Car failed NCT (emissions)

seachto7

I have a 99 VW Bora,on its last legs,uses a lot of oil.
It failed the NCT the other day on emissions. Anyone know of a mechanic around Limk who could get it ready for the retest. Is it a case the engine could be f**ked, if you'll pardon my language...

mickdw

yes if its burning loads of oil.

seachto7

so do you reckon its a case of driving it to the scrapyard..??

DHFrame

seachto7 wrote: »

so do you reckon its a case of driving it to the scrapyard..??

might find this page useful if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_consumption.htm

Sounds like the repair could cost more than you're car is worth. Shame there isn't a government scrappage scheme that can give £1500 like there is in UK. But this is Ireland. It's like 1989 here.

seachto7

seachto7 wrote: »

I have a 99 VW Bora,on its last legs,uses a lot of oil.
It failed the NCT the other day on emissions. Anyone know of a mechanic around Limk who could get it ready for the retest. Is it a case the engine could be f**ked, if you'll pardon my language...

If its a 1.4 16v then more than likely yes..they really are a crap engine!

seachto7

yeah it's a 1.4 ... shur I'll do the retest and see how it goes...

wonder how much a scrapyard would give you? Or would they give you anything...

Quigs Snr

My old 99 Bora 1.4 has been burning oil since the day I got it. Common problem with the valve stem seals or something like that. The consumption is steady, doesn't get any worse and doesn't appear to impact the car (5 years nearly now). Passed 3 NCT's in that timeframe. Is the emissions problem due to an exhaust issue perhaps, did they specify ?

seachto7

I don't really know how to read the NCT result chart properly. I could post up what it says later if someone could decipher it...
I hear there is something you can put through the engine...?

mikewest

Does STP and an Italian tune up sound like an option anybody ?

Darragh29

Is it not time we put up a sticky on these NCT emissions issues????

mcauley

Darragh29 wrote: »

Is it not time we put up a sticky on these NCT emissions issues????

+1

mikewest

mikewest wrote: »

Does STP and an Italian tune up sound like an option anybody ?

No, cause it doesnt work,

celica1994

im just wondering if due to the high number of people failing the nct on emmisions maybe its about time they relax theyre co limits they test for, like my celica is failing the emissions test but being honest there aint alot of smoke coming out the back of it lol

seachto7

well, I ended up putting too much oil in at one stage, so maybe I'm paying for it now...

run_Forrest_run

the old emissions chestnut, the wife's car failed on emissions, booked the re-test after taking no remedial/investigative actions and guess what, it passed:rolleyes:

quarryman

can someone explain what causes one car to burn more oil than others? And if and engine is on its last legs why it does it.

tony71187

few tips i know for lowering emissions are:
1.turn down the fuel if possible through a regulator.
2.make sure the landa and 02 sensor are working correctly in the cat.
3.funnily enough,make sure the heaters are blasting out hot air as it helps.
4.fuel injectors can also be a problem.

hope this helps

AngelinaJolie

I have a 99 VW Bora and it keeps failing emissions - that's with a new Lambda and Cat Convertor! Well to be fair it just barely passed lambda today so that's not a problem anymore but CO is 1.03% (it should be .03%) and HC is 288ppm and it should be under 200ppm!
What to do, What to do!!
It has burned oil since I got it but nothing too major, I think.
I called the garage and they suggested that there was a lot of 'gunk' in the breather hoses or something and it would need a full service, but having spent a wad load of money on it already, I'm not feeling happy about spending more, obviously.
Interesting that two others have had similar experiences with the Bora.
I'm finished with VWs after this - from my experience they are pricey cars with pricey problems!

celica1994

generally a few few things can cause a car to burn oil but i think the most common is, where the pistons go up and down in an engine, theres a sleve between the cylenders and the pistons, the oil is thrown up against it to lubricate the pistons as they go up and down, the sleves can wear down, this causes the oil to leak in between them causing the moving parts to burn off the oil, in turn, the burnt oil causes extra smoke hense adding to your co2 emmisions, a prime example is when ya see a car going down the road and its pissing white smoke out the back of it, thats cause the person has overfilled the car with oil and the cars burning it off like crazy, too much oil is alot more dangerous to an engine then too little oil cause as far as i know the engines pressure will blow out the cars seal and gaskets, i might be wrong but thats as far as i know

kona

celica1994 wrote: »

, the sleves can wear down, this causes the oil to leak in between them causing the moving parts to burn off the oil, in turn, the burnt oil causes extra smoke hense adding to your co2 emmisions,

Ignition causes the oil to be burnt off, and its adds to your hydrocarbons (HC) reading. The NCT doesnt check for co2 its co. A low co reading usually points to a weak mixture, whereas a high co points to a rich mixture, low co and high HC could indicate that the engine isnt burning fuel efficientley at low RPM anyways.

celica1994 wrote: »

, a prime example is when ya see a car going down the road and its pissing white smoke out the back of it,

White smoke out the back is steam, either due to a head gasket failure, or simply condensation in the exhaust, burning off when you start on a cold morning.
Blue smoke would be oil, You can also see a residue on the car from burnt oil, next time you see a scanger mobile V-tec, chances are you will see a black mess around the exhaust.

celica1994 wrote: »

, thats cause the person has overfilled the car with oil and the cars burning it off like crazy, too much oil is alot more dangerous to an engine then too little oil cause as far as i know the engines pressure will blow out the cars seal and gaskets, i might be wrong but thats as far as i know

True, but IMO too little oil is worse, big difference between a few seals and a seized engine and melted pistons.

AngelinaJolie

Yea the Bora passed the emissions! It turned out to be a faulty coil pack that was causing the problem. Apparently VWs and Audis are notorious for this problem