are you running the correct oil? The thinner the oil the better the emissions, hence why so many manufacturers opt for 0w now

 

Did they hold the fast idle to see if it came down before they started the timer?

 

Hi both,

MNorth -- Good point. I've been using more viscous oil for the past year -- 15w40 and have tried Wynn's "Stop Smoke", which seemed to reduce the smoke slightly in the past. I added Wynn's on the morning before the MoT test and also drove in 3rd at 60-70mph for a good 20 mins before driving the car in for MoT.

Nobody -- I have no idea if they held the fast idle to see if it came down. The CO seems to have increased in the second fast test, but the HC came down. I suspect/assume that's due to the cat not being able to clear CO from the continued load, and the HC coming down being the small pool of oil from valve seals finally being burned away?

The MoT centre, Kwik-fit, were unhelpful, the guy said "you must have known it was producing blue smoke" as he looked at me as if I'd murdered someone, and said I'd have to take my car to a proper garage.

I rang Kwik-fit this morning for a cat replacement quote. They advised against it while the engine is producing smoke.

Another local garage said it could be 50/50 of it passing the MoT with a new cat, but that they've seen worse results. The actual mechanic said this car type/age often burns oil and it could be "anything". He also said the cat didn't appear to be working properly as it was not producing water from the tailpipe.

 

Kwak fit says a lot 😉

I'd try and find someone independent and local, speak to them and see if they can chuck it on their machine and see if they can get it down. From the figures I'd be surprised if it wasn't just a case of getting the cats hot and I should come down. Not like it's a mile away on the forst one.

 

AVOID Kwik fit at any cost.
You want a garage that repair cars old school type with older guys that know about car engines.
My m8 will try his best on a car like that but he won't do any favours on a test old school and the same with the guy that works for him old school and a tough test.