Cars - Failed emissions test

You,ve given a legitimate acceptable reason why to use this mechanic. I
jumped the gun because didn't say that some obvious things were done. The
clutch, exhaust brakes , tires , cambelt , clutch cable are not out of line
at 72k, over three years. You,ve had some issues with a used car that can
taste bad. But that's used cars. I,m having trouble following this post ,
now, but it appears you got the car to pass by changing the plugs and oil.
Or it only passed a MOT. and still failed another emission test. Good luck.
Pinking is really pinging. I think he told you the heat shield was rattling
, maybe. Another common thing at 72k. Good luck
"Signal" > wrote in message
...
> "Lost In Space/Woodchuck" emitted :
>
>>Find another mechanic before he sucks you wallet dry! Sounds like he's
>>blowin' smoke...
>
> See my response to "none2u"...
>
> Total bill came to £60 to get it through the MOT including a new set
> of spark plugs. As I stated elsewhere - a bill I may have avoided had
> I serviced the car before putting it in for the MOT.
>
> BTW I now wonder if VW replaced the plugs when they were last
> scheduled. The pinking and the cat smell were occuring before AND
> after that service. I mentioned this to the VW mechanic - at the time
> I did not know what pinking was - his post service conclusion was that
> it was a loose part on the exhaust rattling - that the smell was
> harmless and would go away when the exhaust was replaced. Based on
> this, I continued to drive the car.
>
>
>
>>>I would appreciate any comments from readers here on this, I wasn't
>>> prepared for this and don't know where I stand....
>>>
>>> My beloved Golf '96 1.8 Mk III SE - failed on emissions. The cat has
>>> been progressively producing a stronger and stronger odour in recent
>>> times. The car pinks on regular unleaded when the engine is turning
>>> 3000+rpm - this goes away with higher octane fuel. [Pinking went on
>>> for some time unnoticed.] Fuel economy has dipped by ~10%. The car is
>>> due for service; spark plugs, oil, oil filter etc are all due for
>>> replacement. The engineer feels the problem relates to the valves and
>>> is may try a compression test tomorrow, if so, and depending on what
>>> happens there may look under the head. (Head gasket?) He said if I'm
>>> lucky it could be a plug, but I should be prepared for worse. He did
>>> try to explain possible outcomes, but unfortunately it was
>>> gobbledegook to me and flew right over my head. Can anybody comment on
>>> causes for these symptoms, anything else I should consider? I tend to
>>> trust the mechanic.. should get a second opinion/quote anyway?
>>>
>>> PS There's only 72k on the clock but in 3 years of ownership I've had
>>> to replace the clutch AND the entire exhaust system... on top of the
>>> usual servicing, brakes, tyre changes, 60k cambelt, new clutch cable.
>>> Now this. Bah!
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> S i g n a l @ l i n e o n e . n e t