Failed emissions test

I think he's a bit premature to predict valves are shot on a 72k engine. And
he jumped the gun and thinks its valves ticking. instead of spark knocks.
There's plenty to check before pulling a head off. for pinging.. that goes
away if you use good gas. You better go elsewhere , fast. The big cha- ching
is coming. Your pinging, and mileage is down. What about your timing being
way off. Also sounds like a vacuum leak too. Your mixture maybe too lean.
Anything but valves. Valves wont stop ticking when you use high test gas.
But spark knocks will stop. Also you trust a mechanic, but you don't
understand what he tells you. is this because you really trust him, or you
have to trust him....
"Signal" > wrote in message
...
>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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