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[terry paget]

1999 2.5 petrol manual estate
EML came on this morning for 5 minutes, then went off again. Reader said codes 129 and 132 EGR voltage low, and EGR wrong. feedback wrong. I know left hand cat rattles, might this be the cause, or could it be something else?

[biggriffin]

Remove egr, and blank it off.clean egr, replace, Should solve problem.

[terry paget]

Remove egr, and blank it off.clean egr, replace, Should solve problem.

Thanks. I hope this would not be an MOT fail if the tester spots it! I read last year that under new regulations any attempts to neutralise emission devices would be sought by testers and punished accordingly.

[Enceladus]

1999 2.5 petrol manual estate
I know left hand cat rattles, might this be the cause, or could it be something else?

The rattle from the nearside cat will likely be the heatshield on the downpipe from the manifold to the cat. They all corrode and get loose and move on the pipe. Usually both sides are affected so I guess your offside cat is newer, or maybe the offside shield has fallen off.

Folks clamp them up or otherwise jam them to stop the rattles. Or I've read reports on here that it's OK to cut them off altogether. Or live with it.

Get underneath the car, engine cold, jam the heatshield to stop it rattling, thump the cat with the side of your clenched fist. If you can hear a rattle from inside the cat then the matrix is broken and the cat will have to be replaced. However if that was the case you would have other symptoms such as sudden loss of power or rough running for no apparent reason. Maybe after hitting a bump.

I don't think blanking the EGR would fail the MOT, unless maybe the EML was on during the test.

[biggriffin]

Remove egr, and blank it off.clean egr, replace, Should solve problem.

Thanks. I hope this would not be an MOT fail if the tester spots it! I read last year that under new regulations any attempts to neutralise emission devices would be sought by testers and punished accordingly.

Won't even know, as it's all still there and connected,...  Get a beanz tin, cut fold in half,draw around egr valve, cut out,  smear surfaces with sealer of choice, refit egr with nice new beanz gasket...

[dave the builder]

Remove egr, and blank it off.clean egr, replace, Should solve problem.

Thanks. I hope this would not be an MOT fail if the tester spots it! I read last year that under new regulations any attempts to neutralise emission devices would be sought by testers and punished accordingly.

Won't even know, as it's all still there and connected,...  Get a beanz tin, cut fold in half,draw around egr valve, cut out,  smear surfaces with sealer of choice, refit egr with nice new beanz gasket...

Has to be Heinz beans or you will invalidate your warranty ,your family will disown you and your con rods will punch big holes in the block (so you will spend much more money on oil ) so cheap beanz is a false economy  TB will confirm 

[terry paget]

Thanks for advice.
On a more serious note, some years ago, on advice from this forum (Chris Gixer?), I removed the SAI kit from my 2.5s. Will this upset my MOT tester?

[Nick W]

Thanks for advice.
On a more serious note, some years ago, on advice from this forum (Chris Gixer?), I removed the SAI kit from my 2.5s. Will this upset my MOT tester?

How will he know? He looks at a dozen cars a day, and you're talking about detail system on a car that's at best almost twenty years old. A system that the owner won't notice is missing unless it had failed.

[terry paget]

Thanks for advice.
On a more serious note, some years ago, on advice from this forum (Chris Gixer?), I removed the SAI kit from my 2.5s. Will this upset my MOT tester?

How will he know? He looks at a dozen cars a day, and you're talking about detail system on a car that's at best almost twenty years old. A system that the owner won't notice is missing unless it had failed.

I hope you are right. It's just that right at the top and front of the bonnet there is an air valve with a hose on one side and nothing on the other. Maybe I should remove that too.

[Nick W]

I hope you are right. It's just that right at the top and front of the bonnet there is an air valve with a hose on one side and nothing on the other. Maybe I should remove that too.

That solenoid was the only part of the SAI I kept; the ECU didnt like it not being connected. I had removed the vacuum hose at it's other end.

[biggriffin]

As Nick said, remove the lot, blank egr off, leave the solenoid and egr plugged in.. happy days.

It's very self explanatory when you start.

[terry paget]

1999 2.5 petrol manual estate
I know left hand cat rattles, might this be the cause, or could it be something else?

The rattle from the nearside cat will likely be the heatshield on the downpipe from the manifold to the cat. They all corrode and get loose and move on the pipe. Usually both sides are affected so I guess your offside cat is newer, or maybe the offside shield has fallen off.

Folks clamp them up or otherwise jam them to stop the rattles. Or I've read reports on here that it's OK to cut them off altogether. Or live with it.

Get underneath the car, engine cold, jam the heatshield to stop it rattling, thump the cat with the side of your clenched fist. If you can hear a rattle from inside the cat then the matrix is broken and the cat will have to be replaced. However if that was the case you would have other symptoms such as sudden loss of power or rough running for no apparent reason. Maybe after hitting a bump.

I don't think blanking the EGR would fail the MOT, unless maybe the EML was on during the test.

That's the case. Last 2 MOTs it has struggled hrough on emissions, after tester has thumped the cat. I hope that might work again this year. Aftermarket cats are about £100 and only last one year. I think Vx cats cost over £1000; car only cost £249 3 years ago.

