MPDano's 928 going to Smog this Week
 

Ok, a little update for you (3.16.2009). I just spoke to my mechanic after they installed the good used AAV. They did their adjustments and got it to:

CO: .50
HC: 100

According to him, this is acceptable levels but he is not smog certified and has no way to check NOx with his tester.

The bad news:
Recently before I brought it to them, maybe around a month ago. I would start the car cold and I would get a lot of white smoke. In my used car experience, that would be coolant. It did disappear once it got warmed up though. Hence, why I did the oil change just before bringing it to the Mechanic. Well, he diagnosed it as a bad head gasket but he also said it is a very little leak since it goes away quickly. He said that I could try some of that leak sealer of some sort to try and fix that without removing the heads. Of which I highly don't want to remove heads. I seriously don't want to remove that engine. Anyways, he did state that this wouldn't cause me to not pass smog. Ok, I feel better now. Anyways, anyone got any suggestions on which sealer works of which you have experience with?

No clue on the coolant glue.

Smog it, drive it, and have some fun. ;)

Look on the bright side, with all of the white smoke your neighborhood should be mosquito free:D
I knew a mechanic who talked about using something that would seal up real small coolant leaks, but of course I can't remember.

On a more serious note good luck with the smog test. I can't even imagine how frustrating those things must be.

Mine was smoking from under the hood when I got it smogged. The rear cam seals leaked and burned on the exhaust. Smog guy pointed at it and gave me a look, I just shrugged and he went on with the test.

Did it pass?

Yup, sniffer test was fine. Guess smoke under the hood doesn't count. I wouldn't think that water in the exhaust would either, just make sure the car is completely warmed up before going and don't shut it off!

let us know how it checks out.....







--Russ

HI Russ,

Oh yeah, you guys will be the first to know. Good or Bad.

Ok, time to update this thread. Brought my car to get Pre-Smog Inspected this morning. Drove the heck out of it prior. Here are my results:
15mph
HC=128max measured 128 PASS
CO=.93max measured .05 PASS
NO=1097max measured 136 PASS
25mph
HC=101max measured 87 PASS
CO=.73max measured .07 PASS
NO=927max measured 133 PASS

All PASS Tailpipe, should be good to go, right?

Results=FAIL

Why? 1981 US Model has EFI NOT CSI, no O2 Sensor found. My car is a 1981 EUROPEAN

The Inspector has to go by the year posted on the label which is a US 1981. A Euro 1981 928 is CIS with NO O2 Sensor. I need to go to a Referee Station and explain to them that it has the same FI System as a 1979 and I need a BAR Label to Inspect to a 1979 Standard. Although this is f%^%$# up, I do know that my tailpipe emissions was right on the money. Why can't I get a blind smog tech? BAR Referees closed on weekends, will call on Monday. Man, this is nerve racking!

One of the guys on that other site who has 4 928's (all 89/90) has a RoW car that had no O2 sensor from factory

When it was federalised, the O2 sensor was added to the exhaust pipe, but wasn't actually doing anything as the federalisation shop didn't know to change coding plugs etc.

Can't you just add a cheap old dead O2 sensor and plumb some wires into an unused fuse holder in the back of the CEL? :)

I could but they saw it was also CIS. Can't fake that.

Leo, you don't have a BAR sticker?

Hate to say it, but you may be in for a bumpy ride. Was it registered previously in Calif?

The referee station will require full compliance, not just a tail pipe, but end to end full compliance which means 100% of a Calif EPA certified emssions system needs to be present.

Did the smog guy actually run a test and the test directed you to a referee station, or did he look at it and say you need to go to one, ie have you been tagged in the system?

Yeah, if you're not in the system I'd plumb in an O2 sensor and make the wire disappear in the harness and find a dumber shop. The place I went to didn't even know that it wasn't a 911 so there's no way in hell he'd know CIS from EFI from a freaking coffee can.

But yeah, having to go to a referee is not a good starting point. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

"referee station"!!! Gees....What next?

NO, this was just a pre-test and he recommended me to go to a Referee Station to get a new Bar Decal to state 1979, so it will be tested under 1979 specs. Ie, nothing was sent to the DMV. Do you think this will be an issue?

This is what is on my drivers side door jamb. Yes, this is a California Registered Vehicle. Last Pass was 1998, hence the 2000 year decals on the Blue California Plates.

Sticker will look something like ...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1238303863.jpg

My advice, proceed slowly, and make no irreversible steps.

Check the smog history and maybe give it a try at the last place that passed it.

