failed emmision test 0n 1.8 freelander

Hi all, just bought 1999 freelander 3 door 1.8 petrol, that has failed emissions test on mot any one have any ideas on possible cause,
first fast idle test
CO reading 0.54 max reading limit 0.30 fail
HC reading 111 max 200 pass
Lambda reading 1.050 min 0.950 max1.090 pass

2nd fast idle test
CO reading 0.57 max reading limit 0.30 fail
HC reading 118 max reading 200 pass
lambda reading 1.040 min 0.950 max 1.090 pass

natural idle test

CO reading 0.49 max 0.50 pass

new lamda was fitted by previous owner before test, also new HT leads, vehichle wasnt retested and has been used on horse farm for last year, now i want to put it back on the road

drove it home 50 miles and seems to drive fine, previous owner said Head gasket and belt water pump etc done at 72k now done 101k no signs of water leak but did need to put about 1/2 pint water in when i got it home (like a fool as price was cheap and it was pouring down when i picked it up didnt check water level in header tank, possibly inlet gasket leak that may cause higher CO reading ???? but cant see any signs of leak

any opinions would be greatly recieved before i get bits done willy nilly

cheers all john9153

hi john welcome to the forum , cat could be blocked or failed , old fuel ,have you checked filters ,temp gauge faulty ,check or renew plugs ,what milage does it have ,I have 2 1.8 freelanders

freelander1958 said:

I have 2 1.8 freelanders

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yu deserve a medal

put some hi octain fuel in it drive it hard on a motorway for half an hour then straight to the testing station and get the emmission retested job done

The Mad Hat Man said:

yu deserve a medal

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not really myn have not broken down still have 4 wheel drive ,easy to work on ,not rot boxes do what I want them to do ,didn't cost a lot to buy and the other half WHO IS FEMALE drives it till the tanks empty what is wrong with that and they fit in the drive with the calibre ,puma Peugeot matiz triumph tigra :drama:

freelander1958 said:

hi john welcome to the forum , cat could be blocked or failed , old fuel ,have you checked filters ,temp gauge faulty ,check or renew plugs ,what milage does it have ,I have 2 1.8 freelanders

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Hi new fuel put in to drive it home, new air filter fitted, new plugs and leads fitted, temp guage working fine and steady after about 10 mins idling thermostat opens and after about 15 fan comes on, it has 101k with hg belt and wp changed at 72k i havent taken it for test yet as wanted to know if the CO redings mean any thing to manyone as on another thread to this site from google the person answering wanted to know what the readings were to be able to point towards a cause, ( not on my car though . this was an old thread ) so have listed my readings in the hope i can obtain a quick and correct fix without buying bits i dont need, many thanks john9153

going to bed now work at 4 15 in the morning, thanks in advance for any advice will check when i get home tomorrow afternoon, regards john9153

if it has only been used on farm perhaps its full of crap cat cleaner will sort that ,but if a ne lambda sensor put in and not tested perhaps its fixed ,you said cheap bet you cant beat £75 the other was 300 but its got a tow bar

It's not uncommon for an neglected K series to fail the emissions test. The high HC is a clue as to why. Hi HC shows that it isn't burning cleanly. So depending on milage has a few possible causes. Most common would be an ignition system below par. On the pre-dis system, it's best to "refresh" the complete system. This means cap, rotor arm and plugs need changing. I would also check the leads, clean them or replace them.
Next make sure that the air filter is new. It's also a good idea to change the oil and filter, especially if a failing ignition system is suspect.
This work should reduce the HC levels, giving the cat a better chance to clean the exhaust gasses.

Nodge68 said:

It's not uncommon for an neglected K series to fail the emissions test. The high HC is a clue as to why. Hi HC shows that it isn't burning cleanly.

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Yep, the guy from to local garage used to send the apprentice out in all the rovers that failed the emissions, took the air filter out, send it out for 15 minutes down the main road, bring it back fit new air filter, a lot of times it then passed.

Mcclegend said:

Yep, the guy from to local garage used to send the apprentice out in all the rovers that failed the emissions, took the air filter out, send it out for 15 minutes down the main road, bring it back fit new air filter, a lot of times it then passed.

