neither. #the natural idle doesnt look that far out but the fast idle is 0.16 over. is this a lot? The car had been sat for a while with no exhaust manifold on and does not run quite as smooth as when i first got the engine. could i get the 0.16 with a service and maybe some fuel treatment? Cheers!

[bennyboy]

[Ant]

Hmmm, so the government failed your car for being lower than the required emissions regs....

0.85 is richer than 1, 1.19 is leaner !! HC ppm, is very good too.

when was the car built ( not registered !! ) ? I assume you have no cat or 02 sensor now fitted dude ?

if you have the M40 type afm, you could richen her up a tad with the air bypass screw( close it up 1/2 turn)

HTH

[monkey]

if your car is 1992 you dont need a cat test for the mot . it is poss that you have an air leak in the exhaust witch is causing the wrong reading tis will affect lamda

[gcorky]

cars after aug 92 do need cat test?

[monkey]

i think eary 1993 i will find out when i go to work in the morning

[monkey]

if your m42 engine was from an earyer car you will not need a cat test anyway but i dont now how you would prove tha to your m/o/t tester

[gcorky]

i think eary 1993 i will find out when i go to work in the morning

cats were required aug92 on...so some jplates have them and some dont.....mot tester should have entered the correct engine code to gas test?(the engine fitted)


quite easy to prove as the i.s ceased production in 90/91 as did all e30s exept cab and touring which didnt have the m42.


just spotted this:


According to an email sent to me by the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency, the agency responsible for the running of the MOT test in the UK, catalytic converters are not compulsary on any vehicle first used before 1st August 1995.

This means that no Sierra built for the UK market is legally obliged to have the dreaded "cat". However, working in conjunction with the VIA and in anticipation of the 1995 regulatory date, motor manufacturers started to introduce catalytic convertors to UK cars built after the 1st August 1992 and some Sierras may fall into this bracket - but not many you will be pleased to know.

With the sale of new cars without a catalytic convertor prohibited by law after 31st December 1992, the last Sierra actually rolled off the production line well before the end of 1992 in preperation for this and the launch of the Mondeo in January 1993.

So how does this affect you? Based on the facts supplied by the VIA and how this equates to "real life" Sierra ownership, I believe you can throw the cat on your Sierra away completely.

According to the VIA, MOT test stations conduct the catalytic converter emissions test for vehicles first used between 1st August 1992 and 31st July 1995 only if there is an exact match between the vehicles engine code / VIN and that held in the emissions analyser database. If there is any doubt, or an exact match is not present, the standard emissions test must be performed which allows for 3.50% CO and 1200ppm HC.

My question is how does Mr. MOT tester find an exact match when he cannot prove the engine code of the engine in the vehicle? DOHC's have theirs printed on a sticker on the front timing chain cover, just to the right of the distributor - which falls off after a steam clean or with age! - and the CFi CVH engines allegedly have their codes stamped on the front face of the block, next to the alternator bracket - yet I have never seen one, despite cleaning off the years of accumulated oily crud and corrosion of several CFi CVH engined cars.

True there is a section on the VIN plate for an engine code to be stamped, but it is a well known joke to anyone that has tried using this information at a Ford dealer's parts counter that it often doesn't agree with the official Ford records or even with what may be fitted to the car. Think Mr. MOT tester is going to have any more luck, assuming he is bothered enough to try in the first place?

However, there is always one exception to the rule - to which the VIA states that "Vehicles fitted with a different engine are tested according to which is older, engine or vehicle" but, if you are catching my drift, the onus is on you to prove this is the case, not the vehicle examiner!

For information, cars built and first used after 1st August 1995, are either cat tested against vehicle specific information obtained from their engine code, or if there is not match between this and analyser database, the general cat limits of 0.3% CO and 200ppm. So sorry to all you Mondeo owners - even if you have an older car, as your car was designed with a catalytic convertor in the first place, you will be tested to this basic limit and are stuck with it!

[bennyboy]

on the VOSA failure sheet the 'Approximate date of first use' is december 30th 1992. i know that they are done on computer now so will the engine number, date of reg and other stuff come up when they put the VIN in? I only got the log book back on saturday. maybe DVLA system not updated yet?

Coming back to the AFM. when i put the car back together i cant be sure that i used the AFM off the new engine.

ALSO! the car has benn sitting for some time but i have been running it a few times a week. BUT in the last few days it sometimes struggles to start. turns for ages but coughs into life with a bit of throttle.

i think a service could help it run better even though the oil is still like new!

[gcorky]

i would check your plugs-gap,just looking at natural idle co reading.

your engine is m42 which certainly wasnt first used in 92 tell the tester...engine is older than car.

[bennyboy]

Just been to RAC site to check their data search and the manufacture date is december 30th 1992!

[gcorky]

However, there is always one exception to the rule - to which the VIA states that "Vehicles fitted with a different engine are tested according to which is older, engine or vehicle" but, if you are catching my drift, the onus is on you to prove this is the case, not the vehicle examiner!


tell them the info on the replacement engine!

[bennyboy]

Thanks for this!!! i'll give them a ring in the morning and see what they say. I'll post tomorrow and let ya know! Cheers!

[bennyboy]

Spoke to guy at car garage today and he says that the emissions have to be to the standards required for a car of that year. so looks like need a cat?

[gcorky]

tricky one,i would argue the case or speak to vosa direct....

[gcorky]

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/reposit ... 2-2002.pdf



your man is wrong ,theres no database match so its a non cat test...as i said this is vosa...


as i said this is non cat test 3.5%co and 1200 ppm hc...tell him ,print off the above pdf....open your plug gaps up too,check air filter.

sounds like hes being a dick...or tell him youll appeal to vosa ,he wont want any points!!

[bennyboy]

i might cut section out of exhaust, get new pipe made, get the M40 cat modded to fit in the cut out section and change when test comes round. sound like a plan?

[gcorky]

should be ok if you just want mot done and dusted,but you shouldnt have too.

[Brianmoooore]

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/reposit ... 2-2002.pdf

So anything in this year range with a ground off engine number will get the 3.5% 1200ppm test?

[gcorky]

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/reposit ... 2-2002.pdf

So anything in this year range with a ground off engine number will get the 3.5% 1200ppm test?

hahah....suppose so but point is its an m42 1.8 was only fitted to 1990 and this engine does not need cat test...

[Brianmoooore]

[
its an m42 1.8 was only fitted to 1990 and this engine does not need cat test...

Agree this one should get through on the age of engine, but I've got a growing collection of post Aug. '92 tourings here....