My 1.5 LXi failed on emissions (and nothing else!). Values were way off the scale and the MOT tester was clearly indicating he thought this was the end (such an old car, hard to know what to fix ...)
But, following the excellent advice in these forums, I swapped out the lambda sensor, changed the air-box (and therefore it's sensors) and tightened the clips either end of the air intake pipe. I could tell it was running better, but there's still that anxious wait during the retest...
It passed, and the testing bod was clearly delighted, and asked me what I did. 'All the readings were spot on' was his phrase.
I can't tell which bit was the fix, possibly a combination. I had already swapped the plugs, leads and distributor cap, and fitted a new air filter, so I'm pretty sure it was the air intake side of things (the clips either end were slightly loose).
One bit of advice - initially I could not undo the 22mm bolt in the exhaust manifold which is the lambda sensor. So after a good drive I immediately set to on the hot engine, and it came out easily (be careful - it is VERY hot).
So, I'm happy to report I'll get another year of pleasure from this car. Now I can focus on fitting that towbar…

BA trivia: the air intake pipe comes in at least two varieties:


I suspect this is another pre/post/in-between thing.

Excellent news!

I believe there is a pre/post difference in the air intake pipe; and the MAF is different.

If the readings were way off and then absolutely perfect, it's most likely to be a sensor (dead or dirty).

S

Great news about the mot sucsses!
About the air intake hose, the difference comes from the type of throttle body installed on the car.
If it is with integrated idle valve wich has air ports right before the butterfly at the bottom of the inlet, the hose is without the additional small hose.
If there's integrated idle valve, but the intake for it is not inside the inlet of the TB right before the butterfly, it is located under the TB and the small hose connects it to the intake hose so to get measured air(from the maf) to calibrate better fuel timig.
I think i explained it, maybe alittle bit confusing, but still, that is the reason for the hose difference, the idle valve itself.

Thanks Todor, I had no idea about that! I learned something new today

S

Another year another MOT failure. This time it failed on a trailing arm and a CV boot. I had a spare trailing arm from the (new) replacements I put on my earlier BA (now gone). This time it was easy to get the bolts out, but I slathered them with copper-ease before replacing in case they need to come off again.

For the CV boot I used a "glue-along-the-seam" replacement. They are relatively easy to fit since there's no need to strip the hub off, just wrap the new boot round the drive shaft and stick it together with the supplied glue. Would never believe it could work but I did one on the S-Max two years back and its still fine. Just be meticulously clean so the glue works.

Very likely it will pass when re-tested this week, so I'm pleased to have it all done before it gets really cold!

Fingers crossed for the MOT, Toby!

I've never had to replace a CV boot, but I did replace a steering boot on the V6 earlier this year and used an uncut boot, it was a pain in the a**e to say the least. I can see why the glue method is attractive! I used a rubber boot, as the plastic ones seem to disintegrate in no time.

I left the track rod end in situ and unscrewed the arm from it, using the "count the turns and mark the alignment with tape" method, which wasn't half as much trouble as actually getting the inner end of the boot pulled into place and tied off. The V6 is very cramped to work on underneath though, especially if it's not on a ramp, the angles and spaces available to get tools in are dire.

S

The whole design of front-wheel-drive seems flawed in this respect, not just Mazdas ... I've seen videos of the stretch-type boot too, using slippery grease and a cone, as well as the traditional method of undoing the CV joint. Then I stumbled across a video of a guy who said don't do any of that, just put in a new ready-built new drive-shaft. I can see the attraction, the extra cost is recovered in the reduced labour, bruises and bad language!


Agreed, and actually most modern cars are going that way. Although of course a 2.0 engine in a space designed for a 1.5 will always be challenging.
I serviced my son's old Corsa recently, and what a joy, I can get my hands around all the mechanical bits, and see them too! It's a 1.0 engine in a space that will fit a 1.4 16v. Not as much fun to drive as a V6 though!

Yay!! Passed the MOT. They were really pleased to see an older car being looked after

SJ the V6 is on a lift while being welded, and I'm thinking I should just work around it replacing the stuff that will need doing in a few years anyway. I did all the suspension (thanks for the replacement front springs) and will be cutting out the hanger for the rear trailing arms (again, thanks for the replacement arms!)

By the way, does anyone know of a rear wheel-arch aftermarket part? We're curently thinking of combining good bits from the wheel arches off my three previous cars to build up replacement metal, but a new part would be easier.

Now I'm thinking while its up on a lift I'll replace the brake hoses and anything that looks like its perishing. I saw your recommendation on the V6 whatsapp, but they want a lot of money for a brake hose kit. I'll probably just look for the right length and fitment. Two brake pipes have rusted right through, so I'll be doing them all. I see what you mean about poor access, I'n struggling to reach the brake pipe terminal block on the front bulk-head. Makes me glad of all the space in the 1.5 engine bay

And Jingles, replacing the whole drive shaft just to fix a CV boot is an extravagance I could never afford! So long as its not raining, the fun is in wrestling with the problem and having a cup of tea s a reward when its finally done

Yeh, the coloured Hel brake lines are a pleasurable extravagance, not a necessity, but nevertheless they are top quality lines - so, it depends what you want/need/are prepared to pay for.

Rear arches - nobody makes them, trust me. Me and Andy looked everywhere to cure our respective arch issues, but in the end Andy's were repaired from scratch. You can still find wings and even sills (a Polish company does them, I got a set for Sundance), but nobody's pressing rear arches. God knows why not, as they'd do a roaring trade.

The best way to get to anything lower down on the firewall in the V6 on the driver side, is to take off the intake manifold. I had to take it off to refit the PAS pipes onto the steering rack, there was no way to do it underneath unless I went in through the wheel arch, and even that was cramped.

I resisted removing the manifold for a long while but in the end realised it was quicker to spend a few hours doing that (half a day when you know what you're doing), refitting PAS from above and then replacing the manifold, than wasting days trying to faff about under the car with mini spanners and getting nowhere.

It is longwinded and a pain, but if you tie in removing the manifold with regular maintenance such as replacing the rear rocker gasket or doing the timing belt, it's somewhat more worth it.

Yes, bravo for the bags of space around the 1.5 engine bay ... I can't wait to get back to dealing with Sundance!

S

Hi All,
Toby, well done on passing the mot, and glad you sorted out the emissions.
with regards to rear wheel arch replacements, ive tracked down a czech company who make them, but only for the czech market.
i have a czech contact who im trying to get to buy a set of them, then ship them over here to the uk.
ill keep you posted on my progress, if i buy one set, i may as well buy two

any update on these rear wheel arches? could really do with some new ones for my BA as they no longer seem to want to be present on the car.