MOT... failure

[Toyney]

Its that time of year when i anxiously pace around waiting for the results of the mot, and suprise chuffing suprise, its a failure.

Ok, TonyN had warned me about the exhaust being buggered when he replaced the head last year ( from some off roading, previous owner had shunted the exhaust forward by reversing into something, twit)
theres also a broken ( note missing) anti roll bar bracket (easy to replace and cheap i think looking at milners parts list)
and that old cherry, the emissions failure too...

what i would like to know, is if i do the EGR mod and run some redex through it, should that clean it up enough to have better emissions? does the egr mod make a difference to improve or worsten the emissions? or does it just stop smoke? im not really sure after reading through lots of posts about the egr mod.

added: its the first time ive had a chance to have a proper look at my surf from the underneath and im quite pleased to say, its aint all bad really. only signs of corrosion is on the side step arms thingies. and im currently umming and arring over whether to remove them or not....

[Morr]

A number of items can help with your emissions...

Firstly, a clean air filter is a must.

Blocking the EGR will increase NoX emissions (which are not measured in the UK) but will decrease smoke and other emissions. This assumes that its working, ie if it has failed it has probably effectively blocked itself, so any action you might take would have no effect.

Using Redex or similar to help clean your injectors to ensure better combustion should help emissions (and economy). For best results rather than adding to tank as normally recommended, remove your fuel filter and empty it (or take the opportunity to fit a new one) add the whole bottle of redex to the filter and refit, prime the pump, start the engine and wait for the smoke to clear

Add some veg-oil to your fuel, if you haven't been doing this and are wary, just add 12 litres and top up the tank to full, this keeps you under 20% veg/diesel mix and will reduce all emissions (can sometimes worsen NoX, but they are not measured, all others will decrease).

Make sure the engine is properly warmed up before testing, take it for a good blast beforehand, this alone can often make a substantial difference.

[Toyney]

Im not sure about putting redex in the fuel filter, ive never taken it off myself. TonyN did that for me last time. Maybe its time i learnt....

or maybe i could chuck some redex in the tank anyway and hope that does the trick.... ive been quoted £120 all in, thats replacing the back pipe on the exhaust and the anti roll bar bracket.. and labour. sounds ok to me i think.

i shall be getting down to some redexing tonight.

the nice thing was the fella who owns the garage took me under the car and explained exactly what was wrong, and didnt treat me like a numpty "knows nothing about cars" woman... which is a refreshing change from some garages ive been to in the past.

[Morr]

Im not sure about putting redex in the fuel filter, ive never taken it off myself. TonyN did that for me last time. Maybe its time i learnt...

Its not usually a big or awkward job, ideally you will need a strap wrench or similar, otherwise basic tools will suffice, however it can be messy and sometimes ****** tight. If you don't fancy giving it a go, then run the fuel tank as low as you can before adding the full bottle of redex to the tank, then top up with just 1 gallon or so of diesel. This will help ensure you have the highest possible concentration of redex going thru the fuel lines. Drive it for about 20 miles (I'm assuming you get in excess of 20mpg) before you refuel as normal.

[Maverick]

The advice my pet MOT tester gave me last year for emissions was to give the motor a good hammering just before they test it. Mine had had two days rest, and the test station is 1/2 a mile, so he sent me for a drive cause it was a tad high when first tested. Fuel cleaner is also a good idea as some of them also have a fuel pump lubricant (so I've been told) and you are adivced to put some cleaner in every few tanks.

[Toyney]

maybe i need to take it for a bit of a wazz down the motorway, the garage is 6 doors away from my house, so not exactly far enough to get the engine hot.

surfs hardly been used in 2 weeks, now i just need to think of some place to go tonight... theres a good burger place at box hill....

[dirtydog]

stick it in second and red line it a few times