MOT failure :( please please help guys.Need her to pass fast

[Redrado93 0]

Hi,

 

I got back from a long day at work today to hear that my Corrado failed it's MOT.

Problems are -

 

Exhaust emissions too high.

 

Nearside headlight (apparently) needs replacing.

 

Headlight is annoying,especially as they only judge them purely by eye?! But not too bad to replace.

 

 

Main issue, is that I need a Cat Converter...It's a de-cat system (which is legal as such, yes???), and I knew that, BUT it had passed it's last MOT test fine, which was like a month before I actually bought the car. When studying receipts etc, the decat Magnex exhaust has been on for a few years. So I can't figure out how it managed to pass last time?!

 

What I would be INCREDIBLY appreciative of is any tips (ie - cheats) I can do to bring the emissions down. Even if only for the MOT, I just need it to pass, and quick, the car will be illegal as of tomorrow...

 

The join between the pipes underneath the car was a loose until 2 months ago, possibly letting some gases out, would this have aided a pass?

Are cat converters for aftermarket exhausts easy to get hold of/fit?

Can't it just be wound back a bit, letting less fuel in?

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give all the advice/experience you have, i really need to get this sorted, just can't survive without a car.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Chris

[dukest 0]

given the idiosyncracies of every different engine, i dont think there is any predictably reliable way to suddenly improve emissions. either the tester is being a PITA or something in your engine has deteriorated over the last year that it will take you time and/or money to ascertain, neither of which you want.

 

so, for now, i would suggest that you just buy/borrow a cat from a good natured person on here for your test, then return it to them when it's passed and worry about solving the problem then.

[Redrado93 0]

Thanks for you reply.

 

If I could borrow one, that would be amazing good thinking. will pay for the favour - do you happen to have one Dukest?!

 

I'm in Guildford, if anyone has one...

 

Would a standard CAT fit my Magnex system?

 

Chris

[mrbeige 0]

The de-CAT should be a separate part of the exhaust, as I don't think Magnex would do an exhaust that removed the CAT. It shouldn't pass an MOT without it, as it's post 92, and thus must be fitted with one. Either the previous owner had a friendly MOT man, or they'd fitted a CAT just for the MOT. As far as doing something for the MOT, I suspect that you'll have to source a CAT from somewhere.

 

Headlights are often considered an MOT failure because the output of them as standard is shocking anyway. Fitting an uprated headlight loom should resolve that.

[Redrado93 0]

Ok thanks. That helps. It is separate yes, but I was told that it all works with each other for a properly working system, therfore I'd need the whole lot?

So in theory it should just be an add on just to the front section, no shims needed for the pipes?

 

Was trawling ebay - I take it this is the sort of thing i need

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Catalytic-Converter-VW-CORRADO-2-8-V6-07-92-08-96_W0QQitemZ200374326518QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item2ea73d94f6#ht_5377wt_861

 

Thanks :)

[Redrado93 0]

Also, would a new bulb help bring the nearside headlight up to standard of the opposing side?

 

Chris

[aki 0]

hi strewth that cat looks pretty crummy (im hoping its a libary picture) erm id try and source a used genuine article if i were you ....i paid £25 for mine off ebay!! theyre far better than that and will bolt right onto your magnex system (assuming the system hasnt been altered anyway) your car will not pass an mot without a cat (unless you know a dodgy ahem frendly tester) who obviously passed it last time unless the previous owner fitted the cat for the mot really he should have supplied the cat with the car and told you to fit it pre mot that woukld have been the decent thing to do anyway.... headlight performance is upto the opinion of the tester ...is 1 light really worse than the other? if so try a new brighter bulb try the 90% brighter jobbies from halfords that should brighten it up but try not to make the "good" one look alot dimmer frankly for me to issue a fall on poor light output it would have to be pretty bad as an mot is a minimum standard and not a service!! surely somebody somewhere has a cat lying around you can use or buy local to you!!

guys?!

hope this helps!

andy

[corozin 0]

The fact that your VR6 has failed on emissions should give rise to some concern, as aside from the pain of having to get the car through MOT it indicates that all is not well with your car. You haven't provided any detail on which part of the emissions test it failed.

 

If the car has failed due to particulates or excessive smoke then you have a significant problem which won't be quickly fixed. This is often caused by something like oil burning as a result of worn piston rings. Not a small job.

 

Alternatively a failed CO2/gases test shows that the combustion isn't right with the car. If you've modified the engine and haven't had the ECU map reset then that could be a cause, but it could also be down to worn spark plugs, a sensor problem (e.g. MAF), electrical problem (sensor connection to ECU), or possibly even something like a compression problem.

 

The MOT limit for CO2 on a VR6 is 225g and a good running standard VR6 doesn't come in a lot under that so small problems with the combustion can easily push you outside the limit required by the MOT test. The fact that your car is running de-catted just makes things worse for you.

