85 Euro failed smog barely

[Danglerb]

ASM Emission Test Results
RPM %CO2 %O2 HC (PPM) CO% NO(PPM)
Test MEAS MEAS MEAS MAX AVE MEAS MAX AVE MEAS MAX AVE MEAS Result
M1: 15 MPH 2142 14.2 0.0 128 31 131 0.80 0.11 1.01 1106 373 915 Fail
M2: 25 MPH 2468 14.0 0.0 103 22 99 0.60 0.10 1.33 936 317 958 Fail


AFR was 13.8 and 13.7 from a display screen but not on print out.

New Maf, less than 500 miles on legal cat (but several years old). Not the freshest gas, but some was fresh.

Smog guy says when all three gases fail, usually a cat issue. I noticed a bit of HC smell while the car was idling prior to testing, didn't smell normal.

I'm a "little" scatter brained, which means I am not 100% sure which brain or chips I have in the car right now. Could be Euro, could be US with US chips or US with modified Euro chips.

Magnaflow Calif catalog lists single TWC 36014 (with a couple variations on inlet size) seems like most places have it same price $180.

On the plus side the smog guy is great, walking distance from my house, used to work on 928's, proof being he recalled the joy of adjusting a dual disc clutch. Test only so he can't do any work, but good to have somebody testing that knows a bit.

First thing I think I need to do is put the car in the air and check a few things. Could be the cat is still under warranty too. I need to see what it is I had put on, but I know it was a legal Magnaflow just prior to the Calif catalog requirement.

[MPDano]

Replace the damn Cat already and re-smog right after the install. Don't mess with anything else. Be done with it.

I destroyed my new Magnaflow Cat running too lean on my Euro. Fixed my lean adjusting my A/F with the roms at 3000, replaced cat and passed smog. Then blew up my trans which is another story.

[Danglerb]

I just may do it, everyplace is exactly the same price, but Advanced Auto Parts has to huge discount promo codes like $50 off $150 with free shipping.

The cat on it though is really new in miles, can't be more than 500 miles on it, but its not a TWC and always had high NO.

[aluminum]

Everyone That try's it Passes
1/4 Tank of Gas with 1 or 2 Bottles of " Heet " >> HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze
Now this is a Great methanol. a dryer
fill tank after with Gas and forget it.
naturally you need your specks on . Timing and such / all the Visual stuff Vacuum lines bla bla bla

[uBoat Commander]

Originally Posted by aluminum

Everyone That try's it Passes
1/4 Tank of Gas with 1 or 2 Bottles of " Heet " >> HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze
Now this is a Great methanol. a dryer
fill tank after with Gas and forget it.
naturally you need your specks on . Timing and such / all the Visual stuff Vacuum lines bla bla bla

+1

I was going to suggest 5 gallons of E85, which will do the same thing.

Cheapest smog pass you can get

[aluminum]

Originally Posted by uBoat Commander

+1

I was going to suggest 5 gallons of E85, which will do the same thing.

Cheapest smog pass you can get

Yes correct
only other way I Know is a " Title Only Transfer " on a Non Opp Vehicle to your name when " done right " you don't need Smog at all . Just wait on the Paper

[Danglerb]

Alcohol gets rid of the water that condenses in the tank. I live in SoCal a semi arid desert, not an issue here.

Holidays messed up any time on a lift, and I won't have the 85 dual cat setup I bought until later this week, then its drain the tank, run a couple gallons of gas with Techron, add a couple gallons of good gas with nothing, set the CO on the MAF, and redo the exhaust with the new old cats.

Should pass no issues.

[hobbyshark]

I got the barely fail in my smog test. I detected that not all cylinders were firing. I also got bit by 928 Taser. Just got new cap, rotor, wires, and vacuum lines. Also got oil filter and crush washer for the oil pan. Hopefully that will help knock down the emissions in conjunction with an e85 top off

[uBoat Commander]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Alcohol gets rid of the water that condenses in the tank. I live in SoCal a semi arid desert, not an issue here.

