Xantia 1.9TD Exhaust / Catalyst

[ecohouse1]

From reading the forum it looks like my rear exhaust box breaking off is quite common! I started getting this horrendous rattle while at Idle, but not the usual rorty exhaust note which is suprising given the size of the rear silencer box!The front pipe was resting on a suspension cross member.

It had corroded through the box side of the "trumpet flange" within the clamp, otherwise the box looked in excellent condition. Welded it back together and refitted the silencer, to keep me going until the new one arrives. Ordered a new one off e-bay for £30 inc postage which looked good - should fit it this weekend coming.

Quick question - if the Cat fails/leaks - can I still fit the straight pipe without the Cat in 2013? Will it fail the MOT?

Its Ok at the moment but would rather get rid of it if it goes.

Cheers

Alan

[spider]

Difficult one to judge.

If it was not for the newer regs ie what was originally fitted then yes you could do without it as the very first 406 1.9TD's did not have a cat but about a year into production they did. I seem to remember the manifold may be slightly different for cat vs non cat too but I'm not sure, this may apply to your Xantia too.

From a personal standpoint, on this model year that your vehicle is if it was my own and it snapped I'd fit the earlier pipe if it fitted straight on and then chance the MOT test but I'm not 100% sure if you'd get away with it or not.

[bxzx16v]

I used to have a 1.9td xantia (1997 P ) which had a rattly cat which was removed and replaced with a non catpipe , it ran better and the MoT centre said it had very low emissions , it had done 240k !

Mark

[evilally]

The diesel emission test is a smoke test only, a cat has no bearing on smoke output at all. In the past you could happily put in a de-catted diesel for MOT and pass. However, as of this year, any car fitted with a cat from the factory must have one present at the time of MOT. My 406 had a cat unfortunately, earlier models didn't. However I replaced it with a straight through section. Kwik Fit quotes £220 for a centre section with cat and were adamant that it would not pass an MOT otherwise as the MOT tester would have this on their computer. However I opted for a £50 non-cat section from GSF. I asked my tamed MOT tester who said it wouldn't be a problem, and in fact he wouldn't have been able to tell with certainty if it had a cat from the factory or not (so Kwik Fit were full of s**t, who would have thought). The car runs better as a result, a cat restricts exhaust flow at the best of times never mind with 180k of diesel soot clogging it!

[RichardW]

Cat requirement on MOT only applies to cars which qualify for a full CAT emissions test - which does not apply to diesels, so no need to have a CAT on a diesel. Yet.

[spider]

Cat requirement on MOT only applies to cars which qualify for a full CAT emissions test - which does not apply to diesels, so no need to have a CAT on a diesel. Yet.

Oh I know there's no "need" for it as such I was thinking along the lines of the newer MOT regs, ie "if it has it when it was new then it should be there now" kind of thing.

I know if mine fell off / broke it would be replaced with the earlier no-cat piping as apart from the price difference a straight pipe will have less failure points ie its not got two pieces of pipe with a 'can' welded in the middle.

[RichardW]

Don't believe everything you read on the net Andy....!

What the regs actually say:

Inspection:

3.On vehicles that qualify for a full cat emissions test, check the presence of the catalytic converter.

Reason for rejection:
3. A catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard

ie CAT only require where the car qualifies for a full cat emissions test - which no diesel does. Ergo no reason for rejection of a diesel for no cat. The bit about LPG is a bit more grey, as if you follow the emission test chart for a car presented on LPG, then it does not require a full cat test, and therefore no CAT but I know Jim had to fit one to his XM as his tester was adamant that he wouldn't pass it without.

[spider]

Thanks.

I see what you mean now, as I'd read "3. A catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard" as all engine types but as you state above its for a full cat test which you cannot do on a derv unit.

[evilally]

On further reading, it appears Richard is correct. The confusion comes from most of the motoring press quoting "A catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard", and not the preceding part that qualifies it!

[citronut]

my R reg XANT TD went through the MOT in October 2012 with no mention of the pussy cat missing at all,

and as everyone is saying a de/catted diesel runs far better as the exhaust is not restricted, and they go much better

i think maybe with later diesel cars with lopads of electricary added they probably wont run very well with the cat removed,

[ecohouse1]

Thanks for the pointers, so it looks like if the Cat goes bang then I can just replace it with a straight pipe?

Its a Feb 99 T plate XUD engined Xantia.

Its OK at the moment but good to know it can be got rid off anyway should the pipe need replaced. Would be good to get back to more BX TZD performance & economy!

Cheers