[Enceladus]

If the matrix is broken which would seem to be the case here then I don't believe there is any way to fix it. The broken ceramic can move and obstruct the exhaust which causes a sudden power loss.

It's not so much the cost of the car as whether it's worth it to you to fix it. The Vauxhall cats for the 2.5/3.0 V6 are reputed to be much more robust that the 2.6/3.2 version. And better than the aftermarket cats they sell now. If you can find a good used original that might be the way to go. However the youngest is going to be 10 years old at least.

[terry paget]

If the matrix is broken which would seem to be the case here then I don't believe there is any way to fix it. The broken ceramic can move and obstruct the exhaust which causes a sudden power loss.

It's not so much the cost of the car as whether it's worth it to you to fix it. The Vauxhall cats for the 2.5/3.0 V6 are reputed to be much more robust that the 2.6/3.2 version. And better than the aftermarket cats they sell now. If you can find a good used original that might be the way to go. However the youngest is going to be 10 years old at least.

I'm sure you're right, though it's been rattling for at least 2 years. I did save one cat off a 2.5 I scrapped, but it's the right hand one, and the rattler is the left. I suppose a good man could weld the good spare cat into the left hand section, carefully keeping the shape right.

When I was running 4 cylinder Omegas with one cat each, they used to fail MOTs on emissions.  I bought an aftermarket cat and it would pass one MOT only to fail the following year. I then bought one aftermarket cat, and kept it just for MOTs, running all the year on the old cat.

[cam.in.head]

If you are going to have to replace the cat ( or both) you don’t have to limit yourself to a good quality ORIGINAL omega cat ,a suitable dimension original factory cat from any other car would do the same job or better.

[terry paget]

If you are going to have to replace the cat ( or both) you don’t have to limit yourself to a good quality ORIGINAL omega cat ,a suitable dimension original factory cat from any other car would do the same job or better.

But the cat section is rigid, and has to join the exhaust manifold to the exhaust mid section. It has to be the right shape and the right length.

[Nick W]

If the matrix is broken which would seem to be the case here then I don't believe there is any way to fix it. The broken ceramic can move and obstruct the exhaust which causes a sudden power loss.

It's not so much the cost of the car as whether it's worth it to you to fix it. The Vauxhall cats for the 2.5/3.0 V6 are reputed to be much more robust that the 2.6/3.2 version. And better than the aftermarket cats they sell now. If you can find a good used original that might be the way to go. However the youngest is going to be 10 years old at least.

I'd never buy a secondhand cat. New only. God knows what you lot do to your cars to get such poor life out of the parts.


The £70 one I fitted was excellent and lasted about 5 years. I wish I had replaced the driver's side as well.

[terry paget]

If the matrix is broken which would seem to be the case here then I don't believe there is any way to fix it. The broken ceramic can move and obstruct the exhaust which causes a sudden power loss.

It's not so much the cost of the car as whether it's worth it to you to fix it. The Vauxhall cats for the 2.5/3.0 V6 are reputed to be much more robust that the 2.6/3.2 version. And better than the aftermarket cats they sell now. If you can find a good used original that might be the way to go. However the youngest is going to be 10 years old at least.

I'd never buy a secondhand cat. New only. God knows what you lot do to your cars to get such poor life out of the parts.


The £70 one I fitted was excellent and lasted about 5 years. I wish I had replaced the driver's side as well.

The last cat section I bought for my 2.2 looked like an original Vx part, I left it on the car and it did more than one year's service; I reckon it was old stock being sold off. The earlier ones fitted all right, but the catalyst bits were smaller and I imagine contained much less platinum.

[Kevin Wood]

If a new cat passes the MOT and then fails it the next year it says to me that there is another problem with the engine that is poisoning the cat. If the mixture is miles out for some reason a new cat might well work, but will be quickly rendered useless.

[terry paget]

Went to Wells last night, 20 mile journey, EML was on half the while. I have blanked off the EGR. What else can I do?

[terry paget]

Codes were 129 and 132, same as before.

[terry paget]

I could change the EGR if you think it worth while.

[Enceladus]

Did you clean the EGR before you put it back on?

[terry paget]

Did you clean the EGR before you put it back on?

I merely removed the top half of the EGR to enable me to blank it off. I cleaned it as much as I could. Would it have helped to remove the entire valve from the plenum and cleaned it more thoroughly?

[Enceladus]

Did you clean the EGR before you put it back on?

I merely removed the top half of the EGR to enable me to blank it off. I cleaned it as much as I could. Would it have helped to remove the entire valve from the plenum and cleaned it more thoroughly?

Remove egr, and blank it off.clean egr, replace, Should solve problem.

AIUI the valve still has to respond to the signals that instruct it to open/close, albeit the valve is no longer open to the exhaust. Yours is likely coked up with carbon and is jammed or jamming. Cleaning it should allow the valve to open and close and that will clear the fault code and light. Because it's now blanked off it can't get coked up again. Can't remember what I used to clean mine out. Might have been carb clean or diesel. Not sure.

[terry paget]

EML was on half the time last Tuesday. I swopped the EGR for a spare, already blanked off, last Friday, since then it has not come on in 100 miles. Thanks to all for advice.