I have to smog the car in 3 weeks,so I have a few questions.(1)I gutted my air box completly taking all the baffles out so there's nothing between K&N's and the ground.Is this going to a problem?(2)I have some cracks in my vacumm lines and taped them up,too lazy to get new ones,do they look at these? I've done a tune-up and changed the oil ,(3)should I ditch the K&N's for some cheap new ones for the smog test only? Thanks

 

1 - i havent seen a visual inspection that looked that close to notice something like that
2 - they could fail u on the visual for that but doubt theyll look that close, ur probably better off just replacing them anyways
3 - as far as i know, the k&n is emmissions legal..

 

The vacuum lines ARE SO EASY TO FIX AND VERY VERY important to the PROPER running & Idling of your ride.
Use 5/16" windshiled wiper hose, to mate the cracked plastic lines.
Use a THIN film of oil, over the broken ends & slip on the hose.
I have MANY cracks repaired this way & I have 16-17 inches of vacuum at idle.
I have a vacuum guage used on my 1985 Firebird.
THE HARDEST?!?!?
The one that is 1/2" hose at the back of engine by driver side, distributor.
To access that, easily (yeah right!), remove the top of the three piece manifold.
Lift off and flip to passenger side, rotating and laying down, GENTLY.
Good probability no need to re-purchase a upper top gasket, either.
This is a VERY worthwhile project and almost costs NOTHING and returns many benefits (smoother idle is #1 result).
May cost about $1 in hose purchase!
Investigate doing this before the smog test.
Primo on changing oil! That's a BIG contributor to one failing the smog test.
Old oil retains gas vapors and stuff, down, there. It's sent thru engine, under pressure (higher engine loads) and passed thru the pipes, causing higher emissions.
Clean oil, no vapors to pass compared to 3-4K of old oil milage.
Really helps!!

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm a little nervous about this smog because I'm looking to get rid of it soon and do not want to waste money taking the test more than once or having to do repairs.I was reading in one of my searches that there are some gas additives that can help you get through a smog.Has anyone used one that they can recommend?Thanks

 

one last thing the DMV says go to a (Test Only) place.What is the difference in the two smog tests?Thanks

 

A quick class on emissions basics... I think you can find longer messages by me on here by searching the V6 forum for for "emissions" or "smog" written by TomP....

HC = unburnt fuel, usually the result of an incomplete combusion cycle. This points mostly to a bad ignition system. They say that one car that's misfiring on ONE cylinder will create the same amount of emissons as 10 "perfectly running" cars! So, what to look at? Check the resistance of all your plug wires (remove one at a time) with an ohmmeter to make sure none are way off spec. Remove the plugs, clean them with a wire brush, and regap them. Remove the distributor cap & rotor, and remove all carbon tracking from the terminals with a file. Don't file down the metal of the terminals! (If you or something else doesn't know what carbon tracking inside a cap looks like, check out my page here: http://www.geocities.com/tomp_3rdgen/burnt-cap.html Usually the carbon tracking is just on the terminals, not the cap plastic itself!) Check the timing, set it to stock specs (10 degrees advanced/BTDC)!

CO = not enough air into the motor. So what you asked is what I always suggest- buy two cheap-as-hell air filters, and put them in just for the drive to and from the testing center. Get home, and put your K&N's back in, and put the cheapies back in the box for next year.

NOx = caused by situations with high compression and high combustion temperatures. Too bad this is how we make HP! The EGR reduces NOx's by reintroducing exhaust gas into the motor, which, oddly enough, has a cooling effect on the explosion inside the cylinder. (You can't burn exhaust as well as you can burn fresh air, so the explosion is calmed down.)

All 3 of these are also affected by the catalytic convertor. If it's in poor shape or gutted, a replacement might significantly drop the smog #s. You can usually get a high-flow aftermarket bolt-in (not weld-in like an auto store will try to sell you) cat for $60-$80. Hot Rod did HP/emissions testing with an open pipe, high flow cat, and NEW GM cat. The new GM cat dropped HP by one or two points, but reduced the emissions over 3 times than that of the aftermarket cat. Two points to note: GM knows how to make a cat that's less restrictive, as opposed to their "first tries" in the 70's. Two, the GM cat reduces emissions much more than a high flow, so if you have a problem car, you might want a GM cat. Problem #1: GM wants upwards of $300 for one of their cats.

