dannybgoode Posted 3 June Report Posted 3 June Of course the happiness could change however... Took my new toy in for its MOT and whilst it's failed it's only in emissions which were a little over, the VSC warning light which definitely wasn't on until the test and a headlight. The chap at the garage (who I know pretty well - decent bloke) said overall the car is a good 'un and with a bit of fettling he's convinced he'll get it through on a re-test. Assuming he does and that it only costs me an oil and plug change I'll be delighted. No obvious corrosion or anything else fundamentally a serious problem so fingers crossed Ginny is back on the road in the next day or two. 1
Xanadu Posted 3 June Report Posted 3 June 55 minutes ago, dannybgoode said: No obvious corrosion... It is mentioned on the previous mot, so keep an eye on it. Front Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Nearside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Offside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) 1
dannybgoode Posted 3 June Author Report Posted 3 June 9 minutes ago, Xanadu said: It is mentioned on the previous mot, so keep an eye on it. Front Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Nearside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Offside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Yes I checked the MOT history before I went to view the car and asked the seller about that. He thought that tester was being very over zealous and had taken some videos of the underside and it looked fine. I've also had a look since and I didn't see anything obvious. I also trust the garage I use and specifically asked them and they have no concerns either. Of course it is something I'll keep a close eye on anyway but I'm happy enough that any corrosion if present is very minor. It also highlights just how subjective elements of the MOT test are. One tester sees fit to note something. Another says something is so minor they don't see the need to mention it even as a observatory note. 2
CheltGirl Posted 3 June Report Posted 3 June That all sounds encouraging for you. Is the retest this week?
dannybgoode Posted 3 June Author Report Posted 3 June 1 hour ago, CheltGirl said: That all sounds encouraging for you. Is the retest this week? The garage is going to try and sort it tomorrow for me, if not Thursday. They just need to squeeze the service in and see what the computer says about the VSC warning. I'll be sure to update once I know where it's heading.
slybunda Posted 4 June Report Posted 4 June 19 hours ago, Xanadu said: It is mentioned on the previous mot, so keep an eye on it. Front Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Nearside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Offside Front Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)) Those arms are an easy replacement item so nothing to worry about there. Getting good quality replacement would be the biggest task. Can't believe my arms are 25 years old and over 90k on them and bushes and ball joint still good. On my ford they be lucky to last 10k miles
dannybgoode Posted 4 June Author Report Posted 4 June 2 hours ago, slybunda said: Those arms are an easy replacement item so nothing to worry about there. According to my garage that's nothing working with them at the moment. It was a note on previous MOTs. Looking at the history the last 3 or 4 mentioned it but my chap didn't think they even need to mention it as it's such minor surface rust. Hopefully they'll be able to do the footie and plug change tomorrow and get her through
bazz54 Posted 6 June Report Posted 6 June The difference between the most zealous tester and a reasonable one can be enormous! Some will create an advisory out of surface rust on heavy-section metal which would be good for another decade... or two. 1
dannybgoode Posted 10 June Author Report Posted 10 June Garage just called. They've spent a good few hours on it and still can't get the CO low enough and they're convinced it is the cat. I'm happy enough for them to get a new one on - I was expecting to have to pay something out so all good assuming this does actually fix it 🤣
slybunda Posted 10 June Report Posted 10 June My fiesta struggled with emissions since it's not driven much and tends to short trip a lot too. Emissions was high at mot time till I got in the driver's seat and held engine at 5k rpm for just over a minute solid. Could see on the machine Instantly the point where the cat ignited and emissions tanked right down and passed easily. Everyone said I needed a cat, nop genuine one always gets the job done. I'd be bit Sus if they want to take your Celica cat. It's gonna be worth more than any aftermarket replacement they put on. Make sure u get the genuine one back, Although these days I think cat value has dropped big time, can't remember the last time I heard about cat theft
dannybgoode Posted 11 June Author Report Posted 11 June 2 hours ago, slybunda said: Emissions was high at mot time till I got in the driver's seat and held engine at 5k rpm for just over a minute solid. Could see on the machine Instantly the point where the cat ignited and emissions tanked right down and passed easily. They've done everything and yes, they have over-revved it to try and get it through, ruled everything else out they can think of. Put in cat clean, took it for a blast, full oil, filter and plug change, checked the MAF etc. I trust the garage 100% - they wouldn't be after a 23yo cat with 108k on it for a model of car they don't get through the doors. Used them for years and they've always been dead straight.
Xanadu Posted 11 June Report Posted 11 June 2 hours ago, dannybgoode said: ...they wouldn't be after a 23yo cat with 108k on it for a model of car they don't get through the doors. Sly' probably didn't mean they would reuse it on another car, but they might be tempted to sell it for the scrap value which used to be around £200. 1
dannybgoode Posted Wednesday at 05:52 Author Report Posted Wednesday at 05:52 2 hours ago, Xanadu said: Sly' probably didn't mean they would reuse it on another car, but they might be tempted to sell it for the scrap value which used to be around £200. Ah I see. However I think then he is implying that it doesn't need a cat and they're swapping one worth a bit to sell for scrap for a cheap non-OEM one which doesn't really need to be done. They've given it plenty of runs in the machine and it's not passing and they've now ruled out everything else they can think of. There is a possibility when the exhaust was done the cat was knocked out too so it might just be the casing that's still there. The kid I bought it off said it still had the cat but who knows. Anyway, ultimately it's not the most expensive job and the car isn't rotting and needing sub-frames or sussie arms etc and I factored some bills into the purchase price so I'm still happy. I'll have what is otherwise a nice T Sport on the road for less than £3k, which looking around the second hand market, is fair. And looking at the MOT history of most of them, particularly the cheaper ones, they all have corrosion advisories and other stuff that will need doing so pretty much any will need some work at some point soon
slybunda Posted Wednesday at 06:02 Report Posted Wednesday at 06:02 AHH, hollowed out cat that could explain it. Old school mod for more powaaa
dannybgoode Posted Wednesday at 06:04 Author Report Posted Wednesday at 06:04 Just now, slybunda said: AHH, hollowed out cat that could explain it. Old school mod for more powaaa Could be that. Don't know yet. It has a Powerflow cat-back exhaust on so it may have been done at the same time
_Chris_ Posted Wednesday at 07:50 Report Posted Wednesday at 07:50 If lambda is spot on then high CO is likely to be cat itself or an exhaust blow on the engine side of the cars lambda sensor. It can also be imbalence between cylinders caused by injector issues or air leak in one of the intake runners but that's less likely. With unknown history and if there's no obvious exhaust blow I would start with cat. 1
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