NCT fail diesel excessive smoke

carltonleon

So my 09 Ford Focus 1.6TDI failed its NCT on Excessive Smoke.
The limit was 1.50/m and my car was 2.030/m
Now I had put a full bottle of Stenadyne into a quarter tank of diesel and my wife drove it up the M1 on the morning of the test but I reckon she did not drive it hard enough. I have since given it a good drive and it is back on Thursday for a retest.
Should I put another treatment in the car the night before and then drive it in 3rd/ 4th up the M1 for a good drive on the morning of the test and also get the revs up to the red line before changing gear to blow any soot out of the system. I am not that well up on cars if I am honest so any advice appreciated !!!

Joe390

If you drive it in 3/ 4 gear a good bit before Thursday and also have it warm before the test like arrive 5 mins before hand so that it doesn't have time to cool down as diesels don't burn very clean when there cold producing more emissions. Bring it for a good drive of maybe an hour or so on the motorway and that'll also help clean itself out . I wouldn't bother adding anymore to the tank but that's just my opinion.
I wouldn't be red lining a diesel either instead let it warm up by driving normally and then when you get back to your house give it a few healthy revs 3/4 thousand revs . And have it up to 3/4 thousand revs when changing gear .
Best of luck Thursday! !!.

antodeco

I cant redline my diesel. Stops at about 4k revs and doesnt go any higher!

carltonleon

Ok, should I fill up the tank with diesel beforehand or leave it at quarter full or does it make any difference ?

Joe390

carltonleon wrote: »

Ok, should I fill up the tank with diesel beforehand or leave it at quarter full or does it make any difference ?

Won't make any difference , even though a fresh sup of diesel wouldn't hurt ,

Lewis_Benson

Does the 09 tdci not have a DPF?

honda boi

antodeco wrote: »

I cant redline my diesel. Stops at about 4k revs and doesnt go any higher!

Has it always never revved past 4k?

Gavman84

I reckon lash dipetane in it. That stuff is brill for cleaning up emissions. I had an 03 Focus tdci failed on emissions and I just threw a load of that in it and then got it good and hot from driving in lower gear higher revs on re test day and passed fine.

carltonleon

Gavman84 wrote: »

I reckon lash dipetane in it. That stuff is brill for cleaning up emissions. I had an 03 Focus tdci failed on emissions and I just threw a load of that in it and then got it good and hot from driving in lower gear higher revs on re test day and passed fine.

Is Dipetane for diesels as well, I thought that it was just for petrols ??

honda boi

carltonleon wrote: »

Is Dipetane for diesels as well, I thought that it was just for petrols ??

Yep I myself have used it on my 1.6tdci.

carltonleon

honda boi wrote: »

Yep I myself have used it on my 1.6tdci.

Cheers Honda boi

Gavman84

Ya its both petrol and diesel doesn't matter!

And make sure your air filter is fresh. If it has any trouble drawing in enough air that can bump the ppm on the smoke test.

Dipetane is great stuff for this kind of thing also.

carltonleon

So what kind of revs are you looking st to clear it out, in between 3k and 4K ?
I was doing 90kmh in 3rd earlier today and revs were about 3500, so would that be sufficient or too high?
Like I said I am not that well up on cars so not really sure. Thanks

ELM327

High revs beforehand.
Also, with a troublesome (albeit pre commonrail) diesel I had before, I found a gallon of petrol to a full tank of diesel before the test made it run lean, if it's a mechanical pre common rail you can also turn down the fuel pump.

Every diesel engine out there needs full load at least once a day once it has reached the full operating temperature. The engines on lorries and vans are often driven at full load for extended periods due to not having power reserves and they suffer much less than the DV6 fitted in a Focus as a result.

It's cruel to be kind to a diesel and a diesel engine driven at full load is a happy diesel engine. You don't necessary need rev them like mad just give them full boot every time changing up at at 3k. If it's still smoky after clearing its lungs take it to a diesel doctor for diagnosis and repairs. If your diesel barely scrapes through the lenient NCT there is something wrong with it and you need new injectors or inlet manifold cleaned for deposits. For example.

carltonleon

Well I chucked a bottle of VB35 into it this morning and then gave it a good hard drive mostly in 3rd gear up the M1 before I got to the NCT centre and it passed with flying colours... thanks for all the advice!!!

Patrick2010

Can you get dipetane in a garage or do you need somewhere like Halfords?

TheBoyConor

To get the revs extra high to give it a good clear out you could get it up to max revs in 4th gear and then quickly drop it back to 3rd and that will force the engine to revs up even higher into the red line. A good long rev immediately before you go into the test center to get everything really hot will also help.

elperello

Patrick2010 wrote: »

Can you get dipetane in a garage or do you need somewhere like Halfords?

Any motor factors will have it at the best price.

jimgoose

elperello wrote: »

Any motor factors will have it at the best price.

Yup. Expect to pay €10 for a litre of the stuff.

ELM327

dipetane is essentially similar to a 50:50 mix of kerosene and petrol. It's snakeoil. It works but €2 of petrol/kerosene would do a similar job

TheBoyConor

TheBoyConor wrote: »

To get the revs extra high to give it a good clear out you could get it up to max revs in 4th gear and then quickly drop it back to 3rd and that will force the engine to revs up even higher into the red line. A good long rev immediately before you go into the test center to get everything really hot will also help.

You mean like this guy:

Joe390

TheBoyConor wrote: »

To get the revs extra high to give it a good clear out you could get it up to max revs in 4th gear and then quickly drop it back to 3rd and that will force the engine to revs up even higher into the red line. A good long rev immediately before you go into the test center to get everything really hot will also help.

Might be better to get revs maxed in 4th gear then drop to 1st gear to get revs even higher . That's sure to make a bigger bang ;-)

tcawley29

TheBoyConor wrote: »

To get the revs extra high to give it a good clear out you could get it up to max revs in 4th gear and then quickly drop it back to 3rd and that will force the engine to revs up even higher into the red line. A good long rev immediately before you go into the test center to get everything really hot will also help.

Oh god he's back.

In case it wasn't already clear OP, do not follow this advice if you would like to keep a functioning engine.

Pkiernan

carltonleon wrote: »

Well I chucked a bottle of VB35 into it this morning and then gave it a good hard drive mostly in 3rd gear up the M1 before I got to the NCT centre and it passed with flying colours... thanks for all the advice!!!

So, you'll be effectively driving a gross polluter until your next NCT? Or will you get it looked at?

ELM327

Joe390 wrote: »

Might be better to get revs maxed in 4th gear then drop to 1st gear to get revs even higher . That's sure to make a bigger bang ;-)

No, he should put it into the gear designed for revving. "R" it is called on most cars.

antodeco

honda boi wrote: »

Has it always never revved past 4k?

Never! It's. Dacia Duster. Wife's Sandero is the same

zilog_jones

antodeco wrote: »

Never! It's. Dacia Duster. Wife's Sandero is the same

Does this happen when driving in gear? Some diesels restrict the engine speed further if in neutral or with clutch disengaged.