Spanish ITV (MOT)

[Terranical]

Well, my '94 T2 had it's ITV (Spanish MOT) here in sunny Espana and failed! Emissions and shock absorbers. Local garage replaced the shocks and cleaned the injectors i.e. poured a can of injector cleaner into the tank - 536 euros! I can't do the work myself over here, I don't have a flat (I'm halfway up a mountain) or stable (just stony earth) surface to work on, I don't have a trolley jack or axle stands and if I did I have nowhere to store them, the hand tools I do have are kept permanently in the boot of the car so I am at the mercy of the local No Abla Ingles (I don't speak English) Pablo! Anyway with a combination of my few words of Spanish , Pablo's three words of English and a lot of hand signals and pointing, I established he was telling me to give the car some welly on the motorway, so that's what I did - 3 miles up hill virtually redlining it all the way, round the roundabout and back down, then a repeat performance - result? No difference at all, still get a big cloud of black smoke when I rev the engine. I've got a retest tomorrow and I think it's going to fail again - any ideas anyone? Lacroupade recommended putting some SVO in the tank, what is SVO and is it something I might be able to get in Spain? In the short term I have filled the car with Shell V Power diesel instead of ordinary but I'm clutching at straws here!

 

[iandouglas]

spanish itv mot

try removing air filter.
it will make engine take in more air. then put it back after itv.

 

[rustic]

Have you changed the air filter, as this will cause black smoke.

You could try it without a filter for a brief time, if there is no risk of any "stuff" getting in.

 

[lacroupade]

Well, my '94 T2 had it's ITV (Spanish MOT) here in sunny Espana and failed! Emissions and shock absorbers. Local garage replaced the shocks and cleaned the injectors i.e. poured a can of injector cleaner into the tank - 536 euros! I can't do the work myself over here, I don't have a flat (I'm halfway up a mountain) or stable (just stony earth) surface to work on, I don't have a trolley jack or axle stands and if I did I have nowhere to store them, the hand tools I do have are kept permanently in the boot of the car so I am at the mercy of the local No Abla Ingles (I don't speak English) Pablo! Anyway with a combination of my few words of Spanish , Pablo's three words of English and a lot of hand signals and pointing, I established he was telling me to give the car some welly on the motorway, so that's what I did - 3 miles up hill virtually redlining it all the way, round the roundabout and back down, then a repeat performance - result? No difference at all, still get a big cloud of black smoke when I rev the engine. I've got a retest tomorrow and I think it's going to fail again - any ideas anyone? Lacroupade recommended putting some SVO in the tank, what is SVO and is it something I might be able to get in Spain? In the short term I have filled the car with Shell V Power diesel instead of ordinary but I'm clutching at straws here!

SVO = Straight Vegetable Oil. The stuff in your supermarket.

Sunflower oil or similar, even basic vegetable oil, at least a 30% mix, 50% if you have enough space, then run it for a few miles and see what happens. Needs no modication. I know veg oil is a bit pricier in France but assume that south of the border things are a bit cheaper?

Normally reduces emissions quite a bit.

BUT - this assumes its legal to stick it in your tank in Spain with no duty implications - we can use 2500 litres a year here with no duty or penalty, but that might not be the case in Spain....but will the tester be worried? (The smell can be a giveaway LOL)..

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

My exhaust emissions were considerably lower that at the last MOT, running on 50% (approx) veg oil.

 

[Terranical]

Thanks guys, a few things to try - I think probably the air filter removal is the best plan at the moment (my retest is 11am tomorrow). I brimmed the tank today with Shell V Power, so there's no room for any SVO, but I will try that once the tank level has dropped a bit. I'll keep you posted!

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

sounds silly - but try giving it a good thrashing, revving high through every gear, I have an MOT tester friend and he often does this on borderline cars :thumb2

 

[Terranical]

sounds silly - but try giving it a good thrashing, revving high through every gear, I have an MOT tester friend and he often does this on borderline cars :thumb2

Thanks for that Plank, the guy in the garage recommended that - so, just outside where I'm staying there is a dual carriageway with a 2 mile or so-long hill which I normally take in 4th, so today I did it in 3rd, keeping it just on the edge of the red line, I then went back and did it again, think there may be a bit less smoke now (I've also removed the air filter). Got to take it to Malaga in the morning for the ITV, thats around 20 miles, so I'll give it another thrash on the way there.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Thanks for that Plank, the guy in the garage recommended that - so, just outside where I'm staying there is a dual carriageway with a 2 mile or so-long hill which I normally take in 4th, so today I did it in 3rd, keeping it just on the edge of the red line, I then went back and did it again, think there may be a bit less smoke now (I've also removed the air filter). Got to take it to Malaga in the morning for the ITV, thats around 20 miles, so I'll give it another thrash on the way there.

A good thrashing on the way there will make sure it's hot for the test too!
another small thing that works, is new engine oil, many cars seem cleaner for an oil change! :thumb2

 

[Terranical]

SVO = Straight Vegetable Oil. The stuff in your supermarket.

