MOT Queries

Hi there, hope you can help,

My Series 3 is now out of MOT, it smokes massively on startup which i aim to fix, anyway, i was wondering what the MOT criteria is for old vehicles, surely they aren't tested by todays standards? I asked my MOT place i go with my daily run abouts and he said that it might be just inspectional?

Any ideas? Also, what is actually tested at MOT so I can have a feel for if i am wasting my time taking it in for a test?

Cheers,

Matt

Is it petrol or diesel?

Diesel... 2.25.

From the MOT Testers Manual...

A. Vehicles first used before 1 August 1979

Where possible check that:
. there is sufficient oil in the engine
. the oil pressure Is not too low
. there is no abnormal engine noise
. the governor has not been tampered
with
. the engine is at normal operating temperature

(see Information column)

Raise the engine speed to around 2500 rpm, or half the maximum engine speed if this is lower
Hold this speed steady for 30 seconds to ensure that the inlet and exhaust system is fully purged

Allow the engine to return to idle and the emissions to stabilise

1. Assess the smoke emitted from the
tailpipe

2. Rapidly increase the engine speed to around 2500rpm or half the maximum engine speed if this is lower and assess the smoke emitted from the tailpipe during acceleration

Reasons for rejection -
1. The exhaust emits dense blue or clearly visible black smoke for a period of 5 seconds at idle

2. The exhaust emits dense blue or clearly visible black smoke during acceleration which would obscure the view of other road users

Note: The criterion is density and not volume of smoke. The description 'dense smoke' includes smoke or vapour which largely obscures vision

Older vehicles, particularly pre-1960, sometimes emit unavoidable smoke due to their design. Such smoke is not a reason for rejection

thank you very much... i've been searching for something like that for ages and never managed to find it! cheers! Matt

Google is your friend.