New MOT and engine change

[mbunting]

Ok, so one of my hair brained ideas ( which will never actually happen ) is to put a 1.9TD engine into an Activa - that way you get reasonable performance, much better economy, and 1.9TD engines are easier to find than 2.0T's !

So, assuming I go through all the jumps and hoops, and inform DVLA etc.. of the engine number change - what will happen when the "all knowing" MOT computer tells the tester to check the cat / lamda etc ?

[Kowalski]

Ok, so one of my hair brained ideas ( which will never actually happen ) is to put a 1.9TD engine into an Activa - that way you get reasonable performance, much better economy, and 1.9TD engines are easier to find than 2.0T's !

So, assuming I go through all the jumps and hoops, and inform DVLA etc.. of the engine number change - what will happen when the "all knowing" MOT computer tells the tester to check the cat / lamda etc ?

ActivaV6Uk was going to put a 2.1TD into an Activa, but he wanted to do it all properly, i.e. get the car registered correctly and type approved.

In the end I think he gave up on the 2.1TD because Citroen wouldn't cooperate and he was thinking about doing a HDI instead. He'd already done the Activa V6. He'd be the best person to ask however, hes disappeared off the face of the planet so good luck in finding him.

[jeremy]

Would it go fast enough for you to notice that you had the Activa suspension? - The ordinary 1.9TD Xantia is not very quick and of course when driving you'd still have to cope with the turbo lag and low rev limit. While the result would certainly be different - would it be pleasant?

[mbunting]

jeremy,

I see your point, but I don't particularly want to go around every corner at 90mph, as you've probably worked out, I'm more into economy ( although not driving like grandad ), but like something that handles - I had a 306 XTDT which went like S off an S, and cornered pretty well, but I was thinking about something "different" like an activa. I'm already suffering financially with my 405 - getting about 33 to the gallon, about 45 on a _long_ non-stop run to Scotland.

PS. I was actually thinking towards the "paperwork" rather than the "practical" exercise - so the question remains - how would the testing computer know that this chassis number now has a diesel engine in it - and therefore the emissions test etc.. would be completely different...

[Paul Mi16]

Ask an Mot tester? Most testers have found ways round the new system, which is good news for me as my 306 has no cat and my 205 GTi has had an engine conversion. The 205 is due its Mot soon so I can let you know what happens, but I was told by my friendly tester not to worry and he'd sort out the computer side on the day.

Paul.

[fastandfurryous]

If you REALLY wanted a 1.9TD activa, I would have thought the easier way to do this would be to buy a LHD 1.9TD activa on the continent (that model exists in LHD) and import it to the UK. Then, either drive it as a LHD, or use parts from a £30 scrapper car to convert it to RHD (not as hard as you might think)

Alternatively, buy a 1.9TD model, and fit the Active suspension components to it...

Engine change from petrol to diesel would be a real hassle, as you've highlighted. If you can modify what was already a diesel car, then the MOT and other paperwork becomes much easier.