Freelander high emissions

Anyone help? I have a 1.8 k series freelander for my sins!!
Just failed MOT on Emissions, basically all 3 category's are through the roof, any ideas what this may be?. I am changing the cat for a new one and will change plugs filters etc but I think a sensor may be down what is the first thing to check
Would it be worth changing the air flow meter. Vehicle is the mems1.8 type so air flow sensor is in the ecu
Any advice would be appreciated

excessive HC emissions are due to oil being burnt. This is due to a worn engine or a blocked crankcase breather.

excessive CO emissions are due to a fuel injection system problem, a faulty lambda sensor or faulty catalytic convertor.

Put a fuel system cleaner in the fuel and drive it though all gears at high revs. Change the oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter. Check lambda sensor and cat operation.

I've just been through the same with my diesel. If you're desperate you could remove the air filter prior to test (at your own risk), I heard this is a great help.

Brilliant thanks I will try that
Thanks very much indeed

Hi Graham,
Had same problems with my Rover 400 K series 1.6 last time. (same MEMS lump)
Changed the cat and Lambda sensor.
Cured a very small air leak in the inlet manifold (new silcone gasket - cheap fix) and new air filter.
Sealed round all the small vacuum hose connections with silicone (rubberware getting old on a '98 model), cleaned all the electrical connections on the various engine sensor terminals. If the tick-over is still smooth then plugs. crankshaft sensor, ht leads and dizzy cap should be ok.
You may have coil packs tho?
Had retest and sailed thro'.
Have had a few cheap lambda sensors that did not last more than a year - maybe will spend a bit more next time?
Worked for me - give it a try. :der:

Previous threads have shown that cheap replacement cats should be avoided as they don't seem to work as efficiently even when brand new. When changed for a better quality cat emissions instantly improved.

Yeah I heard that, have gone for a genuine one probably cheaper in the long run i think
Thanks for the advice much appreciated
Graham

Nine times out of ten high emissions on a 1.8 K series will be down to a failed cat,often after having to much neat fuel/anti freeze through it.(After the standard blown head gasket or owners ignoring misfires)The high Co will likely be down to an inactive oxygen sensor - the ecu will try its best to get it to switch up rich,0.8v.If it cant do this it will just widen up the injector pulse till its very rich.The mems ecu has a MAP sensor in it rather than an airflow meter,this is best checked via live data on Testbook.
If the engine is running on 4 cyls properly,with an oxy sensor capable of switching,then it will need a decent Cat to add enough exhaust treatment to get it through the emissions test.If just the Cat is faulty the Co will only get down to 0.6% and the Hc's will be around 70-150 PPM.
Beware the cheap Cats,they just dont work well enough,and certainly wont get through next years Mot if it scrapes through this one.
Removing the air filter will make no difference at all - unless its TOTALLY blocked.

Im going to----
Change CAT genuine L/R
Change LAMBDA genuine L/R
Full service plugs filters fluids
Bottle of injector cleaner
Good Blast up the Motorway also
What do you reckon?
Graham

blast it on the motorway first.

How did you get on?
My daughters Freelander 1.8 has just failed on emissions, had a 'cheap' cat and still failed but your list sounds spot on:-
Change CAT genuine L/R
Change LAMBDA genuine L/R
Full service plugs filters fluids
Bottle of injector cleaner.
Good Blast up the Motorway.

plod will love you driving it to mot re-test up motorway

Hi, new member here. My 2000 Freelander series 1 1.8 K series has failed the emissions 3 times , first time it failed I replaced the Cat even worse than before. Then I replaced the Lambda sensor now even worse emissions readings. I had already changed the oil and filter, plugs and air filter. What Am I doing wrong?? Help!!!!

rfloate said:

Hi, new member here. My 2000 Freelander series 1 1.8 K series has failed the emissions 3 times , first time it failed I replaced the Cat even worse than before. Then I replaced the Lambda sensor now even worse emissions readings. I had already changed the oil and filter, plugs and air filter. What Am I doing wrong?? Help!!!!

Click to expand...

What does the print out read?
HC and CO figures are?

Hi there, I live in France and their MOT only gives you the CO2 readings which are Tickover 1.09, accelerating 1.12 and LAMBDA 1.01. Hope this helps. Cheers

rfloate said:

Hi there, I live in France and their MOT only gives you the CO2 readings which are Tickover 1.09, accelerating 1.12 and LAMBDA 1.01. Hope this helps. Cheers

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Lamda ratio of 1.01 is a pass here in the UK.
CO at tick over should be around 0.5%
Accelerating will always be richer as the ecu goes into open loop fueling.
Was the new cat a genuine replacement or a cheap after market job? Cheap cats are rubbish
Same with the Lamda sensor.
The ECU is adaptive so if the car has been running for a period of time with a defective sensor the ECU will take a little while to re-learn the new sensors parameters.
You could try a idle control reset, it might help?
Easy to do. Switch the ignition the position 2 press the throttle to the floor 5 times in 10 seconds then switch the ignition off. Wait for 1minute then start the engine. It will start up on default idle settings. It might just work?