Hi
My 1989 18 Mondeo Turbo Diesel has failed the "Exhaust Analyzer" test for it`s MOT.
I`ve been told to take it on a long run , driving it at high revs to "clear the exhaust out".
I understand the reasoning behind this , but should I be trying/changing/adjusting anything else to get it to pass?
Thanks
Chas
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If you remove the air filter element from its housing this allows more oxygen into the combustion process and there will be less soot produced. This however will only produce a minor reduction in the levels.
Then refit the element after the MOT.
Colin
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But it will succeed in drawing in tons of crap for the bottom of the air filter housing and associated pipework! This will do the engine and turbo no good whatsoever!
D
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This was dealt with some time ago on this site. I had problems with my diesel. The solution was indeed the italien tune-up! The soot builds up because you drive gently. Going for a twenty mile trip at high speed clears all the crud out. Got me through the MOT. Good idea is to add an additive to the diesel fuel. HJ recommended Millers Diesel power.
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DO NOT drive your car with the air cleaner out. Put in a new one. It's probably overdue anyway. Make sure you have 'City' diesel in your tank. Get a bottle of Redex diesel and put in about three times the recommended quantity. Go for a hard motorway drive, keeping the revs fairly high. Make sure the MOT tester does the test at the correct temperature. All the best!
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Cheapest most effective way i know is to put in central heating oil,the more the merrier,burns very cleanly,but at least 50/50 mix.This will pass,but dont run on it forever its illegal and there is not enough lubricity in it.
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Reference heating oil.
I've been looking at this site:
www.ukmd.co.uk/Mecatech/
Claims you can make your own 'white diesel' with the necessary lubricants.
I guess the base oil is paraffin/heating oil.
Understand you would be obliged to pay the excise duty on it.
How is this policed?
Any views?
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Moosh,
turns out its on the verge of a con trick to part you from £35
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I'm not a chemist, but is diesel not just paraffin with lubricating oils etc.?
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Not at all - diesel comes from a different refraction level in the distillation process and is heavier and less volatile
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Which central heating oil is similar to diesel? Is it the 35 second oil or the 28 second? One is for Wallflame type boiler and the other for pressure jets?
Cheers
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John's advice contains everything you need to do, ie everything I do/advise to get a constant customer car pass rate for diesel tests.
David
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I have followed HJs advice & use Millers Diesel Superplus & so far so good.
I must admit that I hate to make the diesel sing at full chat, even in the intermediate gears but it does give it a really good Spring Clean.
Simon
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When the method of testing emissions for diesel cars was changed about 3 or more years ago to the method of running the engine up to maximum revs three times to get a reading there was much controversy generated.
There were lots of cases of damage to the engine particularly with cam belts snapping. The tests were suspended for a short while but were then reintroduced on a similar level. Diesel car magazine ran stories of the horrors of testing in this fashion for many months stating among other things that this was a totally unrealistic test for emissions in relation to real life driving and should be stopped.
Having two diesels in the household I have always made sure that the garage which does my MOT does not use this method and adopts a sensible method.
One of them I used simply gave a few gentle bursts and passed it.
He has now retired and the one I went to yesterday who has taken his business over when I asked him about using the full revs method said he did not use the recognised method as he was not going to risk losing customers by blowing their engines up. He connected the analyser to the exhaust pipe and gently increased revs to get his readings which were OK. "Thats the way people drive mate" he says "not by thrashing the engine to pieces.
The moral of this is to find a sensible test garage and not to place your car in the hands of some spotty faced youth who takes a delight in making the car scream its head off and says "well thats what I'm supposed to do.
ALvin
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Paraffin/kerosene used to be supplied for domestic heating systems, as Class E oil I think.
The heating oil used as the base for diesel is different stuff altogether, supplied as Class D heating oil, I think. You can run diesel engines on this, but it doesn't have the additives which are added to the diesel fuel & it won't do your injection pump any good. It's also dyed and has chemical tracers in it which linger in the fuel tank for a very long time. If Customs and Excise catch you the penalties are severe, I believe. I wouldn't put it in a car.
You can buy drums of diesel for non-road use, in generators and such engines. C&E are alert to anyone who purchases the stuff without owning a trawler, farm, hospital or similar.
I'm a bit vague on ther class E & D bit. Does anyone know the BS which defines these categoriues, I've been trying to find it recently?
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Your response is puzzling ? The resulting official fuel is dyed red to signify excise tax is unpaid. You make it sound like you are purchasing illicit drugs, liquor etc.
Quote "C&E are alert to anyone who purchases the stuff without owning a trawler, farm, hospital or similar."
Such fuel is quite legal to purchase.
The legality is not the purchase but the use.
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Ummmmm, Mr Moosh - you are talking pap. My brother, Dave, or David Lacey as he likes to be know, bought red diesel for use in the various space heaters we have in our garages at home. However, he used MY 205 GRD to pick it up, while I was living in London.
