mot problems

[let_nova]

on my corsa XE how can i prove the engine is pre CAT when i have no info on the engine? car should have a cat, engine should not, and its too much hassle to get a cat added:confused:

[brainsnova]

last time i got a cat test with no cat and it passed so i assume it failed the emisions test.

[johnny_turbo]

you need an invoice or paper work showin engine number date of engine manufactur(sp) and date of insterlation(sp) of when fitted in the car.

[let_nova]

i dont have any paperwork..

[johnny_turbo]

if you get an enginers report that should be fine

[Balley]

If you have a friendly tester just explain to him, I told my tester that my corsa had a 91 Sri engine out of a nova, explained the code was the same and he were fine with it!
Otherwise its hard work as you need a letter from vauxhall stating the engine number, not code was in a pre august 24th 1992 vehicle!

[Jackroadkill]

I asked the MOT tester at work the same question a few weeks back; he reckoned that it goes on the engine number number (and therefore age) and not on the age of the car, so unless you've already run into problems you should be okay.

[let_nova]

ok, cheers will need to call them and ask them.

[Jack]

If you can't prove the engine age - i.e. by a letter from the manufacturer stating the build date of the engine, OR V5c of the donor car with matching engine number - then you go by the reg plate. If that means you have to have a cat test on a non-cat engine, then its tough toodles unfortunately.

[nova_saloon]

bum i thought it was always by the age of the car, because my engine number is the late type and nothing ever happened to me and the emmisions were fab!

[let_nova]

goes by whatever is oldest.

[let_nova]

right, i have just checked the cam cap for a rough age, says (89)

can i only get a letter from vauxhall?

[General Baxter]

check the engine number on the block,

mines 20xe, no cat or lambda, you know what it means if its got a C20xe on the block lol

[Jack]

^ DVLA won't accept engine code alone as proof. You need a V5c of the donor car OR a letter from Vauxhall stating the engine manufacture date (or "manufactured prior to...").

[draper]

What are these emissions tests you speak of lol

[burgo]

must be proper **** not having a friendly MOT tester

[phazer]

There are so many untruths about this it's just not funny. Even testers often don't know what the hell they are talking about.

The first check is which ever is oldest, car or engine. If the car needs a cat but the engine doesn't it's up to you to prove the engine is older.

However, if you have fitted an engine which the manufacturer never fitted to a particular model. i.e C20XE in a Corsa then you will only ever be tested using the basic emissions test (the one with 3.5% Co limit).

I confirmed this with Vosa last year after the idiot tester decided my Nova needed a cat test as it was on a K plate - the C14SE in a Nova is now listed as needing a cat so with the original engine my car would now need to pass the higher emissions test. As Vauxhall never fitted the X16XE it can only ever be tested using the basic test. There is even a diagram in the testers manual that shows all of this :roll:

[phazer]

Heres the flowchart for cars registered between August 1st 1992 and 31st August 2002. The rules change a bit after this (basically the first and easiest to pass CAT test).
http://www.motuk.co.uk/images/7.3page9.pdf

You'll see the third decision point across the top says 'Can you find an exact match in analyser database or in the service emmissions book?'. If the answer is no then 'Carry out a non CAT test...'

[Jack]

You could of course count an engine converted car as an "amateur build", in which case those charts don't apply (even if they do, they only extend the non-CAT test up to August 1995; after that you do a BET, albeit with a 1% allowance on CO)

But yeah, they show that NO nova requires a BET test if its had a non-OEM engine conversion

[General Baxter]

just stick a £50 cat in, and be done with it lol

[Andy]

What happens then if your Nova is D reg with a 20XE engine which has a C20 LET block? lol

[phazer]

Same as I said, doesn't need a cat test.

[phazer]

You could of course count an engine converted car as an "amateur build", in which case those charts don't apply (even if they do, they only extend the non-CAT test up to August 1995; after that you do a BET, albeit with a 1% allowance on CO)

But yeah, they show that NO nova requires a BET test if its had a non-OEM engine conversion

If you're going to class it as an amateur build then it would need an SVA (or whatever it's called now) so different rules apply, no idea what they do for emissions here.

I had a lengthy chat with Vosa on the subject, clarified and clarified again just to make sure I had the right info to take the car elsewhere and explain. It's a pain for sure.

[Jon_nova1]

just take it for its test lol

[phazer]

just take it for its test lol

Thing is, when I took mine the bloke didn't fail the car, he refused to continue the test. I told him what the car is/was engine etc but his tiny brain couldn't cope lol

[Adam]

Let_nova- What reg is the car???

AFAIK i thought cars after 1995 HAVE to have a cat......

[Paul]

0800 Dial-a-mot

[Damo]

Let_nova- What reg is the car???

AFAIK i thought cars after 1995 HAVE to have a cat......

No car has to have a CAT ad as long as it meets the required emmisions regs for that year/car IIRC theres no law that say it has to have one but i stand corrected.

[L33 LEG]

I'd change the mot tester tbh.

[phazer]

No car has to have a CAT ad as long as it meets the required emmisions regs for that year/car IIRC theres no law that say it has to have one but i stand corrected.

That is correct, if you can hit the emissions target there is no legal requirement for a cat, though the manufacturer euro rules do require cars to now be built with them.

As an aside, mine is a nats away from being able to pass the basic cat test, could sort if I could be bothered but my new MOT place know the score.

[let_nova]

cheers for all the info, cars a R reg

[Adam]

No car has to have a CAT ad as long as it meets the required emmisions regs for that year/car IIRC theres no law that say it has to have one but i stand corrected.
Sure i read that in 1995 something changed regarding cat/emissions rules....

[MK999]

Sure i read that in 1995 something changed regarding cat/emissions rules....

99% sure it doesn't have to have a cat, only pass the test which is designed for cat converted cars.

[Adam]

Which an engine with no cat wont do......

[MK999]

Which an engine with no cat wont do......

Mine did :p Or well it was on the cat test but well within the limits for a cat engine :) It's what made me check the plugs to see it was running lean lol

[Adam]

Ok, i'll change my post.
An engine running a normal AFR wont pass :p

[auzzy2000]

Cash is king!!!!Allways works

[MK999]

Ok, i'll change my post.
An engine running a normal AFR wont pass :p

It is actually genuinely possible for a more modern good running engine to pass without one, I happen to know K series rovers are capable of it, it came up on something random I was looking when doing a paper/report on them in my first year of uni. A nova 8v/20xe/let with 120k on it, probably not

[let_nova]

ball bags lol