'93 W124 280E - catalyst or not?

[S80]

It's been MoT (or is that VOSA?) time, and the W124 managed to fail only on an ineffective parking brake A new set of shoes/pads/discs duly sorted that out - the old shoes had cracked badly, even though of very adequate thickness :-? Much swearing was forthcoming removing and refitting the shoe hold-down springs, BTW!!

Anyway, I had a look at the emissions test result and noticed the lines: 'MOT Exhaust Emissions Test Results: Non-catalyst equipped vehicle (metered check)' at the top of the sheet.

It was my understanding that all M104 2.8 litre engines were catalyst-equipped.... am I mistaken? I notice that the power output is variously quoted as either 193 or 197 PS - is this the clue? The car is a late 'amber indicator' model fitted with the M104 2.8 engine.

The emissions results were: CO 1.344% (limit 3.5%), HC 196 ppm (limit 1200).

 

[mike65]

Odd, I though every car sold after Jan 1 1993 had to be catalised.

Mike.

 

[42864]

Surely does it not depend on when the vehicle was made.

 

[Bolide]

I think post-1992 cats were an EEC legal requirement. Most W124s I've seen had them before then. You'd have to get it on a ramp to find out...

I'd have thought all 280 engines would have a catalyst and the all-electronic later 280s would have 3-way cats. But I'm no petrol car expert

nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Ian B Walker]

Easiest way to check if you have a cat. Look on top of the air cleaner. If you have a hole with a rubber grommet in it, you don't have a cat. if your air cleaner top is hole free then you have a cat.

 

[kth286]

S80

Your car will be the all electronic HFM engine number 104942. This will be with a catalyst.

If your engine is as above then ignore Ian's previous post as not applicable.

 

[S80]

Thanks for the input, guys.

David - the engine is indeed the M104.942 with HFM control. I don't understand why the MoT emissions test sheet shows 'non-catalyst equipped vehicle'. Maybe the test equipment database is incorrect?

I had intended just to use the W124 as a stop-gap between cars, but I've actually grown quite attached to it - an nice car to 'waft around' in, and encouraging a more relaxed driving style (most of the time)

So I'm giving it a bit of a 'fettling' - and feel a bit more confident knowing there's so many knowledgeable people on here

Cheers,
David

 

[Bolide]

If you want to fettle it, splash out £20 on a set of new front antiroll bar bushes. They transform the way the car rides

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk