Tuning JTD Emissions

[haxman]

I suspect that just running through some diesel additive would have been enough in my case, but to be fair it was almost time for a service, so it made sense to do it as well.

I've never had a vehicle fail on emissions before, so I've never had any previous experience in what the numbers mean, and how much you could feasibly expect reduce the emissions with additive/service.

When yours does go for a test, it would be interesting to see what values you get if you don't mind sharing them.

 

[Davren]

Last MOT on each of my JTDs, both with about 135,000 miles, one was 0.28, the other 0.72.

I always change the engine oil and filter, and get the engines hot before going for the test. Very seldom change the air filters though, and don't use any additives.
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[haxman]

Last MOT on each of my JTDs, both with about 135,000 miles, one was 0.28, the other 0.72.

Wow, that seems very good, almost cleaner than an electric car lol! I've never run an additive through mine before, so I had no idea what effect it would have. I think its probably done it some good though, it seems slightly more responsive, but I recently cleaned out the boost solenoid valve and that made quite a difference too. My EGR was blanked for some time, but that was all cleaned up and put back to standard before this MOT. I keep the car relatively well serviced. Any idea as to why my emissions were so high on my first test? Maybe it was just a case of not being hot enough then?

 

[Ralf S.]

I'd guess the blanked EGR is likely to increase emissions.

Dragging the gas through the combustion chamber again heats the inlet charge and also gives any loose CO another go at being burnt.

I'll make some home-brew fuel system cleaner if my new shed is completed on time (can't be storing industrial quantities of ingredients aka "flammable ****" under the stairs... ). If it's ready in time, I'll feed Gerrard a few tanks' worth, otherwise it's Cataclean and run it on Super diesel for a week or two before the test.

My EGR is bypassed, so I have some prospects to get cleaner there (even at the expense of some performance)... but my MAF, MAP and boost valve are all less than 2 years old and the beast runs very well, so not much change available there, I think.


Ralf S.

 

[aurick86]

I'd say about 50% of the emissions difference were low engine/cat temperature, then 25% not running it hard enough(to clear sooth from the exhaust) and the other 25% oil&filter.

 

[g8rpi]

I'd guess the blanked EGR is likely to increase emissions.

Dragging the gas through the combustion chamber again heats the inlet charge and also gives any loose CO another go at being burnt.

I'll make some home-brew fuel system cleaner if my new shed is completed on time (can't be storing industrial quantities of ingredients aka "flammable ****" under the stairs... ). If it's ready in time, I'll feed Gerrard a few tanks' worth, otherwise it's Cataclean and run it on Super diesel for a week or two before the test.

My EGR is bypassed, so I have some prospects to get cleaner there (even at the expense of some performance)... but my MAF, MAP and boost valve are all less than 2 years old and the beast runs very well, so not much change available there, I think.


Ralf S.

Blanking an EGR will increase NOx emissions but those are not tested for the MOT. EGR actually reduces the combustion temperature.



Robert G8RPI.

 

[Ralf S.]

Hmmm... food for thought.

My beast is due a service in a few weeks so I'll be fitting a new air filter as part of that.

Is a thicker oil going to be better for emissions? The beast has 5W40 in it... but maybe 10W40 might stay behind the rings marginally better..? I have no oil consumption at all... (less than 1 litre between 12,000 mile services).

I might also clean out the inlet manifold and MAP sensor too. Do we think squirting it with contact cleaner will do the job, or does it need more? My old one was full of oil (overfilled oil level flooded the inlet manifold a bit, so I just changed it).

What's the verdict on the EGR (for CO)? Leave it blanked or return to Fiat spec'?

Does the lambada sensor do anything for emissions? Mine is 3 years old (fitted just before I bought it) so no reason to think it's losing it's abilities.

My MAF and boost valve are less than 2 years old and also working spot-on (touches wood) as far as I can tell.

I half fancy the beast's chances at 1.46 but it'll be emissions that kills it rather than something corrosion or mechanical...

Ralf S.

 

[aurick86]

It will be fine, service it(oil & filters), run it hard and that should be it.

 

[Ralf S.]

So.. after pretty much a year of lazing about doing not much (me, as well as the car.. ) I've got a red card at the latest MOT. The beast hit "2.2" at the smoke test, which compares to "1.8" as the target on the failure sheet, rather than the 1.34/1.43? on the type plate.

I didn't have time to do anything to the car beforehand, since it got nurfed up the back just before Christmas, so I've been more worried about getting the rear bumper replaced and the slam panel pulled out, so the bumper has something to hang on to...

Since the test I've fitted a new air filter.. run some Cataclean through the tank.. then topped it up with some Esso super-fandango diesel (no Shell or BP round yer..) and then added some 2-EHN for good measure, before booting it around the local steelworks, so that the resulting smoke cloud gets blamed on British Steel rather than my old donkey.

The tester won't test it.. since he thinks it still won't pass, even though it looks pretty good to me now. It produces a bit of smoke for sure.. but it's a 2004 spec' Euro-III? or something.. so no DPF and it only smokes at high revs, not the rest of the time.

The tester did suggest that Cataclean is "no good" even though I bought it there.. and then recommended some diesel flushing goo that only cost GBP22 a shot. I think it was Wurth.. but I didn't keep the bottle. He put that in for us, told me to drive 20 miles at high revs and then bring it back.. which is fair enough.