 

If you're sure the car is running fine and you need a cat problem then had a replacement sports cat made up and fitted at my local powerflow dealer a couple of years ago for under £350 which I think you'll find is less than a new cat would cost you from VW, and is more efficient too. Personally I wouldn't buy a secondhand cat unless you are truly desperate to spend as little as possible as it's very hard to determine what state it's in without fitting & retesting it.

 

I'm also pretty sure that Magnex went bust a while back and they'd stopped making Corrado systems well before that happened, which is a shame as they were easily the best systems you could get. I have one myself and it's still in great condition after 10 years use.

 

Hope this helps, and good luck

John

[Critical_Mass 10]

aaah double post :wink: i replied to the other.

 

Good advice from Corozin!

 

PS - as i mentioned in the other thread i have a sports cat and its a miltek.

[Redrado93 0]

Thanks everyone for your replies, it's interesting to know the exact limit on the emissions. Apparently mine were not too far above the max figure. The plugs were done not too long ago, throttle body has been cleaned out to try and improve emissions, and although I'm not sure how to test the MAF sensor, it seems pretty conclusive that I just need to go ahead and fit a CAT anyway. That surely has to be the problem here by the sounds of it. Now just got to get hold of one...

 

Aki I think you are right about the (apparently) dimmer nearside headlight. I will buy a pair tomorrow and try just the one at first to see how it fairs in comparison to the drivers side. The trouble is that i can't really notice much difference between the 2 of them myself! Just the annoying tester man with his super eyes. So, I'm not actually sure I will be able to give a fair judgement as to weather it's been fixed or not!

Aaanyway, best i can do is try, then book the retest.

 

Thanks Critical mass, I did see your post, I can't really justify a sports cat for the moment so I'll just settle for a standard and take it off afterward i think.

 

Corozin and Aki, replies much appreciated and very helpful. Ta!

 

Chris

[Critical_Mass 10]

No worries. Good luck getting it sorted mate!

[demons uk 0]

If its only just failed if its still legal to take it for a spirited drive before you take it to the MOT station, get everything very hot, it will pass then.

 

Edit, Sound like the mechanic is being a PITA, i'd take it to a different garage.

[Nik Patel 0]

The failed points should not be that hard to fix. Being a old car things could be much worse. :wink:

 

Sometimes the emission can be just cured with an injection cleaner and a blast on the motorway.

Headlight failure is a straight forward thing.

 

Nik

[Redrado93 0]

Ok managed to get hold of a Cat today (Thanks Neal!) The old bypass pipe came off ok. It was only then that I realized the cat is actually shorter than the bypass, strangely. So, taking off the original 'extension' of pipe that connected the bypass to the backbox end of pipe, I went about bodging some pipe about that would bridge a bigger gap.

To cut a long story short, there is still a small leak, which developed after a few miles of driving. Which pissed me off to say the least after all that work. It seems stretching and squashing a pipe relatively easily and quickly with a hammer, vice, grinder and a few other bits is a bit trickier than I first thought! Anyway, I've got the CAT at-least, so I think I will just get the garage to fit it again, and properly, on monday and pay for it.

 

Now I'm here, anyone got a passenger headlight kicking about, just incase they don't pass the lights again with just a replacement bulb...

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Chris

[mikkijayne 0]

I'd have a close look at the headlight, as it may not be as simple as a bad bulb. One of ours failed a while back because it had virtually no beam pattern - just a splodge - and when I had a look the reflective surface had almost completely burnt away. I think someone had been running high wattage bulbs in it at some point, because the other one wasn't much better. The only cure for that is a replacement headlight :(

 

Try holding a piece of card in front of each light to see what the beam pattern is like.

[Redrado93 0]

Just a little update to all those who had any input into this or are interested none the less,

 

I have my green paper!!!

 

 

Welded the CAT on (cheers Neal), so it's pretty much permanently on but works, and whilst a bit quieter, still sounds as sweet as a VR6 should.

 

Headlight problem was that it was a LHD glass?! So the fluting in the glass went the wrong way, distorting the correct light line. I'm not sure how exactly it passed last time but anyway, got some RHD glass from Shaung (Thanks again mate!) and jobs a goodun, passed :D

 

Also, worth mentioning those 90% brighter bulbs from Halfords, got a set anyway, very impressive! Maybe not 90% brighter, but noticeably better. Cheers Aki.

 

Nice to be on the road legally again..

 

Chris

[dukest 0]

:clap:

[shaung60 0]

Yes! :clap: Another one back where it belongs.

[mrbeige 0]

:clap: :clap:

[mikkijayne 0]

Good stuff :)

 

I had a Scirocco once that was a German import. It had been in the UK for about 8 years, and the first time I took it for an MoT discovered it still had LHD headlights. How the *#@? had it got it's last 8 MoTs? :cuckoo:

[Topaz2008 0]

:clap: Good news :clap: