Bargain Basement Motoring

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by mickthemaverick »

I would genuinely expect an all round improvement in running. The Esso fuel was the only non E10 option for me during the fuel crisis, bearing in mind I always run on Shell Vpower E5, and in the Subaru it was noticeably smoother and slightly better power delivery. For the sake of a fiver on the redex or similar and a tank (check the additive bottle I seem to remember I had to add it to half a tank) of 99 octane you may well achieve the MOT standard without further effort. :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by RichardW »

Do you have the full exhaust emissions print out? Lambda > 1 = excess air, and may indicate a vacuum leak somewhere. If the CO is OK, then the CAT is working.

Mine got an advisory for a number plate not working, but every time I have looked at it, it has been on!!

Strut top might need the strut out and dismantled to fit a new bearing?
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

RichardW wrote: 10 Feb 2022, 14:43 Do you have the full exhaust emissions print out? Lambda > 1 = excess air, and may indicate a vacuum leak somewhere. If the CO is OK, then the CAT is working.

Mine got an advisory for a number plate not working, but every time I have looked at it, it has been on!!

Strut top might need the strut out and dismantled to fit a new bearing?
Thanks Richard, l will photograph the emission test results and post them up later, out and about just now, and if yourself or others could help me with the interpretation that would be very helpful.

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Found some comments re Lambda emissions test fail on the lean side. (BMW M3 forum)

Might be something as simple as a minor exhaust leak. I did put a backbox on it in prep for the MOT and never bothered with any gungum on the joint, and the pipe joins to the new box were a very poor example of the art of welding.

I presume stuffing a probe up the exhaust pipe is the test method used, rather than direct interrogation of the lambda sensors and a post cat leak may return a lean reading.

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Here's the MOT emissions test results
click twice and it gets bigger
click twice and it gets bigger
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by RichardW »

Def either running lean or there is an air leak into the exhaust, the CO and HC are almost non existant. Are there any running problems? It could be a vac leak D/S of the MAF confusing things. You could do with getting it on a diag machine to see what the O2 sensors are doing and what the fuel trims are. It could be sucking air in at the back box, but they normally leak out there.... What sensors were put in? Cheap aftermarket ones can cause all sorts of mayhem!
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

RichardW wrote: 10 Feb 2022, 22:32 Def either running lean or there is an air leak into the exhaust, the CO and HC are almost non existent. Are there any running problems? It could be a vac leak D/S of the MAF confusing things. You could do with getting it on a diag machine to see what the O2 sensors are doing and what the fuel trims are. It could be sucking air in at the back box, but they normally leak out there.... What sensors were put in? Cheap aftermarket ones can cause all sorts of mayhem!
Thanks Richard

No discernible running problems, plenty enough poke, starts well, idles well after initial start up and temporary fast running from cold, starts fine too when warmed up. Haven't changed the spark plugs for the last 25,000 miles, no misfires/hesitation or anything. Cant be sure which O2 sensors were fitted but no running problems or fault codes cropping up.

I don't think even if you can adjust fuel trims, which I don't have the diagnostic tools to do, it would be worthwhile.
The Cat seems to be doing its job, despite its outward appearance after 18 years so I'll not be throwing a new cat at the problem just yet.

Fingers crossed, I will be heading for the possible exhaust leak, or vacuum leak (although no consequent running problems/starting problems) a bit of injection cleaner, some Esso Synergy Supreme+ 99 Unleaded fuel, and maybe a largely pointless Italian tune up on the way to the test centre for a free retest.

Cant really see how with zero ppm HC (not sure how that happens) and CO well within limits that a marginal excess of oxygen is a problem at all, never mind a failure in a MOT test.

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

One of the jobs, now where is that T27 Torx bit...depends which one is fitted some are a meatier T40.
Anti Roll Bar Links not much over £5 each. Not your normal drop link on the Clio.

I like Autodoc's videos. Usually give a decent view of what's involved in the job and ther's plenty of them for the Clio 2.



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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by mickthemaverick »

From that video it looks a bit more fiddly than swapping out double ended conventional drop links! Easy enough with a 2 post lift and transmission jack handy but more of a pig on an axle stand methinks. Case of perseverence I'm sure. Good luck!
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

The major problem, apart from the near zero temperature in the alfresco "workshop", may be a rusted top of the bolt with the torx head, but there does look reasonable access to grind off the nut at the bottom if the nut and bolt won't loosen. :-D

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by mickthemaverick »

Well at least the grinding might warm things up a bit! :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Collection of parts and tools for the mechanical bits. Just over £30 at local factors.

Those ARB links look particularly "light duty". Pleased I could get a new set of spring compressors for £6 ish at Yorkshire Trading.

https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... 79#p691379
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by admiral51 »

Neil my boy has a petrol Astra 2013 plate and he will not put the "new" fuel in it, he pays the extra per litre and he is 26 and doesn't trust the blurb about the "new" fuel.
I would put the old school fuel in and give it a good run, probably best if the tank is close to empty.
Agree with putting injector cleaner in as well, it is not going to make the situation worse.

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

admiral51 wrote: 12 Feb 2022, 17:52 Neil my boy has a petrol Astra 2013 plate and he will not put the "new" fuel in it, he pays the extra per litre and he is 26 and doesn't trust the blurb about the "new" fuel.
I would put the old school fuel in and give it a good run, probably best if the tank is close to empty.
Agree with putting injector cleaner in as well, it is not going to make the situation worse.
Colin
Thanks Colin, the annoying thing is I will not know whether the measures taken will have had any effect until I go for the retest. I could see the fuel used having an effect (not sure which way!), up to 10% Alcohol in the fuel will surely produce different emissions from running on 100% petroleum and this is the first test that car has had since E10 became the standard fuel at UK pumps.

The other thing given a window of more favourable weather would be an examination of the exhaust to check for leaks at the joints, or indeed where the upstream and downstream O2 sensors plug into the pipework/ Cat housing.

Today drizzle, and damp ground in the alfresco workshop postponed the couple of mechanical jobs, but I did sort the electrics out. I would like to think it was my intervention with a bit of contact cleaner and some breaking and remaking of connections that brought about the desired result, but to the naked eye nothing was amiss. Everything working as it should now, as it was the night before the test, so fingers crossed on retest day they behave themselves.
Current state of play
Current state of play
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

With the forecast for most of the rest of the week being not that good, wet gales and whatever, I thought, I'm just going to get my former MOT man to do the couple of simple mechanical jobs outstanding and at the same time put the car up on his lift, to have a good look at the whole exhaust and seal up, weld up as necessary, as well as checking the o2 sensor fittings into the exhaust and seal up.

Went round first thing and found a note on his door, out of action all this week.

One good thing though, if you can loosely describe it as good, I had the window down when reversing and there was nice "parp" from the front end of the exhaust so the culprit for the lean Lambda test, may have been found.

The pipe from the Cat backwards is all newish, and the rear silencer brand new, so I do suspect loosely mounted 02 upstream and downstream sensors, or the joint between the cat and pipe. Maybe there is one of those leak prone flexible sections on the front pipe too.

Shoving it up on ramps at the front gives a little bit of headroom, which gradually gets smaller on the angle to the critical area. Not a pleasant prospect in the dry and warm, even less pleasant in the wet and cold.

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