Need BIG help regarding MOT failure!!!

petrolhead69

the emissions are pretty close, you might get away with an italian tuneup, thrash the nads off it on the way to the test centre get it up to the redline to burn the crap out the cat. i`ve seen first hand fuel system treatments like forte turn a marginal fail into a pass. wouldnt hurt to put some v-power fuel into it. next suspect would be the lambda sensor.

mikey72

Have you checked the oil level?
If it is the oil light coming on, top it up first.
Has the emission light ever come on, if the emissions are high it should have done.
Mass air flow and throttle bodies sometimes play up, but usually cause a misfire though, most emission faults do, but are recorded in the ecu for diagnostics.

veggyboy

Might sound like a silly question, but can you smell eggs when running the car ? I ask because that is usually a good sign of the cat failing. Go to your local car assesory shop and ask them to recomend a mobile mechanic and yoou should get the brake pipes done for around £100. Dont sell it and buy and old banger that could cost more in the long run.
As for the oil light coming on that is proably down to needing an oil change (it gets thick after a while and doesn't flow so easy).

jeannieblue

petrolhead69 wrote: »

the emissions are pretty close, you might get away with an italian tuneup, thrash the nads off it on the way to the test centre get it up to the redline to burn the crap out the cat. i`ve seen first hand fuel system treatments like forte turn a marginal fail into a pass. wouldnt hurt to put some v-power fuel into it. next suspect would be the lambda sensor.

I'm with you on the forte treatment - better than redex! Generally works well on diesels. And Cataclean is also a good one to run through your system - well, the cars system that is.... need to put it in and then go for a good drive.

I'd be more concerned about the labour costs of the brake pipes - they can be time consuming, alot were listed, but don't know how long for this particular vehicle.

patman99

My diesel Astra failed the last mot on emmissions (over 9%), put-in some injector cleaner, then thrashed it down the A12 in 3rd gear, did the job wonderfuly.

If you find a good local mechanic, you will find him invaluable.

Brake-pipe corrossion has to be expected on a car this old, my car is 2 years older than yours, and I have had to replace the wishbone, o/s/f suspension leg & rear coil spring and shock, but having had another mechanic do the front brakes and discs, I know the car will not need any more work for the next mot.

At the end of the day, once the work is done, you may go another 5 years before you need to carry-out any more repairs.

anewman

If manufacturers used Kunifer pipes instead of lacquered steel then they would never rust. It's yet another of those cost cutting measures manufacturers use when making cars, Kunifer doesn't cost all that much more than a steel pipe. I think Volvo use Kunifer?

If you ever have an option when getting pipes replaced I would go for Kunifer over Copper. Copper will corrode over time, and I believe Copper brake pipes are illegal in some countries, but fine in the UK for some reason.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

the fact the garage wont quote a price as they may find more problems with the car baffle's me thats what an mot is for is to find problems regarding fitness isnt it? i would ask them to quote you on the parts that are on the test sheet, and if it is the lambda sensor (emmissions related part) a live ECU read would determin that if your ecu or their equipment has that feature. as soon as they quote a price including parts and labour tell them that you authorise (or maybe not if its not within your budget) the work to be done to value of the quote parts and labour and not to exceed the agreed amount.

poodledoodledoo

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

the fact the garage wont quote a price as they may find more problems with the car baffle's me thats what an mot is for is to find problems regarding fitness isnt it? i would ask them to quote you on the parts that are on the test sheet, and if it is the lambda sensor (emmissions related part) a live ECU read would determin that if your ecu or their equipment has that feature. as soon as they quote a price including parts and labour tell them that you authorise (or maybe not if its not within your budget) the work to be done to value of the quote parts and labour and not to exceed the agreed amount.

Well this is what we thought :think:
Have thought things over during the weekend and have come to the conclusion that we should either get an independent mechanic to look at it or take it to another garage.

Green.Lander

I have recently px a 2001 version for £1500 lucky to get a few hundew pounds unless you get a mot, sorry.