Can anyone please advise of the current legislation regarding the MOT & burning oil . Vehicle is 1800 Carb VW Passat Estate '87 vintage mileage 201k and it really needs new valve stem oil seals as it is burning a small amount of oil at tickoverr & on the overrun when the engine is warm. Garage costs aren't worth it in view of vehicle age , time & lack of genealogical skills (can probably be undertaken with head in sittu, removing camshaft - hydraulic tappets and using rope to hold valves with piston @TDC) are in short supply at the moment.
Any comments would be welcome - thanks in anticipation .
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I suppose their comes atime in every vehicles life were a decision has to be made to invest or dispose.You could always try changing the oil for something a bit thicker a new filter on the test day and hope it goes through
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Colin, the emmissions regs are for hydrocarbons, of which oil is one. A maximum 1200 parts per million, if that helps. I have a vague recollection that there is a mention somewhere in the manual about visible smoke of the type that obliterates visibility for those following. Not that bad is it?
Regards
Mike
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New valve stem oil seals for this engine should not cost more than £120. The head can stayson for this job on this engine. So providing there are not other MOT failure points, it's probably worth doing (MOT first, decision time after).
HJ
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Many years ago I took my brother on a trip to railway sites and things around the North of Scotland, in an Austin 8 with very sloppy bores, never mind valve guides. We were held up in Nairn (I think) by an officious policeman at a crossroads who clearly did not like us (probably wrong numberplate - BVA161) and was clearly going to keep us for as long as he could. I saw what was coming. I was very careful not to rev at all. When at last he let us go I gave full throttle in bottom: I last saw him in the mirror, from the chest up (the rest was concealed by the dense blue smoke).
Later, we ascended Glencoe in a flat calm, full noise in third and second. When we stopped near the top to replenish from one of the gallon cans of Castrol Grand Prix and water we carried we looked back down the hill, at the picnicing groups (some quite posh!) and caravans framed in a blue thundercloud.
I wish I had a log, there was much more which escapes me
Immediately after that we went to Wales, after structural repairs by me with LOTS of glass fibre, which had come in, and had more fun - lots of bends, which evened up lack of performance! Eventually we had to keep the revs up to fire the mixture before it escaped, and finally home I had to replace the exhaust valves, which had heads like little burned cabbages; this of course was needed about every 4,000 miles, if that.
Happy days!
Cheers, Tomo
PS This true reminiscence is written only to entertain!
PPS I have remembered! B31 was GM4718. No chance.....?
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A few years back, I drove from Johannesburg to Cape Town, leaving at 8pm.
Across the karoo (a large semidesert wasteland!) I was amazed to see wisps of mist in the headlights. the night was absolutely calm, and as I progressed along the road, the mist got heavier and heavier...
Eventually ahead we saw a pick-up truck, with an almost solid stream of grey/white smoke coming from the exhaust.
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The oil burning won't necessarily cause an MoT failure on emissions, unless it is producing noticeable clouds of smoke at idle. I had a very smoky Micra which sailed through the emissions test. Try a heavier grade oil (20W/50) and drop the idle speed as low as you can get away with, also make sure the crankcase breather is clear. You might get another year out of it that way.
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