Failed emissions in Cali

[Bobby]

Okay figured I might as well ask here before I chase my tail anymore. As the title states I failed emissions in Cali, ugh. HC and Nox were through the roof

Fail 15 mph HC was 186 max allowed 87
Fail 25 mph HC was 143 max allowed 69

Fail 15 mph Nox was 4941 max allowed 815
Fail 25 mph Nox was 4826 max allowed 754

15 mph CO was .06 max allowed .78
25 mph CO was .06 max allowed .46

Of course the HC and Nox were about 30% lower before they found the ignition timing was retarded. Not sure how that happened. ;)

SO I am hoping some of the members have some suggestions or "know a guy" like I had back in Ga. :)

The car does have a sticky valve on number 3 cylinder. Marvels mystery oil and seafoam helped that alot.

Thanks and ask anything you need as I really gotta get this thing regged as I am expired and dodging cops
everyday. :P

[RAZR]

My advice














move

[Dr_Snooz]

Probably time to buy a cat.

...and a valve job. A poorly running engine is not going to pass smog. You can fiddle and fudge and maybe squeak by a couple times, but it's going to keep not passing smog. You'll buy a new cat to the tune of $100-200 and in a couple years, the bad valve will have it all clogged up again and you'll have pay another $100-200 along with all the hassle and heartache. A cat might get you by this time, but you need to get the car running properly.

[Bobby]

Probably time to buy a cat.

...and a valve job. A poorly running engine is not going to pass smog. You can fiddle and fudge and maybe squeak by a couple times, but it's going to keep not passing smog. You'll buy a new cat to the tune of $100-200 and in a couple years, the bad valve will have it all clogged up again and you'll have pay another $100-200 along with all the hassle and heartache. A cat might get you by this time, but you need to get the car running properly.

Yeah, It is time to pull the head for sure but it's at 226k miles now. I am going to want to do a complete rebuild if I go that far. Just trying to get it to pass so I can get all the parts together and funds for the machine work she deserves. Been a faithful friend for many years and hope for many more.

[Bobby]

As a follow up I now passed with flying colors. Direct venturi vacuum to Egr and Timing set per factory not to what the idiot Smog tech insisted upon. :uh:

[Xaisk]

See in my 4 years of working on cars ive noticed that mechanics ALWAYS fuck it up. EVERY trip ive ever had they have messed up something. EVERY time!

Do it yourself, the work and money will be rewarding when it runs a hella lot better than some mechanic who doesnt care will do.

Here you can ask questions for help on the 3rd gen. Welcome to 3Geez!

[Civic Accord Honda]

glad u got it passed...was going to recommend just getting them 90 day pases while you save up for a new engine.... the dmv will give you like 3 of them lol.....i dont see why my car wouldnt pass smog yet im rocking a 60 pass just so i dont have to fork out the 50bucks for a smog check right now haha

[frantik]

glad u got it passed...was going to recommend just getting them 90 day pases while you save up for a new engine.... the dmv will give you like 3 of them lol.....i dont see why my car wouldnt pass smog yet im rocking a 60 pass just so i dont have to fork out the 50bucks for a smog check right now haha

how do you get one of these "passes" ?

[forrest89sei]

how do you get one of these "passes" ?

Normally they give them to you when you transfer title


Best Defense Against Smog is to Live Where I Do, I Only Smog When I Buy OR Sell A Car :D

[Civic Accord Honda]

how do you get one of these "passes" ?

ask the dmv for one when it fails...see your working on it to get it passed and need to be able to get to the auto store and shit to get parts... there hand out a 60 day for sure... if the lady at the dmv is nice you can ask for 90 day and there give it to u lol

[frantik]

even if mine did blow clean it will fail cause my dc header doesn't have the carb info on it

i used to uh, "know someone" but they got, uh, "busted"

[Dr_Snooz]

even if mine did blow clean it will fail cause my dc header doesn't have the carb info on it

i used to uh, "know someone" but they got, uh, "busted"

Does it not have EGR on it?

[frantik]

i'm pretty sure it does have egr.. it just doesn't have the carb label on it.. it doesn't have DC label on it either but from all info on this site unless it was a "knock off" it appears to be a DC header. it should technically be carb legal but without the label saying it is, it's not legal

[Dr_Snooz]

Have you actually failed a visual with them? If you have EGR hooked up and working and the O2 sensor connected, I wouldn't be surprised if you passed the visual portion. Unless the tech owns a 3g, there's no real way for him to know you have an aftermarket exhaust manifold on it. I'm interested in your experience for reasons I won't go into here.

[frantik]

Unless the tech owns a 3g, there's no real way for him to know you have an aftermarket exhaust manifold on it.

maybe if i put the stock header cover back on it they wouldn't notice, but i really doubt they wouldn't notice new(ish) looking headers on a 20 year old car... it's pretty obvious that they are not stock. plus it's not like they've never seen a 3gee before, there are tons of them in san jose.

i haven't tried to get it smogged cause i'm pretty strapped right now and don't have $50 to spend to find out it won't pass, plus even if it passes visual i suspect it won't pass the blow test

[Dr_Snooz]

maybe if i put the stock header cover back on it they wouldn't notice, but i really doubt they wouldn't notice new(ish) looking headers on a 20 year old car... it's pretty obvious that they are not stock. plus it's not like they've never seen a 3gee before, there are tons of them in san jose.

i haven't tried to get it smogged cause i'm pretty strapped right now and don't have $50 to spend to find out it won't pass, plus even if it passes visual i suspect it won't pass the blow test

I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but they didn't even ask about the new intake and carb on my truck and there are at least 2 billion Chevy trucks running around here. All they did was look for the EGR, PCV and smog pump. Those are there and hooked up, so I passed the visual. As long as all the stock controls are there, it wouldn't surprise me if you passed that part.

The blow test is a different matter. Ask them to do a pre-test before they do the real one. If you hit gross-polluter on a real test, you're in a world of hurt. If you hit it on a pre-test, they'll call you and tell you you're in big trouble, but you won't have to jump through extra hoops like taking it to a special place to get it tested. Does your exhaust stink real bad like fresh gas or anything?

[Lil Mike]

damn you guys have serious smog test. i test vehicles in toronto, i'm supposed to check for all that, but all i do is stick the sniffer in the tail pipe and run it. If it passes, then good for you i don't care if you don't have a carb number on a header.