It occurred to me that this could be a simple "sell more goo" charade, to subsidise the cheap MOT... but if it isn't.. what else can I do to the beast? It doesn't burn oil (not engine oil anyway) and runs brilliant.. so I doubt there's much actually wrong with it.

I'm stuck a bit.



Ralf S.

 

[varesecrazy]

Many years ago I used a 'power flush' on the (mechanical) injectors.

You get a new fuel filter.. fill it with neat 'cleaner'

(Like you would pre.fill an oil filter..)

Off to the MOT.. marginal fail


'Nevermind will keep it idling.. when hot it will run clean.. '
nope it got worse.. turned out that contiminamts in the oil were boiling off


Clean oil.. clean emissions .. another year on the road

 

[Zeewulf]

Ralf S.

Eurocarparts are currently doing 5Ltrs Cataclean for £29.

 

[varesecrazy]

Ralf S.

Eurocarparts are currently doing 5Lturs Cataclean for £29.

5 litres..

Blimey only time I bought any it was around 500ml ( and it sat on the shelf for years.. until I gave it away)
But it was £15 down to £5 or some 'big clearance deal'..
I dont think Ive ever had a proper emissions fail on one of mine

The old Mondeo I did battle with just ran rich.. management issue

Best one was my £87clio
It started 'running on 3' enroute to its MOT
NICE old fella testing said.. 'dont worry I will just leave it Idling - It'll come right.. and it did'!
took 35 mins.. so a toot of the horn. Flash of head and brakelights.. Ding.. your 40 minutes of test are complete

It had 3 different brands of plug in it .. a used FIRE set worked wonders

 

[Zeewulf]

5 litres..

Blimey only time I bought any it was around 500ml ( and it sat on the shelf for years.. until I gave it away)
But it was £15 down to £5 or some 'big clearance deal'..
I dont think Ive ever had a proper emissions fail on one of mine

The old Mondeo I did battle with just ran rich.. management issue

Best one was my £87clio
It started 'running on 3' enroute to its MOT
NICE old fella testing said.. 'dont worry I will just leave it Idling - It'll come right.. and it did'!
took 35 mins.. so a toot of the horn. Flash of head and brakelights.. Ding.. your 40 minutes of test are complete

It had 3 different brands of plug in it .. a used FIRE set worked wonders

It's usually £12 for 450ml, hence why I posted the 5ltr price as it's a real bargain.

 

[Ralf S.]

The beast passed, second time around. There are 1.34 "smokes" in each bit of exhaust gas, which the maximum according to the plate, so it's as borderline as it gets.

The "goo" the garage prescribed is made by "Power Max" which sounds a bit "snake oil".. but it's German so is presumably reasonably scientific, rather than made up by a few chemistry students for pocket money.

I bought another one so I can reverse engineer it. The tin is a bit shy about the contents but it smells strongly of acetone, so is probably just a more potent version of the Cataclean, which is mostly Propanol, with acetone and Toluene thrown in.

It's twice the price of Cataclean though.. so it's either spectacularly marked up, or it contains Kryptonite or some other special ingredient. I'll have to research it some more.

Next year (if I don't get into another "collision and repair over Christmas when everything's closed" situation, I'll probably change the oil and filters just before the MOT.. even an 0.01 difference to the "smokes" could be critical.

It's also been a long term ambition of mine to try getting the inlet manifold Terracleaned, since it's pretty nasty in there. I cleaned it out manually, which involved scraping out the gunge as best as I could.. but I was wary not to drop lumps of it into the inlet, in case it blocked or jammed something like a valve.. Ahhhh

Anyways.. one good thing is that the MOT has moved from its December slot when I bought the car, to a nearly February slot now. A few more years should see the MOT expire nicely in July or August, where all these shenanigans, running repairs and chemical potion experiments will take place when it's at least a bit warmer..


Ralf S.

 

[varesecrazy]

My friend with the troublesome golf pays £15 a tin for a different German product
Suppesedly 'great for VAG'

Could well be 'cos it does naff all in my mj's

Funny thing is.. this golf gets posh oil.. at short intervals
only runs on big brand £1.48 ltr fuel..
but 'VAG Love Potion ' still makes a noticable difference

Gotta be a Cetane Improver..

My mj's wouldnt notice

 

[Ralf S.]

It's usually £12 for 450ml, hence why I posted the 5ltr price as it's a real bargain.

Cataclean is essentially Xylene, Propanol and Acetone (50:20:20)
The last 10% is "hydrotreated distillates (light)" [CAS 64742-47-8] which if I was making a DIY copy, I would just replace with kerosene.

The Powermax seems to be a fair bit different. So far I've discovered that it is "hydrotreated distillates (light)" [CAS 64742-82-1], Xylene, Benzenesulfonic acid and Toluene (70:15:10:5)

Unfortunately, the main ingredient - CAS 64742-82-1 - does not turn out to be Propanol, or Acetone.. it seems to be a naptha petroleum distillate... so "eBaying it" isn't going to happen.

I've also discovered that Benzenesulfonic acid is similarly tricky to get hold of.. but at 10% of the whole brew, if I was DIY-ing it I would replace it with Acetone... or kerosene.

I've decided that I probably need an oil refinery to be able to home-make the Powermax.. so I've gone for the 5 ltrs deal from Eurocarparts. They're even giving an extra month-end discount (Sale60) code, for another couple of quid off.

Ralf S.

 

[varesecrazy]

If you drive it to Swindon in the spring..
The Exhaust will be cleaner than the Intake..