So its finally time to smog my car. Have to get it done by middle of September.

Problem is I haven't driven it in about a year. It has 'issues'.

This is what's wrong:

1. Car trembles at idle. I think an injector is bad.
2. Overheats with the AC on. Think the second fan isn't coming on.
3. Keep blowing the convenience fuse (dome lights, rear hatch, etc).
4. Front end is loose like heck. Needs rebuilding.
5. Transmission is very bad. Doesn't downshift when I take it off the gas.

So, which of these issues would need to be fixed before it can be smogged?

Ideally I'd like to fix everything so I could drive the thing, but its a ton of dough in a short time.

Thanks.

PS. Hit submit the first time by mistake, had to add the rest in

 

Idle could be lots of things, I would do a tune up (plugs, wires, cap/rotor) - see how it idles then, make sure to check the IAC and TPS as well. Might also want to have the ignition module tested in the distributor. Since it's for smog I would also replace your O2 Sensor, and for really good measure the Cat as well.

In the current heat I wouldn't think your car getting hot with the AC on would be much of a concern seeing as how it would happen, but the second fan not coming on is a bit of a problem - what temp has it gotten up to without the second fan turning on?

 

I guess tune up and oil change are a good idea.

I did test the injectors once and one of them was way off from the rest.

The AC problem was from last year when I was still driving it. It was fine all winter then when the weather got warmer I turned on the AC once and within a few minutes the temp went way past the halfway mark. Turned it off and it went back to normal.

The second fan is supposed to come on with the AC right? That's why I think maybe its not.

 

Try taking the cigarette lighter out.

 

Do a tune up and see if that helps the idle tremble. it doesn't seem to miss when you get off idle does it?

usually on a higher milage engine you'll get a little tremble at idle because of the rings and walls being worn, so at low RPM, like idle, you loose compression. Once you get off idle though, the leak doesn't have as much time to bleed off pressure, so it goes away. This kind of problem normally doesn't affect emissions too much. If you know that you have an injector winding that is bad, I would replace it though. Better safe than sorry.

Replace the O2 sensor, it's cheap insurance, but don't worry about the cat. A properly working O2 sensor with an "all right" cat will work just fine for the limits that our vehicles have.

Nothing else "needs" to be fixed on it unless it causes a major safety concern. If the car is drivable, don't stress out, as long as it shifts into second and doesn't stay in first gear, then you'll be ok on the dyno.

Make sure that you tell the guy that you have a small overheating problem when the A/C is on. Every car that I get into I turn the A/C on since it's so hot. If you tell the guy, he'll either do without the A/C or put a fan on it. He should put a fan in front of it anyway since it's so hot out right now. Anything over 72* ambient temperature gets a cooling fan.

 

It's actually more like its trembling because something is out ot balance. I had a spark plug go bad once and it was a bit like that. That's why I'm thinking that if the injector is bad that cylinder isn't working so it trembles.

From what I remember the trembling problem just seemed to happen. The car was fine (except for the tranny) then in about a few days time it was trembling and stuff.

Anyway, looks like as long as the trembling part is taken care of the rest wouldn't have an impact on the smog test. I was kind of afraid the tranny might be an issue. If it was then it wasn't gonna happen because I don't have enough for a rebuild right now.

Thanks for the help!