...

No, reason for burning e85 is that if you are not burning hydrocarbons, you cannot fail for them in the tailpipe. Nothing to do with moisture.

[Fredfox]

I use a product called "guaranteed to pass" i bought it at NAPA, it has never let me down.

[aluminum]

Originally Posted by uBoat Commander

No, reason for burning e85 is that if you are not burning hydrocarbons, you cannot fail for them in the tailpipe. Nothing to do with moisture.

Yep : Correct Its about the Correct Burn : IE the Reading on the Scope
with a Little Help the Reading well be so Clean the Smog person well be thinking this car runs clean as a New Car > Perhaps Better . But all they want it a Pass and your Money.

[Danglerb]

Sounds like utter and total baloney to me.

If anything materially reduced emissions it would required in all gas.

[uBoat Commander]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Sounds like utter and total baloney to me.

If anything materially reduced emissions it would required in all gas.

No baloney - you can't fail a hyrocarbon emission test if you are not burning hydrocarbons. Ethanol/methanol burn 10X cleaner than gas on a bad day.

Take ANY car that fails, fill it with E85, and it will pass. I've done it so many times I don't even bother getting a test until I run the tank dry & fill it with E85 first. It's stupid-easy

[Danglerb]

Months of one Darn thing after another, and Thursday I checked my hoard of two one day moving permits and saw the 60 day window for use expires on 6/24, so properly motivated I decided today is the day.

Short answer I passed, nothing special.

Same cat, relocated O2 sensor to the Y to catch AFR on both banks, sent out injectors for cleaning, with new hoses and seals. Drained old gas, put in fresh gas and let it get old, ran it down to sputters twice and refilled with premium, but otherwise nothing special gas. I wasn't able to set the CO on the MAF, just set it to 382 ohms.

Drove it for an hour or so to be sure it was warmed up, noticed at some point during this my idle was showing as 1200 rpm (my IAC looks ancient, guessing stuck open). Discovered my Harbor Freight "automotive" meter with inductive probe is too jumpy for anything meaningful, but set idle as low as it would go and headed for the smog guy down the street sure it would be a non starter on the test.

One ahead of me, but I figure idle too high it won't even start the test. I was wrong, idle was about 1100 rpm, but stable, and close enough that the test system was OK with it. This is REALLY good news, as my next motor will have enough cam it may NEED 1100 rpm to be stable.

Test ran all the way with nothing special, but no results until the data goes to DMV and back.

ASM Emission Test Results
RPM %CO2 %O2 HC (PPM) CO% NO(PPM)
Test MEAS MEAS MEAS MAX AVE MEAS MAX AVE MEAS MAX AVE MEAS Result
M1: 15 MPH 2153 14.7 0.1 128 31 49 0.80 0.11 0.03 1106 373 709 Pass
M2: 25 MPH 2468 14.1 0.9 103 22 99 0.60 0.10 0.01 936 317 745 Pass

My guess is that dirty injectors with old leaky seals were the bulk of the problem. After I get my tags, and feel less panic driving it around I do plan to rework the exhaust three ways.

What I have now, Y bolted to 85/86 manifolds, 5 year old single Magnaflow cat, single pipe to single chamber Magnflow muffler at the tailpipe.

Factory dual cats with adapter to mate up with 85/86 manifolds. Factory dual cats are slip fits on the muffler end, I want to keep that with a rear Y merge and slip fit to the muffler.

New Magnaflow dual cats with a nice H pipe to 85/86 manifolds, same as factory dual cats in the rear.

This is actually technically not insane, I want all three a simple slip fit and bolt swap to try some things, use on both of my 928's, and have all options to assure passing smog.

[SanDiego928]

Congrats on passing. To me that is a big deal. I have been driving mine much more since I passed last month. This weekend about 200 miles just around San Diego and mountain areas. This is a great dating car.