A few months later, HM Customs & Excise turn up with an 18T rigid Iveco-Ford mobile-lab - in a village nestling in an area of outstanding natural beauty in rural Somerset. My Mother was not amused. "What would the neighbours think?"
What u talk is absolute rubbish and not from experience. HM C&E traced the cheques and then tank dipped every diesel vehicle at those premises, which happened to be my poxy little 205 only. HM C&E are *very* alert to whoever purchases the "stuff" and will follow every possible lead, regardless of their trade.
Try driving a Land Rover from Simonsbath on Exmoor to Taunton Cattle Market on a Saturday and see how many dip-points you pass. I think you will then realise how stringent the Govt. are at claiming their taxes!
To the point - my 306 DTurbo got the living hell thrashed out of it at every MOT but fair play - it had the lowest smoke rating ever seen in its lifetime (4 yrs) Why? Because I took it above 3-4,000rpm on a regular basis. Diesels need to be worked to stop them choking up and even with modern day engines that does NOT mean pottering arouind at max 2,000 rpm.
Before an MOT I would whazz down the motorway at 4,000 rpm for about 10 miles. The engine would be hot and oil spot on - MOT fine, thank you.
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Spot on Guy - In fact, C&E have even taken to setting up a dipping point on one of the main roads out of the city centre of Manchester so it isn't just confined to country areas! They always pick a point where they are hidden til you're virtually on them so there is no spotting them and pulling off the road/turning round...
Bet your mum loved them turning up on your doorstep like that... :-)
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Apologies to all for my earlier vague, and incorect, reply.The information is in the CIBSE Guide C, for the anoraks amongst us. The fuel types are defined in BS 2869, but I don?t have a copy.
Class C1 is a distillate paraffin type fuel used in free-standing, flueless domestic burners. Class C2 is a distillate kerosene type fuel, used for vaporizing and small atomizing burners. This is 28 second fuel. I thought paraffin was kerosene?
Class D is a distillate fuel, generally known as gas oil or 35 second fuel, and is supplied for use in domestic and commercial heating installations in larger atomizing burners. This is used as the ?base? for the manufacture of diesel, which is therefore subject to seasonal price variations. A diesel engine will run on this. Excise duty should be paid if the engine is used on a public road. The oil supplied for heating is dyed and has chemical markers in it.
Classes E, F and G fuels are residual (what?s left after the distillates are boiled off) or blended fuels and require preheating before combustion.
Using heating fuel as road fuel is exactly like illegal liquor, in the view of C&E, in that people are trying to evade paying the duty. My views were mainly based on a previous posting by David Lacey, but Guy has the story from the source.
C&E have more comprehensive powers to enter and search than the police; I was told this by a police officer. I've also been told that they can set up an office in your premises, at your expense, whilst they pursue their enquiries; I don't know if this is correct, but I wouldn't like to upset them.
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Very informative AFM.
Its a sad fact that C&E have wider powers than the police. I suspect the government is more interested in collecting dues/taxes than catching real criminals via the police!
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Hi all
Many thanks for the advice.
It looks as though it`s going to be the New filters/Millers or Redex and a high rev spin up the M1 to cure it.
I don`t know if I can convince the MOT tester about adopting the "no-high-revs" option of testing the emissions , as most of these blokes DO enjoy there little bit of power over the motorist , and I learnt a long time ago ( as I am a classic car enthusiast) , one secret about obtaining an MOT certificate is to let these blokes think that they are clever , and react with gratitude for their little "tips" or "advice " which they always seem to to offer !! ( ....crawling ???? ) or send the daughter in a mini-skirt down for the MOT !!!! ( I used to send the wife , but she is now classed as a " Classic Wife "....ie bodywork a bit frayed , but still polishes up well if necessary , and occasionally needs a bit of coaxing to get her going...usually "money" in her case !!!!!)
I`m not so sure about the heating oil/kerosene solutions , but thanks anyway.
This query certainly produced an informative response.
Thanks everyone, it is appreciated.
chasChas wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> My 1989 18 Mondeo Turbo Diesel has failed the "Exhaust
> Analyzer" test for it`s MOT.
> I`ve been told to take it on a long run , driving it at high
> revs to "clear the exhaust out".
> I understand the reasoning behind this , but should I be
> trying/changing/adjusting anything else to get it to pass?
> Thanks
>
> Chas
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1989, must be a pre-production Mondeo, Ford had only just dropped the Cortina then!
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Tom wrote:
>
> 1989, must be a pre-production Mondeo, Ford had only just
> dropped the Cortina then!
You`re the only one that spotted the "fat-finger" error.
It should have read 1998 of course.
WELL DONE !!
chas
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It is 35 second oil. Put "35 second" and 'oil' into a Google web search and see what it comes up with.
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1989, must be a pre-production Mondeo, Ford had only just dropped the Cortina then
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First MoT then !
I was suprised too.
However, read my commets on the Maestro MoT failure - just a couple higher on the list than your post.
It was deemed as unkind. i though that this was Honest John's back room - I was simply being 'Honest' - honest.
Tom
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