Failed Emissions Test

alisonj

Have a 2000 VW Golf. Failed NCT on Emissions. Readings below:

Lambda .97 (limit not between .97 and 1.03) PASSED
CO 1.41vol% (limit above .30%) FAILED
HC 286ppm (limit above 200ppm) FAILED

Had a garage look at it and they said it is burning oil and needs the engine replaced. We don't want to do this. Just an inexpensive car for nipping around town to do the shopping, a few errands, and maybe a weekend trip to the beach (not far).

Have heard of this Dipetane....any use to us in this case? Any suggestions on what to be asking/looking for with regards to repair suggestions by the garage? I can't get a sense as to why the whole engine needs replaced.

History: We've only had the car since September and really only been driving it regularly the last 2 months. The car has been regularly serviced, including regular oil changes (per the records given to us), though it appears the last owner missed the last one, so it would be do an oil change.

Agricola

Engine replacement in a 15 year old car worth less an €1000! Now Ive officially heard it all. Discount that for a start.
Change the air filter before next test. Get the bottle of dipetane and add some every time you get fuel for the next couple of weeks. It's not an instant fix like the additive for diesel engines, you need to drive the car for a a few days to get it through the system. On test day, leave the car running in the park before it goes in for the test to keep the temp up. That will probably be enough in itself to get it through.

My catastrophic emissions were on an old Mini so I can't say what else would need looking at. Mine needed carburettor adjustment. Someone will chime in soon anyway. Possibly the lambda sensor changed.....

Alanstrainor

Probably a decent idea to drive the nuts off it on the way to the test centre to blow out the cobwebs. (Do so when the engine temp is up to normal).

rex-x

Agricola wrote: »

Engine replacement in a 15 year old car worth less an €1000! Now Ive officially heard it all. Discount that for a start.
Change the air filter before next test. Get the bottle of dipetane and add some every time you get fuel for the next couple of weeks. It's not an instant fix like the additive for diesel engines, you need to drive the car for a a few days to get it through the system. On test day, leave the car running in the park before it goes in for the test to keep the temp up. That will probably be enough in itself to get it through.

My catastrophic emissions were on an old Mini so I can't say what else would need looking at. Mine needed carburettor adjustment. Someone will chime in soon anyway. Possibly the lambda sensor changed.....

This is most likely a 1.4 petrol golf, notorious for burning oil, a new engine would be the only fix for that and looking at the high HC readings it appears to be likely.

alisonj

rex-x wrote: »

This is most likely a 1.4 petrol golf, notorious for burning oil, a new engine would be the only fix for that and looking at the high HC readings it appears to be likely.

Yes, a 1.4 petrol.

Thanks for your reply. I do understand that a new engine is the only fix....just wonder if there isn't something that we can do to keep the car running and pass the NCT without so much expense. We don't use the car enough to justify the expense of the new engine. What do you think?

rex-x

alisonj wrote: »

Yes, a 1.4 petrol.

Thanks for your reply. I do understand that a new engine is the only fix....just wonder if there isn't something that we can do to keep the car running and pass the NCT without so much expense. We don't use the car enough to justify the expense of the new engine. What do you think?

People have had some success using thicker oil and an additive but really this is a band aid at best, do some googling and you will find reccomendations of an oil to use but keep in mind it may not work

Agricola

rex-x wrote: »

This is most likely a 1.4 petrol golf, notorious for burning oil, a new engine would be the only fix for that and looking at the high HC readings it appears to be likely.

Would a high HC reading not indicate the engine not properly burning all of the fuel its being fed? I had very high reading and it was a combination of carb adjustment and dipetane that vastly reduced it. The engine never, and still doesnt burn a drop of oil. The other thing that affects this is ignition timing. My car's timing had been retarded by the previous owner in order to drop the emissions for passing NCT's. When I set the timing up with a gun, it also contributed to the fail. Luckily having sorted the carb, the car passes the emissions test with correct timing....

Anyway, even if it is an oil burning issue causing this, I meant you can discount an engine replacement because it would be madness considering the value of the car. If that's whats required you might as well just scrap it and buy another cheap car with a clean NCT.

John T Carroll

alisonj wrote: »

Have a 2000 VW Golf. Failed NCT on Emissions. Readings below:

Lambda .97 (limit not between .97 and 1.03) PASSED
CO 1.41vol% (limit above .30%) FAILED
HC 286ppm (limit above 200ppm) FAILED

Had a garage look at it and they said it is burning oil and needs the engine replaced. We don't want to do this. Just an inexpensive car for nipping around town to do the shopping, a few errands, and maybe a weekend trip to the beach (not far).

Have heard of this Dipetane....any use to us in this case? Any suggestions on what to be asking/looking for with regards to repair suggestions by the garage? I can't get a sense as to why the whole engine needs replaced.

History: We've only had the car since September and really only been driving it regularly the last 2 months. The car has been regularly serviced, including regular oil changes (per the records given to us), though it appears the last owner missed the last one, so it would be do an oil change.

Can you determine yourself exactly how much oil it is burning?, make sure the car is on the level, top it up to exactly to the high level mark, write down the mileage, run it for say 500 miles and then measure as accurately as you can the amount required to bring the level back up to the high level mark. There is no reason whatsoever (from an oil burning point of view) that it should fail the NCT emission tests even if the oil consumption is as high as 750 miles per Litre, if its as high as 500 miles/Litre then I would be a bit worried. I will send you a PM regarding my familys 2000 Bora and my method of passing the NCT. (Do that oil consumption test first though before spending any money).

cletus

Well now we all want to know how you're bora passed the test

John T Carroll

cletus wrote: »

Well now we all want to know how you're bora passed the test

Its in one of my posts..... 07/09/2014 (motor) post, I just added in the PM to Alisonj to ensure that the crankcase oil separator is not blocked by doing a simple test via the breather hose.

alisonj

Thanks for all the ideas and input. Still not quite sure what we'll do. Did have a local garage check it out for us today (no charge!). They say it will either be the catalytic converter or the engine, their guess on the engine (piston ring or something) but agree that there's no point in doing a engine repair on a car this age. They did note that the car is in really good condition, save for this engine problem.

Someone else recommended a full oil, filter change + additive to the oil and petrol (it is overdue for an oil change). Seemed to think this was a good way of getting through the NCT. Asked the garage today, they said it might work but I couldn't tell if their lack of enthusasiam was due to lack of confidence that it would work or that they just didn't want to recommend a "band-aid" fix.

They did tell me that we'd need new breather hoses and it was clearly blowing blue smoke when they tested it.

We're either going to get rid of it or try the oil change thing. Not doing an engine repair/replacement for sure. Anyone have any thoughts as to the likelihood of the oil change + additives working?

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Just do the oil and filter change, throw in the additives and try it one last time. You haven't much to lose.

Cosmo K

No amount of Dipetane will bring the CO level below the limit. Its a waste of money.

John T Carroll

If you don't want to spend (waste?) money topping it up (or changing the oil) to the high level just note now what the level is and throw in a half or a full litre of oil and see how many miles it does before its down to the original level. If it equates to anything less than say 400 or 500 miles/litre then even though I hate to say it I'm afraid that the blue smoke from the breather more than likely equals to a white flag flying from the exhaust.