Help - emission problems

[William Jacobsen]

Hi - posted on this earlier & got some good advice but problems are still there. Does anyone know of a good garage in East Yorkshire who knows how to fix z3's?
My usual garage did the MOT & the car failed on emissions. They replaced damaged hoses & the MAF & checked the Purge valve - all OK but fault still there. Given the age of the car they were limited to the diagnosis they could do & advised a specialist.
The specialist gave contradictory advice ie an ignition fault rather than emissions but said hydro carbon & Lambada both high. They did an air leak test which was OK. They then suggested replacing the sparkplug & coils as there was an intermittent fault on 3 cylinders - this didn't solve the problem! They now say I need a need a new throttle body which is causing a new fault! The cost is £848.60 on top of what I've already paid & I'm told there are only 2 currently in the UK.
There is no guarantee this will solve the problem.
The car does very little mileage & is SORNED during the winter - it ran perfectly when put a way last Autumn.
Can anyone help - I'm clutching a straws & being played for a fool by so called specialist BMW mechanics

 

[Zephyr]

Oh my!
Do you have a code reader to get some live data?
What engine is in the car? There is no "limited diagnosis" even with obdi. There are only bad "specialists".

 

[William Jacobsen]

Hi - no don't have a code reader - the car is 2 litre & has run perfectly for the last 5 years. These so call specialists have let me down before but I stupidly gave them a second chance

 

[Zephyr]

Well, without a code reader, we are flying blind, how are we going to check if the values are good after any suggestions.
Seems a visit to the shop is the only solution.
Before you take it to whoever other members suggest, fill with fresh fuel and do an Italian tuneup, or drive in 3rd gear and over 40 mp/h for about ten minutes.
It may clean the cat and possibly adjust the ecu to a leaner state.
Btw these early M52 engines had some issues with the nicasil coating inside the cylinders, hope yours is not a high mileage poorly lubricated one.

 

[GZed]

Hi - posted on this earlier & got some good advice but problems are still there. Does anyone know of a good garage in East Yorkshire who knows how to fix z3's?
My usual garage did the MOT & the car failed on emissions. They replaced damaged hoses & the MAF & checked the Purge valve - all OK but fault still there. Given the age of the car they were limited to the diagnosis they could do & advised a specialist.
The specialist gave contradictory advice ie an ignition fault rather than emissions but said hydro carbon & Lambada both high. They did an air leak test which was OK. They then suggested replacing the sparkplug & coils as there was an intermittent fault on 3 cylinders - this didn't solve the problem! They now say I need a need a new throttle body which is causing a new fault! The cost is £848.60 on top of what I've already paid & I'm told there are only 2 currently in the UK.
There is no guarantee this will solve the problem.
The car does very little mileage & is SORNED during the winter - it ran perfectly when put a way last Autumn.
Can anyone help - I'm clutching a straws & being played for a fool by so called specialist BMW mechanics

Might be worth trying one of these pre-emissions test cleaning products from Wynns?
I’m about to try some on my daily driver diesel which has failed MOT on emissions. Garage recommended that this plus an engine flush and new oil & filter should help. I’ve never used it before, but both products have lots of very good reviews on Amazon and Halfords sites, with few bad ones. For the price it’s worth a punt?
I’m sure others on here may have experience & comments on such products?

 

[Ianmc]

Guess worth a try, but I tried a number of such brands a few years ago and little/no effect on emissions. Snake oil comes to mind.
For my M44, the final solution was a new OEM CAT (tried 2 aftermarket ones first).
As suggested above, get a code reader on first.
Good fortune

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Like the others are saying, get a reader on it, the Creator gives live stream stuff, and don't necessarily believe "specialists" who tell you to spend money on a bit of guesswork.
And I'm pretty sure a Lambada sensor is something you'd find on Strictly.

 

[Trevor /chedder]

My 98 1.9 had all this. Eventually sorted with a type 3 euro cat. It only legally required a type 2 but they aren't regulated so don't do much. The type 3 sorted it. eBay not too expensive

 

[t-tony]

Post a picture of your emission test result so we can see for our selves how far out the readings are. Did the MOT station test the engine oil temperature ?

Tony.

 

[William Jacobsen]

Thanks for the advice everyone - I'll work through suggestions & see what happens

 

[Synclare]

.

 

[t-tony]

But, as I said no one on here can really advise without knowing the test results. Post a picture of the test results.

Tony.

 

[Stevo7682]

I had a 2 litre zed 3 w reg cant remember what co and hc readings were but persistently failed the lambda new bosch lambda improved it but still a fail .
He got an electrician to sort this after discovered if you remove the left boot carpet in lower left is solenoid and vacuum lines for valved back box if you joined the 2 vacuum lines together the valve would permanently close a nd leave one tailpipe exit in that state it would pass so he took it away to someone came back all fixed dont know if any of that will be of any help to you .
Stephen.

 

[black fingernail]

A previous test station tried to test swmbo's as a Z4, he couldn't find the Z3 listed on his machine... it was on a sub menu under E36, then it tested ok.

 

[as400]

Mine failed on emissions, replaced the O2 sensor, cheap part, passed straight away. Have you done this yet?

 

[William Jacobsen]

Not tried this but will discuss with the garage - my lack of mechanical knowledge is a real handicap with this as I'm getting contradictory advice from the garages. The specialist garage now say
'The fault code is A9 - Throttle output stage. I have checked the connector for bent pins and corroded contacts. I have also checked the freedom of movement of the throttle valve, I cleaned the valve and retested. Vehicle has a permanent fault, and suspect internal fault with the throttle valve.'
The advice seems to be get a code reader - had thought the garage would do this but maybe need to get my own

 

[Zephyr]

Live data is crucial for any diagnosis.
A code is the headache you have, live data are the the reading of your blood pressure to determine if this is the cause. Every mechanic should be able to read live data. If not, he shouldnt be called a mechanic.

 

[William Jacobsen]

Fully agree - thought the idea of a diagnostic plug was to pinpoint the fault - not the start of an elimination trail. How wrong am I?

 

[Duncodin]

Sorry. Answered wrong question in wrong thread

 

[Ianmc]

Just for reference, MoT today gave following measures: CO fast idle 0.00 (max is 0.20), CO natural idle 0.00 (max is 0.30), HC 14 (max 200).
Although expensive, the replacement OEM BMW cat 3/4 years ago has been a good investment.