I have an 83 Firebird 2.8L 173 Engine, Automatic, with a E2SE Carburetor, my 30 days are over to work on this car to make it pass smog, people told me that I could actually get my money back because here in california is illegal to sell a car that cant pass smog, but I really like that, honestly I dont want to get rid of it, I love it, but I cant fix, and no one wants to help me with the emissions, they say that is a headache, and that it will cost me a lot of money, because the hoses arent hook right, and that there are some wires that arent properly hook, basically that there is a messed under my hood, but I was using the chilton book and I follow the diagram, who cant help, what should i do?

 

Honestly if you have that kinda of problem with vacuum lines the best is to replace them all and us the diagram to put them in place, get the GM service manual it's about 75 new for our firebirds, and check to make sure everything in the emissions equipment is working. I'm sure the guys on here who have had this problem before will ask things like is the engine light on or is their and codes coming from the ECM. That's all I can think of right now to ask

 

Its 27 years old! Isn't it exempt?

 

Wow, way to help out Jensen.

OP are there any SES lights? What about your emissions is failing? High CO? High NOx? We need to know what particular gasses are too high/low.

 

Thanks! I do what I can.

Berto, also try one of those "guaranteed emissions pass" bottles. $10 to cheat might be worth it....

 

He's in CA... Any tiny little thing will cause it to fail, and a simple bottle of stuff probably won't help much.

OP, it would help more if you had some pics of the wiring that's causing issues and the numbers from the tailpipe (CO, NOx, and HC).

 

Yea hopefully the wiring is still stock colors and you should be able to match up connectors using a manual. Vacuum hoses are usually on the underhood diagram. Also check for any vacuum leaks using a can of carb spray and spraying over the engine listening for an increase in rpm.

 

Codes? It's a CCC. I bet if you opened the ecm a bunch of punch cards or a spool of tape would fall out. Or vaccuum tubes.

An emissions readout would be helpful.

 

Oopps missed the year,

 

LOL @ punch cards- but yes you can pull codes from the '83 ECM. Example = code 23 is for the mixture control solenoid.

Last I heard, in CA, they were even trying to get rid of the 30 year exemption, so, ya never know.

My questions are:

1. Did the car ever pass? Or is it that, someone sold you the car in this bad of a condition?

2. Like everyone else said, we need to know what the printout says, why you failed, etc.

 

The RPM's were to high, and high HC (PPM), I couldnt get it to idle

 

check engine light on also

 

ok one didnt 86 v6 have the mpfi and two go to autozone and get them to run ur ses light and see what codes come up its free two with a carb there is a screew that u can turn to lower ur idle i hope i can help u let me ook in to the carbs on thes v6s

 

mine is an 83 not an 86, and because of the shops here in cali, now autzone or kragen no longer are allowed to check the check engine lights, due to a law here in california

 

1 thats gay 2 how deep in ca are u just go to the other state if its not far orgo to gm or a gm shop thell run the im thinking its maybe a 02 gone bad or cold start or egr try carb claner yet

 

Cold start? What part of '83 didn't you get? It's carb, no cold start injector.

High co is misfire or too rich. Don't go to autozone or gm, jumper pins A & B on the aldl and turn the key to the on position to get codes. Count the flashes inbetween pauses (ex. flash pause flash flash is a code 12) and tell us what you get.

 

Yeah, HC (hydrocarbons) mean unburnt fuel. Were any of the other numbers (CO, NOx) high too? If CO was high it usually means dirty air filter, you need a clean air filter to get that extra Oxygen molecule to make CO2 instead of CO (CO1). It's common for CO to be high if you fail HC.

Like 92camarorv6 said, changing the oxygen sensor's a good idea, it could be the original 1983 one. Make sure your spark plugs & wires & distributor cap/rotor are in good shape too. I'd also check the ignition timing- it could be over-advanced (causing misfire & high HC); I forget what the timing spec is for a carbureted v6 though- but it should be on the sticker under the hood. The original 1983 catalytic convertor could be garbage (and need to be replaced) by now too- but CA has even stricter laws now on cataytic convertor replacement- now, it has to be one made "exactly" for the car, no more "universal" ones = more $$ to replace it. I don't even think you can replace it yourself anymore in CA; I think a shop has to do it!!

The deal with California, Auto Parts Stores, Code Readers, and the check engine light is this: New emissions tests = if they see the check engine light, or a code, you automatically fail. So people were going to Auto Stores, getting their codes cleared, and then, without fixing anything, going to inspection and passing the tests. It's not the stores' fault, not "real" enthusiasts'/hobbyist's fault, but everyday non-automotive people trying to cheat the smog check = everyone loses.

Last I heard, California was even trying to ban the sale of code readers under $200, or something ridiculous like that, assuming that someone buying a reader for over $200 = a true enthusiast. Like bl85 said, a paperclip works great.