Rabbit, rabbit,rabbit .....Emission Test and other things

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'92 Fourtrak 2.8TDX

Hi all.
Just had 'Chunky' MOTed today , alls well. a note of interest is the emissions test, really low.

Test limit- 3.00 l/m

2007- 2.36 l/m
2008- 0.91 l/m
2009- 0.75 l/m
Same model/brand test machine, same tester.

Interestingly the pump and injectors have never been out/serviced, airfilter standard,but changed yearly.Milage is clock + 65058 , 2 oil and filter changes per year, (spring and autumn). Now using a semi synthetic oil.

In 2008 I started using a diesel/new rapeseed oil mix (50/50) still using it when cost effective. ????. Plus a dose of Slick 50 injector/fuel system cleaner on a long run pre MOT time ????. Yea, I believed the hype !!!, that goes with these products, well I have used pre the last 2 MOTs. Cannot understand how they can work, sure Assasin posted on this ,must have a look.

Interesting comment by the tester was that the leaf sprung Fourtraks seem to have better/stronger/thicker chassis than the later coilers, and as they tend to give a harsher ride offroad, they get driven more consideratly, and suffer less steering /spring/ shocks/ chassis wear and damage. All due to the drivers comfort
zone. Followed by a 'see you same time next year'.

Addition.
(H'mm, just been looking at receipts, also pre 2008 test, the timing belt replaced and tappets adjusted, this probable may help explain the initial decrease in emissions)

I've got a '90 2.8 fieldman,

I've got a '90 2.8 fieldman, and I drive it slower than another car due to the harsh spring ride. I love my truck and wouldn't trade it for any of this fancy luxury Blum 3
Mine is a bit smoky, had to reduce to half throttle for MOT due to lack of use. Haven't changed it back, enough power on half Smile

That's interesting, because

That's interesting, because mine (2002 2.8 Fieldman with 45k on it), only just got through the emissions recently. He had to repeat it 3 times until the level was low enough to pass. I don't know why this should be, although the tester thought it may be because it doesn't get driven hard. Don't know what the actual figures were as seem to have mislaid the print out Blush
Thinking about it, I have since discovered some oil in the pipe leading from the turbo to the intercooler and I have a feeling it shouldn't be there. It never seems to use any oil (at least it doesn't drop on the stick), and there never seems to be any signs of blue smoke etc, but I wonder if the turbo could be getting a bit worn. Anybody know anything about oil in the pipe to the intercooler? Theres not a huge amount, but a definite coating in there and enough just to have colected in a joint and seeped out slightly in the area of the jubilee clip.
Won't be happy if the turbo is on it's way out. I'm sure they should last longer than 45k.
Any ideas?

There should not be oil

There should not be oil there, prob why it was bad on the smoke test along with not driving hard. If you think the turbo is on the way out replace or have it check asap. If it does blow then your going to be looking at a new engine. We pulled in a van last week with a blow turbo, waiting on the new engine now =/

Emissions

Hi EWS

Still here, and can give a quick explanation.

Two issues govern emissions, air inot the engine, and how it burns; so effects on iether of these can be manipulated.

Prior to an MOT service the vehicle and run it with clean oil, as a small proportion of oil is burned cleaner oil burned cleaner so reducing emissions slightly. Engine temperature is crucial as a hot engine means expanded components, thus reduced clearances, more thermally efficient, and less oil being burned.

Clean air filters speak for themselves, but removing and cleaning any intake pipe to remove any oily residue also helps.

Soot in the exhaust is a major problem on lightly driven vehicles, this is not expelled and during the emissions tests the engine is revved hard, this removes much of it and it registers as the emissions tester is a light which is collected. Any soot particles and smoke pass between the light and its collector and block the light giving a high reading.

Prior to an MOT: run the engine with an injector cleaner, warm the vehicle FULLY and run it hard, accelerate harshly and it will dislodge the debris from the exhaust. This will also warm the engine to a higher temperature, and burn off a proportion of the debris collected in the oil, thus cleaning it.
When it is run, run on a dual carriageway in a lower gear at high revs as near maximum as possible, then go straight for the MOT test, the emissions will be much lower.

Oils

This is incorrect, all oils are designed to suspend contaminants until they pass through the filter, and those large enough are filtered out. The rest are still contained in the oil in suspension.

Full synthetic oil cannot be used in Fourtrak's as it will destroy the engine due to it being an old design, and has large internal clearances as opposed to newer engines.

Synthetic oils are marketed as the great miracle oil, THEY ARE NOT, it is only the additives which are synthetically made to enhance the working life of the oil, or in technical terms ensure its molecular structure stays intact for a longer working cycle.

Slippy stuff

Assassin, you beat me to replying, your comments made in an earlier post and other posts on other sites confirms to me that Fully Synthetic Oils are not the great miracle oil for older engines, due to the tolerances to which the internals were machined..

My truck has one of its oil changes and air filter replacement plus has a good high speed run round the bypass before getting to the MOT station to get water/engine temp up and blow out any crud, also I try to use a long motorway run with an additive to clean the fuel system/injectors prior to the test, and it seems to work. Note the injectors and pump have never been serviced and its a '92 model been round the clock once,and the only work on the engine has been cambelt replacement and tappets adjusted along with one replacment heater plug.

She might be old, bit on the slow side, with a harsh ride at times, but she does all we ask of her, what more does one need, may 'Chunky' go on for many more years. I lift a beer to her and drink her health.

Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX