I took my 89 camaro rs to get inspected the other day and I had a horrible emissions failure. The exhaust consists of stock manifolds, stock y-pipe, brand new magnaflow cat, and brand new 3" flowmaster american thunder cat-back. A friend inspected it last year and passed it with a blindfold on but I am no longer able to take it to him so it has to pass.

The number i got were:

CO: 1.35% (passing: 1.10%)
HC: 740 ppm (passing: 275 ppm)
NO: 13210 ppm (passing: 3600 ppm)

Has new plugs, wires, distributer cap, and distributer rotor.

I checked the EGR valve and when i pushed the diaphragm in, it was really stiff and kinda hard to push in. Also, I had the car running and I pushed the diaphragm in and the car didn't stall out. The EGR valve is original to my knowledge. I read the article "The Lowdown on Code 32" and I did have the check engine light come on one night while driving at about 40 mph and a couple minutes later it went off. The car also idles rough/fluctuates, usually in reverse.

Can anyone help me out here. I think the valve needs to be replaced but any insight on other issues would be appreciated. I don't want to needlessly replace parts if something else is wrong. Thanks!

 

Might be nice to know what kind of engine it is.

 

Sorry completely forgot to put that. It's either a TBI 305 or TBI 350. The VIN says "E" for 305 but the guy I bought it from told me it was a 350. Everything on the car has been original so far though so either they lied or they just replaced the engine and kept everything else original.

 

The first problem looks like unburned fuel, not EGR.

 

what would cause that?

 

My opinion would be there is a malfunction in the EGR system. The EGR valve circulates some of the exhaust back into the intake manifold. The EGR is important to your emissions as it prevents build up of toxic gases. If The EGR valve has failed it could cause a large amount of these noxious toxins to build up providing your unreasonably high counts. The most common symptoms of a bad EGR valve is rough idling and poor acceleration. I Would replace the valve.

 

I forgot to mention it is also vacuum controlled so check the vacuum line for and breaks or leaks.

 

I just ordered a new egr valve since it's the original and seemed kinda worn out and stiff. I'm also going to check out the vacuum lines and the solenoid and try and clean the system out.

 

I replaced the EGR valve and checked the lines. Everything seems to be ok there. I had it reinspected and it failed again. I haven't seen the results sheet yet, but the guy mentioned that the HC's were fairly high. I'm leaning towards the engine running too rich. What would cause this? The O2 sensor is probably the original. Would that cause a rich fuel mixture and possibly high HC's? Also I have the stock TBI intake which seems slightly restrictive. Would changing this to an open element help the emissions issue by allowing more air in? I'm just trying to figure out what would be causing this. It's the only thing keeping me from passing inspection.

 

I looked at the sheet and I did pass on CO and NOx. However the HC's failed at 540. 245 is the limit. I bought an O2 sensor and I will be replacing that this week. I also found that the canister purge solenoid had a snapped wire. I soldered it back together. Apparently that part of the emission system reduces HC's. Is there anything else I should be checking before taking it to get reinspected?

 

sure you didnt crack a spark plug when getting it changed? High HC equals unburnt fuel. Maybe cracked plug, plug wire not on properly, plug wires crossed. Injector spraying too much fuel.