Sunflower oil or similar, even basic vegetable oil, at least a 30% mix, 50% if you have enough space, then run it for a few miles and see what happens. Needs no modication. I know veg oil is a bit pricier in France but assume that south of the border things are a bit cheaper?

Normally reduces emissions quite a bit.

BUT - this assumes its legal to stick it in your tank in Spain with no duty implications - we can use 2500 litres a year here with no duty or penalty, but that might not be the case in Spain....but will the tester be worried? (The smell can be a giveaway LOL)..

Hi Lacroupade. Had a bit of a search on Google re. using SVO here in Spain, lots of info about the merits & demerits of using it, but nothing about the legality, so I would assume that it's not an offence. It appears to be about the same price as the UK (I paid 1.10 euros for a litre for cooking today) so once I have room in my tank I may well give it a try. Thanks for the advice.

 

[lacroupade]

Hi Lacroupade. Had a bit of a search on Google re. using SVO here in Spain, lots of info about the merits & demerits of using it, but nothing about the legality, so I would assume that it's not an offence. It appears to be about the same price as the UK (I paid 1.10 euros for a litre for cooking today) so once I have room in my tank I may well give it a try. Thanks for the advice.

Nice one! at 1.10, with the price of spanish diesel, I guess its probably on a par? I know I typically pay around 1.30 for diesel in south west France, and veg oil is even more expensive than that in the supermarkets, but south of the border in Aragon diesel is a lot cheaper, or was ?

But there is no down side on this truck with veg oil. In that climate you can run 70%or more veg oil with no problem and you will notice it runs a lot quieter and more smoothly. The Terrano engine is real old-fashioned diesel technology so, unlike a lot of motors, is easily capable of using it at high ratios and here in the UK the proice difference is a bit more significant.

The reason they introduced the 2500 litre tax-free limit over here was partly a sop to the Greens but also because they knew there were only a very small number of vehicles that could take advantage, so it was no biggie to the Revenue :thumb2

Paul

 

[Terranical]

IT PASSED! One step closer to my T2 becoming a Spanish car! I pick up the new number plates next week, pay a years road tax - job done.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

:clap well done :clap

don't forget to put the air filter back in, and remember all the tips for next year :augie

 

[jace]

will it still retain its uk id?,incase you fetch it back to sell in a rhd country!

 

[Terranical]

will it still retain its uk id?,incase you fetch it back to sell in a rhd country!

No, it will become a Spanish car - the V5 has to be surrendered to the local ayuntamiento (council) who advise the DVLA that the car has been permanently exported. I would imagine it may be possible to do the whole thing again in reverse, but apart from all the admin involved I would also have to change the headlights and rear lights back again and the car is 17 years old now, so I would imagine it will end it's days in the sun!

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

No, it will become a Spanish car - the V5 has to be surrendered to the local ayuntamiento (council) who advise the DVLA that the car has been permanently exported. I would imagine it may be possible to do the whole thing again in reverse, but apart from all the admin involved I would also have to change the headlights and rear lights back again and the car is 17 years old now, so I would imagine it will end it's days in the sun!

cars already changed to Spanish ID seem to gain much higher prices :thumb2

 

[Terranical]

cars already changed to Spanish ID seem to gain much higher prices :thumb2

You're right - s/h 4x4's fetch silly money over here, if you can even find one, and a lot of Brit ex-pats prefer right hand drive, you can see how close you are to the edge of the road (and the 200 foot drop!) I reckon the whole job has cost me around £1800, with the various admin charges, £500 to get it through the ITV and re-insuring it (the reg. no, on the policy will now be wrong), more than the car is worth in the UK, but a lot less than in Spain.

 

[badger]

hello,
not sure why you had to change the rear lights?
my family live in Mijas, and over the years i did a few uk to spanish car itv's, i know they are getting tougher than they were, but what did they want rear lights changing for?
did you go to the big test centre on the road to malaga?
next test in two years?

have they given up charging ileagle import duty on uk/eu cars now?
had a big row with the police (civil) and council over this, in the end we did a deal!


steve

 

[mowerman]

Hi.... are you saying I can just go buy a shed load of bog standard veggie oil from sains***ys and just pour it in the tank at say a 30% mix to diesel ????? I dont need to add anything or do anything else New to diesels so never thought about it but am sure I can buy in bulk somewhere????

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Hi.... are you saying I can just go buy a shed load of bog standard veggie oil from sains***ys and just pour it in the tank at say a 30% mix to diesel ????? I dont need to add anything or do anything else New to diesels so never thought about it but am sure I can buy in bulk somewhere????

sounds simple and it is- apart from the sainsbury's bit - it will cost you more than diesel there! Shop around and if you can find if for under a quid a litre you are doing well. I use an approx 50% mix (probably up to 60% svo) and pay around £1.05 a litre for oil. which is a decent saving on a tank full: thumb2