MOT failed, same issue every year

[Paddyposh]

I have had my car for a year but the past 4 or 5 tests it has failed on the same thing, excessive smoke, before passing.

The garage advised me to put some diesel cleaner in it (e.g. Wynns) and take it for a blast before the re-test.

any idea what the underlying issue could be? Googling seems to show it is common. The smell of the smoke stinks too, but I mean it is only noticeable (the smoke) if it is revved a lot.

Also this year it failed on the anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover - is that a cheap enough fix?

car is a 2.0 tdi 8p

 

[Matt268uk]

Do you do a lot of town driving at slow speeds and where the engines sometimes never really warms up ? I use a diesel additive every time I put fuel in and never had any issues. Diesels need to be run at higher revs/speeds to keep them running really cleanly.

 

[leonwilliams]

I take mines on motorway give it a kicking that keeps it clear

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Paddyposh]

I do about 70 miles a day, ish, northampton to leicester. The 3-4 miles in leicester centre is very start stop crawl, but the rest is 60-70mph roads.

 

[Paddyposh]

also no idea what it was like before I got it in terms of usage, don't think it was used as much as I use it. But yes certainly a lot of time is spent in rush hour style traffic but then it is followed by higher speed driving for about 30 mins

 

[samisnake]

Also this year it failed on the anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover - is that a cheap enough fix?

Assuming it's the fronts, About 15 quid a side for a decent branded part. Don't have to do in pairs either, although I personally would.

Easy to get to when you remove the wheel. Two nuts and a female spline in the centre of the nuts. Only issue is that the nuts sometimes seize on and you have no alternative but to chop them off. Or the spline is corroded/rounded so you need to use vice grips to hold the ball joint from spinning

 

[Paddyposh]

Thanks for that, good information. It is one of the rears as it turns out

 

[NHN]

Change fuel filter, do a diesel purge to clean injectors.

 

[Gazwould]

Before I found the real culprit the thermostat , 2 Stroke oil halved my smoke opacity test .

 

[samisnake]

Thanks for that, good information. It is one of the rears as it turns out

Pretty much the same concept just a little bit more tricky to get at

 

[Paddyposh]

Cheers mate

FYI the Wynns Diesel cleaner done the trick, no smoke or smell after whizzing it down the A45

 

[SootySport]

You need to make sure the engine is well warmed up when you go to the mot garage. Take the longest route to make sure. I have petrol car but still need a few miles driving for the same reason, although I’m only 200 meters from the mot garage.