1996-97 Porsche 911 993 failing smog in california

[spacefrogg5]

I'm about to purchase a 1996 911 but i was told that the 1996 and 1997 will fail california emissions and it will cost me thousands to get it actually pass california standards.

is this correct?

[Hugh R]

Don't know where you're buying the car, but in CA the seller is supposed to provide you with a current smog cert. If it won't pass CA smog, I'd not purchase it.

[edgemar]

search SAI secondary air injection. These ports can get blocked with carbon which trigger a check engine light.

[spacefrogg5]

I'm purchasing the car from Seattle and I'm going to drive it and do some fly fishing on my way back. To so cal.

[Dan J]

These cars can be quite difficult to get to pass. In Ct. where I'm located they are now exempted from parts of the smog test. Don't know about Ca but I'd strongly suggest you find out before buying. Tony Callas is probably a good resource on this

[AirKuhl]

I don't know if some of the responses are meant to be sarcastic or humorous, but California probably has more 993's driving around than the rest of the world combined. I drove my '96 for years and many miles without it ever exceeding maybe 1/10th of any of the allowable limits.

Make sure the cats are installed and there's no check engine light and it should be fine. Note that someone can clear the check engine light with an OBDII scanner, you need to make sure that there are really no codes. The SAI issue can trigger codes that could cause a rejection at some emissions stations. As with any car PPI is your friend.

[Joe Bob]

No smog regs where you bought it?

[rick ditri]

If the battery was ever disconnected then the ready codes need to be reset. Here in California I believe you need to have 4 or 5 set on a 993 in order to complete the test. I know this first hand because it has happened to me twice. A friend who happens to be a Porsche tech has had to drive the car under several very unusual scenarios while monitoring speed, rpm, load and duration. You have to know what each code requires in order to set them. Unusual because in some cases you would rarely drive your 993 like this (i.e.6th gear at 2500rpm on a slight grade for several minutes). He has to do this procedure on a regular basis in order to get 993's to pass smog. So bring it to a dealer who has knowledge of the problem and they should be able to set the ready codes for you if that is indeed the problem. Good luck.

[porschenut]

The driving procedure to reset all the readiness flags is well documented and isn't difficult to accomplish yourself. You just need to do it where there is very little traffic. It takes about half an hour.

[porschenut]

It seems you have two threads going on this same question --

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/637795-1996-1997-993-failing-smog-california.html