High HC = check ignition system for misfire
High HC + high CO = running rich. Try changing the air filter
High HC + normal = running lean.
High NOx = check EGR valve, think about replacing the cat.

Oh- I used the "Guaranteed 2 Pass" additive, the local Pep Boys carries it. For my first test on the new NJ dynos, my mechanic was amazed at how low my #'s were. The second test, I barely passed- and now, I think it's because of that distributor cap. I never bothered to check underneath, like I had for Test #1 in 2000- and then I betchya I would've found that melted rotor button! I think that's why I was borderline failing. The addtives are supposed to clean the catalytic convertor somehow, as well as clean the fuel injectors.

 

The Smog Test Only place is a place that only does tests, if they find that your car fails the test, they are <b>NOT</b> allowed to make repairs or to refer you to someone who can do the repairs. It's kinda like a fraud protection thing. I just smogged my car on Saturday and here are the results, pretty good for a 13 year old car. I think the better results this time are because of the new O2 sensor and new coil.
<table border="1" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="11%">2002 Results</td>
<td width="11%">HC: MAX</td>
<td width="11%">HC AVG</td>
<td width="11%">HC MEAS</td>
<td width="11%">CO(%) MAX</td>
<td width="11%">CO(%) AVG</td>
<td width="11%">CO(%) MEAS</td>
<td width="10%">NO(PPM): MAX</td>
<td width="10%">NO(PPM) AVG</td>
<td width="10%">NO(PPM) MEAS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">15 mph</td>
<td width="10%">112</td>
<td width="10%">30</td>
<td width="10%">45</td>
<td width="10%">0.72</td>
<td width="10%">0.14</td>
<td width="10%">0.05</td>
<td width="10%">1031</td>
<td width="10%">206</td>
<td width="10%">92</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">25 mph</td>
<td width="10%">86</td>
<td width="10%">12</td>
<td width="10%">30</td>
<td width="10%">0.60</td>
<td width="10%">0.07</td>
<td width="10%">0.06</td>
<td width="10%">891</td>
<td width="10%">194</td>
<td width="10%">40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">2000 results
<p>15 mph</td>
<td width="10%">136</td>
<td width="10%">30</td>
<td width="10%">131</td>
<td width="10%">0.72</td>
<td width="10%">0.14</td>
<td width="10%">0.54</td>
<td width="10%">1473</td>
<td width="10%">206</td>
<td width="10%">230</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">25 mph</td>
<td width="10%">86</td>
<td width="10%">12</td>
<td width="10%">27</td>
<td width="10%">0.60</td>
<td width="10%">0.07</td>
<td width="10%">0.02</td>
<td width="10%">1273</td>
<td width="10%">194</td>
<td width="10%">59</td>
</tr>
</table>

 

thanks for the help guys I've learned alot about emissions in the last couple of days.I've got 3 weeks to find a IROC and hopefully trade-in the V6 before smog.

 

How do you get the table to show up without that HUGE SPACE in between your text and the table????

 

I thought I would post my results of my smog test,I barely passed even though I used the additive "Guranteed to Pass".15mph HC-Max-114 I had 113 ,25mph HC-Max-88 I had 82,15mph CO-Max-.73 I had .11,25mph CO-Max .61 I had .28,and last the NO,15mph NO-Max-1037 I had 661,25mph NO-Max-897 I had 568.also my car weighed in at 3375lbs.Can anyone tell me why I almost failed even using the additive,changing vacuum lines,doing a tune-up,and oil change 1 month before the test.Thanks

 

It could be running lean....or the catalytic converter could be bad.
High HC's and high NOx could indicate a lean condition......but it could be a number of things.

 

Johns:

You can turns the idle screw in order to set the min idle speed at 1.000 - 1.100 RPM's. It can help to reduce smog on the next test (at idle, at least).


Regards,

Denis V.