Ok, so i fixed the High beam switch (which they didnt even check.......grr ) but I now have failed safety because my tilt steering column is wobbly. It you pull it the left, it moves about 1.5" further than it should. Not sure what is going on or how to fix...

And now because of that, i failed safety. (The steering wheel iitself is NOT loose--the column is)

Now emissions.....i changed the oil (Mobil 1 synthetic with Fram filter) AND the air cleaner AND the sparkplugs (pain in the butt to get out..) but i STILL failed emissions. Any suggestions?

The report says "Too high HC ppm and CO%" the HC ppm was 197ppm--the limit is 60 ppm. The CO% was 1.43, the limit is 0.32.

ur car is running rich. does it still have a cat? is the cat working? whats kinda of engine

Yes it still has a cat, and its working as far as i know. The engine is a 305 tpi 5.0L

Assuming the car isnt miss firing i'd check the cat to make sure its working properly

it took me about 3 hours to tighten my steering column, i've only done one in the past. these camaros have 2 or 3 tricks. 1 is you need to compress the part behind the steering wheel adapter to release a lockring or you'll be pulling on it all day with no success. i had to make a special tool, but you can buy a 15 dollar tool for that. and the other trick is the 2 pins that it tilts on need to come out. they need to have a piece threaded in them and then you pull them out, very carefully or the tiny bolt you threaded in will snap. and the highbeam switch and ignition switch have some tricky linkage that has to be in there right, but it's fairly easy overall.

I know your pain. When my 87 was still 305 TPI I never got it to pass emissions easily. The very last time, I replaced so much stuff. Basically, I replaced the cat, and even though it wasnt the main issue, the fresh cat made up for some of it, and it squeaked by.

The next time I went, I couldnt get it to pass again. I tested everything. All the solenoids for every piece of emissions equip, changed the EGR and its solenoid, etc etc. Just wouldnt pass. Luckily, after you spend $600 on parts trying to pass a car in PA, they give you a waiver. Not sure if they still do that...but they did it for me. After that, i just kept my car under 5000 miles a year, and I was emissions exempt.

You gotta get yourself a good plan going for systematically testing the emissions equipment. ALLData has a good guide for trouble shooting the systems with pretty simple tools like a multigauge.

Ide say do some testing, and check to see if the cat is working efficiently. Good luck...emissions are such a pain in the butt. Once my car is 25 years old, Im going to register it as an antique. No more safety or emissions inspection. haha. I hate inspection time...

J.

there is a certain fuel that you can use to pass emissions, but i cant remember exactly what it is. my boss has used it to pass emissions on numerous cars for over 25 years. i want to say methanol, but im not sure...

thankfully in taxachusetts 83 or older vehicles dont need to pass emissions just safety "my car is 1983". but in october 2008 95 or older cars wont need to pass emissions no more mass31

what year is your car?

My car is a 90'.

I ran a bottle of GM top end cleaner through it, and it seems as though its running smoother. I'm getting a new cat today ($60 for a walker online couldn't pass it up) so i hope that'll help a bunch.

Anybody have any idea on what the gas trick he's talking about it?

Removed the EGR....it has some carbon but the diaphram still seems to work under vacuum.... found that my distributor had rusty contacts...I'm sure that didn't help me burn the fuel...

Hi i'm new here but I saw your thread and just went through the same thing with my 91 firebird in PA with almost the same emissions result as you. I went through all the basics, wires, new plugs and dist. cap. and it did better but failed again. I checked for vacuum leaks and the EGR valve, the egr was ok but I found a couple of leaks and fixed them. While I was at it I checked to see if I had any error codes and had none. So I went back and it failed again, the guy that owns the place is a friend of mine and new what I had done so far and he said to change the O2 sensor and that might do it. A new one was only $20. so I did, the pigtail came off in my hand when I uncliped it, It looked like it got pinched some where along the way and the copper just corroded away with just a couple of strands holding it together. Put the new one in and it passed, we think it was connected enough to not give an error but not good enough to work right. I dont know if this is your problem but it's something to check.
good luck

02 sensor is also a good tune up option and wil help with emissions. not the right thread, but i have a brand new bosch o2 sensor i never installed if you want it for a couple dollars..