9 replies to this topic

[Gizzum]

Model: British Open Classic
Year: K reg
Description of problem: Had to take exhaust off recently due to it rusting through and falling off! I have a cat so when I came to the downpipe it had a small diameter pipe, approx 10mm, that ran to the side of the engine, above the clutch casing. As it was a nightmare to try and undo i eventually saw red and ripped it out. I have replaced it with a colourtune spark plug as this was the only thing i could find that would fit, the top of which now sits against the bulkhead and rattles (extremely irritating), I have trawled the usual websites looking for a replacement part but haven't managed to source one. Does anyone know of anywhere that does these?

OR

If i replace the exhaust system do I have to replace it with a system that has a cat in or can i just get rid of it?

Thanks in advance

Jez

[Big_Adam]

Picture might be handy, sounds an odd part.

[Bungle]

i think it's a emissions sensing pipe

my old exhaust manifold had one, when i went for a LCB i did away with it

if it's the same thing and doesn't go anywhere just find a bolt and plug it up

[Dan]

It is indeed a gas sampling pipe and pretty important for a car with a carb and a catalyst. The part number for the pipe on your car should be WPC10021 if that helps.

As for if you require a cat, technically if your car was built with a cat it should keep it. If your engine number is on the VOSA list for cars expected to pass the tougher emissions test then you will need to keep it. Not all carb Minis of that year are required to pass the tighter test, you'll have to check with an MOT station, it depends on what their flowchart says.

[minidaves]

fit a stage one kit and do away with it and the cat, more power better fuel eco, and the scrap man will give you a few quid for the cat

dave

[Burnard]

id play it safe, and do what dan says.

or/ if they say u must keep the cat

keep the cat box. get an LCB for a cat car, then fit it with a cat replace ment pipe (a bit of pipe that goes where the cat would). then when it comes to MOT time, fit the cat box on and link it up. once its passed, whip it off and put the pipe back on.
My friend is planning to do this his car, not a mini, but same idea applies.

Chris

[Gizzum]

id play it safe, and do what dan says.

or/ if they say u must keep the cat

keep the cat box. get an LCB for a cat car, then fit it with a cat replace ment pipe (a bit of pipe that goes where the cat would). then when it comes to MOT time, fit the cat box on and link it up. once its passed, whip it off and put the pipe back on.
My friend is planning to do this his car, not a mini, but same idea applies.

Chris

Sounds a bit of a ball ache to have to keep swapping between the two just for the MOT! I was looking at the sports cat from minispares so will scrub round that idea due to price! I think I will go with what Dan said (cheers Dan ... as always) to see if my car has to come under the stricter tests, if not it will be done away with!

Thank you guys for the advice!

Jez

[minidaves]

id play it safe, and do what dan says.

or/ if they say u must keep the cat

keep the cat box. get an LCB for a cat car, then fit it with a cat replace ment pipe (a bit of pipe that goes where the cat would). then when it comes to MOT time, fit the cat box on and link it up. once its passed, whip it off and put the pipe back on.
My friend is planning to do this his car, not a mini, but same idea applies.

Chris

Sounds a bit of a ball ache to have to keep swapping between the two just for the MOT! I was looking at the sports cat from minispares so will scrub round that idea due to price! I think I will go with what Dan said (cheers Dan ... as always) to see if my car has to come under the stricter tests, if not it will be done away with!

Thank you guys for the advice!

Jez

Play it safe lol its a 92 carb car, it does not require a cat for the mot, so remove it and solve the problem, all you have to do is pass a normal exhaust test

dave

[Dan]

Whether the car has a carb or not, the only way a car first used after 1st August 1992 is permitted to go through the non-cat emissions test is if it's exact make and model isn't listed in the chart. If it is in the chart it may be permitted higher levels than the standard cat test normally requires but it will still have to take a cat type test. Some '92 Minis with carbs are excluded and others aren't, as I said above. Being an open loop system it wouldn't be required to comply with the full test but it may well be listed with higher levels. If any model is going to be missed off the list though I would think a special edition is a prime candidate so you might be lucky there.

This is how I believe it works but I'm not an MOT tester.

I don't know if a sport cat is going to be any good in an open-loop catalyst system (that's what yours is by the way). Open-loop systems generally run at much looser tollerances than closed loop systems and the cat used has to be able to cope with a wider range for lambda and fuel.

[taffy1967]

I've been told that the MOT testers manual states (in the back as an addendum) that no Mini equipped with a carburettor as standard, need to be tested at the higher/tougher level?

But if it was originally an injection Mini and the owner switched over to a carb, then it would probably fail the emissions test as it would still have to be tested at the higher level.

However if the injection Mini got fitted with a complete replacement carb engine from an older Mini model, then the car must be tested on the age of the engine and not the car.