failed emission test

My Toyota Carina E (petrol, 1995) failed the MOT's emission test. The results are listed below and would like your expert opinion as to what do you think is wrong. Any ballpark figure also on how much you think it would cost would be greatly appreciated.

Fast Idle Test - FAIL Engine Speed - 2549 RPM PASS CO - 2.72 % vol FAIL HC - 382 ppm vol FAIL "\ - 0.933 FAIL

Second Fast Idle Test - FAIL Engine Speed - 2599 RPM PASS CO - 2.58 % vol FAIL HC - 352 ppm vol FAIL "\ - 0.935 FAIL

Natural Idle Test - FAIL Engine Speed - 799 RPM PASS CO - 0.70 % vol FAIL

Is my car destined to the scrapyard?

Reply to
pramide
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pramide ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Hopefully.

Reply to
Adrian

It really depends on what is wrong with it. It could be something as simple as a clogged up airfilter or blocked jet in the carburettor.

WHen was the air filter last replaced? Does it look dirty? If so, I'd remove it completely and take it back for a re-test to see if the figures improve.

sponix

Reply to
--s-p-o-n-i-x--

lambda sensor or the air mass meter. The catalyst will have had a hard time and may also be shot.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

Carburettor, on a 1995 Toyota?

YTC.

Unlikely to help.

Probably needs a lambda probe. Every catalyst car I've had that's failed on emissions has been fixed by fitting a new Lambda - they seem to fail on a regular basis, around 40k or so miles.

Reply to
SteveH

Unfortunatley the carina lambda sensor (if a 1.8) is rather special and expensive at £200 - I got around 150K out of the last one....

Reply to
john

Did the MOT tester get the cat _really_ hot, ie by revving the engine fast for a few minutes? This is what my tester did when I had a Carina, telling me that they always have to do that with them, the cats don't work that effectively unless they're really hot.

Reply to
Chris Bolus

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

So how come my catted car is on 120k with the original Lambda?

Reply to
Adrian

Possibly because it doesn't have a Magnetti Spaghetti lambda? :-P

Reply to
SteveH

I think the hydrocarbon reading is a sign of a rich mixture/fuel not being fully burnt. I had this on an older, carb-equipped car that did not have fancy electronics or a cat, and it was casued by a faulty needle valve in the carburettor. Dirty air filter, misfire, improperly tuned engine, not very well serviced etc. could all be causes.

Not sure about the Carbon Monoxide thought

Reply to
R. Murphy

Right, firstly we need more info, whats the mileage on the car, and is it the lean burn 1.8 or not?

The emissions you give show the car is running slightly rich or very rich, depending on whether the cat is working or not, but the engine is in fundementally good order (CO and HC's are balanced)

My guess would be either the engine wasnt warmed up, the o2 sensor is dead (in the go rich state) or the ecu doesnt know the engine is warmed up (CTS fault)

Was the car properly hot when tested, and is it capable of reaching proper operating temp?

On the Carina E, the leanburn engine uses a special o2 sensor which is vastly expensive, but has a long lifespan (usually)

If you could tell us if the car runs well, warms up correctly, what the mpg is like, and if the MIL has been on or not it will help.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (remove obvious)

The car has a 1.6 engine. Mileage is 79,000 miles, but I don't trust it since this could have been tampered with before I bought this last year (around 68K when I first bought it)

In my opinion, the car runs well and has not caused me any major problems. The only thing that I noticed is that I seem to be burning engine oil. After 3 months of use, my engine oil would almost be empty. After it happened the first time, I make it a point to top up the engine oil once every two months. I had the oil filter replaced 6 months ago.

A full tank is good for an average of 310 miles in this car.

I know next to nothing about cars so apologies if my response seem to be vague.

Reply to
pramide

So you never thought to check it?

Why not just check it regularly, and top up as required? Checking your oil once a week only takes a minute a week.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

310 miles doesnt sound very far to me?! How many gallons / pounds does it take to fill it?

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

Around 40 pounds per full tank

Reply to
pramide

Mileage and pounds to fill seem inline with each other, so either you dont drive til its empty, or the tank is pretty small!

Anyhow, given your lower knowledge, it would seem best to send the car into a trusted garage with decent diagnostic equipment, familiar with the Carina E.

You have a fairly simple problem either with the Coolant temp sensor, the thermostat, the o2 sensor, or the MOT garage failing to warm the car up properly.

A decent garage looking at the car for the first time will check the running temperature and re-test the emissions before doing any work.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

Thank you Tim. You have been very helpful. I will tell the owner of the garage to check the running temperatute before doing a retest. Although I remember that the emission test was one of the last things that he did and it took 15 minutes to finish. DO you think the car has already reached the operating temperature by then?

Reply to
pramide

Merely idling the car in the garage is NOT enough to maintain the cat at proper working temperature.

The Emissions test should always be done immediately on arrival, preferably after a high speed run to make sure its as hot as it gets.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

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