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hi all, thanks for replies, ht leads and plugs have all been replaced new air filter fitted, the only part it failed emissions on was the CO Hc was 111 and 118 with max limit of 200 this is fine any specific reasons that will affect the CO reading please any thought s, cheers guys john9153

john9153 said:

hi all, thanks for replies, ht leads and plugs have all been replaced new air filter fitted, the only part it failed emissions on was the CO Hc was 111 and 118 with max limit of 200 this is fine any specific reasons that will affect the CO reading please any thought s, cheers guys john9153

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The HC may pass the MOT but at 111 ppm is way to high. You should be seeing less than 50 ppm. For example my VVC MGF generally gives less than 25 ppm even my V6 Freelander was 32 ppm last MOT.
When was the cap and rotor replaced?
High HC often goes hand in hand with high CO results. A leaking injector can cause either problem as can air leaks in the inlet system.

K series engines need a good Cat - yours is not. Your emissions readings are pretty much what I would expect pre cat on your engine,its clearly running closed loop,a lit up Cat with a decent matix would clean it up enough to give a good pass.

eightinavee said:

K series engines need a good Cat - yours is not. Your emissions readings are pretty much what I would expect pre cat on your engine,its clearly running closed loop,a lit up Cat with a decent matix would clean it up enough to give a good pass.

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Hi thanks for reply, but i have no idea what this means !! what is running closed loop and what is a lit up cat and where do i get one and how much please cheers JOHN (never had any emission problems on a car before so don't really know much about it )

This is my take on what closed loop means (i'm no mechanic) you have 2 lambda sensors the first is pre cat on my freelander it's on the manifold cat the second lambda/o2 sensor is post cat fitted after the second under floor cat.

The lambda/o2 sensors monitor the emissions before and after that sends a signal to adjust the fuel injector pulse plus or minus so that its not burning too rich or too lean, they continually monitoring the emissions, if you look at the o2 sensors on live data you will see the sensor voltages jumping around adjusting to correct the pulse length (how long the fuel injector is on). This is my take on closed loop i may not be 100%

I'd add a bottle of cataclean to the petrol tank and take it for a good run on the motoway, check the second under floor o2 sensor, clean the fuel injectors, change the two catalytic converters.

I forgot to say an oil change and new oil filter after you've taken it for a good long burn to blow all the crap out of the engine.

digi said:

This is my take on what closed loop means (i'm no mechanic) you have 2 lambda sensors the first is pre cat on my freelander it's on the manifold cat the second lambda/o2 sensor is post cat fitted after the second under floor cat.

The lambda/o2 sensors monitor the emissions before and after that sends a signal to adjust the fuel injector pulse plus or minus so that its not burning too rich or too lean, they continually monitoring the emissions, if you look at the o2 sensors on live data you will see the sensor voltages jumping around adjusting to correct the pulse length (how long the fuel injector is on). This is my take on closed loop i may not be 100%

I'd add a bottle of cataclean to the petrol tank and take it for a good run on the motoway, check the second under floor o2 sensor, clean the fuel injectors, change the two catalytic converters.

I forgot to say an oil change and new oil filter after you've taken it for a good long burn to blow all the crap out of the engine.

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Close enough Although a pre 2001 1.8 only has 1 cat and 1 O2 sensor.
Closed loop means, the engine controls mixture by using the signals from the O2 sensor. Open loop is just that. The ECU supplies fuel in accordance with a preprogrammed map. All engines run open loop control at some point in the drive cycle.
However at running temperature at idle, it should be under closed loop control.

A cat that is functioning is sometimes described as "lit". Basically it's chemically burning the exhaust gas to clean it more than a non cat car.

HI again, so on that assumption then, as the guy who did the mot said it probably needs a new cat, would i be right to assume that this would solve the emission problem, please see original posting which has failure readings on,,,, are any of the cats that are on ebay for around £50-60 any good or would an original fitment part be better, and does anyone know the cost of one, or any suggestions for a good cat for 1999 1.8 cheers again JOHN

Cheap Ebay cats are worthless. If the are cheap, they contain little of the expensive metals required to work effectively.
I still suspect that your high HC a clue.