I'm not sure what it means, but that test is already in the system, and last passed was some Tuneup Masters in 98.

LAKESIDE RADIATOR /
LAKESIDE PORSC 928 1981 03/28/2009 08:12 a.m. T
ONE STOP AUTO TECH /
SANTEE PORSC 928 1981 07/11/2003 09:37 a.m. F
ONE STOP AUTO TECH /
SANTEE PORSC 928 1981 06/12/2002 09:46 a.m. F
ADVANCED AUTOMOTIVE /
SANTEE PORSC 928 1981 06/12/2002 08:34 a.m. A
TUNEUP MASTERS #411 /
SAN DIEGO PORSC 928 1981 01/15/1998 10:26 a.m. P

Also looks like the Cal DMV registered it as a grey market vehicle on

06/03/1986 CA Motor Vehicle Dept. GREY MARKET

Yup, Grey Market is correct. I am thinking that 1986 is probably when it was imported and federalized. Title also states "Non US" on it.

What does this all mean in the BAR Referee scheme of things?

Hopefully it means the DMV already knows you, and accepted your car as a "federalized" ok to register in Calif vehicle, just without a BAR sticker due to time parked out of the system.

This is the first case I know about for a Euro that was registered, but doesn't have a BAR sticker.

Next thing I would do ....

Put in a bung and O2 sensor and run the wiring up into the harness.

Sort out the HC, its too close to failing, maybe due to old cats so kill two birds with one stone and put on a nice late model cat and a o2 sensor.

Try again at another normal smog test station and see what happens. Be convincing that CIS is the normal factory motor your car is supposed to have.

What about this cat? Calif approved OBD2
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390034885087&fromMakeT rack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:us
...and this Sensor
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSCHE-O2-Oxygen-Sensor-911-924-928-944-930-944-78-95_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQ hashZitem380112339614QQitemZ380112339614QQptZMotor sQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

This one I am pretty sure is what the CALIF smog entry in the Magnaflow catalog lists for the 928.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360113658610

But when my car was smogged they just looked for a cat and counted how many.

Its not getting hooked up to anything, why not this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170314743212

Ignore

Mike,

This is what comes up for OBDII Compliant specifically for California on Magnaflows website

http://www.car-sound.com/02product/displayuniversal01.asp?catalogid=47560&universal=3 6037

Ah, my link is for the 49 state OBDII compatible cat. I think its a better cat, but the referee station might be checking the actual model numbers. They sure look the same, hard call, maybe it would depend on if you have to go to the ref or not.

that eBay magnaflow cat looks good. if we had emissions here that is what i would go with.

Mike,

Post your Euro BAR Decal.

Which one of my EURO BAR decals? ;)

Maybe Tuesday, too much junk in the way on the one at home, not visiting the black one til Tuesday.

Ok, made an offer on the correct cat for calif and 928 and got it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&it em=280324699167

How about this O2 sensor (3wire for heater), will year matter? This will be hooked up to an A/F Gauge.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/O2-OXYGEN-SENSOR-UNVS-3W-SG54-PORSCHE-928-95-93-91-87_W0QQitemZ370146275031QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_ Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item370146275031& _trksid=p4506.m20.l1116

Ok, just got off the phone with the one who did the test on Saturday. That "T" in the code is Tamper. WTF! Anyways, whats done is done. Anytime I got to re-test, he said a red screen comes up with why it failed ie: equipment not there or something, but not a specific part.

Maybe I should just do what Tom Cruise did in the movie Risky Business and roll it into Mission Bay. "Who's the U-Boat Commander?"

Cr@p, same thing happened to me with my old Lincoln when the cats went bad. I told the guy who was trying to sell me a $150 injector cleaning to run a pretest and got flagged as a gross polluter. Done is done, assuming this means any place you take it to will have you flagged?

Did you find out why he failed you, lack of O2 sensor, or not Jjet?

If it has to go to a referee station, the good news is that they are both smart and used to working with people to get their cars to pass. The bad news is that they are smart and not very big on bending rules. Two things come to mind;

Find out what the car should have on it, what the requirements were for a federalized 928 of that model year.

Visit or talk to the referee station. They are usually part of a community college auto program, and teach smog inspection as well as doing the testing. The right person might be able to point you in the best direction or explain what equipment the car needs to pass and get a sticker.

Worst case, swap in an Ljet intake and brains.

Best case, maybe the smog guy screwed up and you should have passed?

Likely case, maybe you already have some of the federalizing bits, or they won't be that hard to find and put back on?

Fixing the smog is STILL the previous owners responsibility.

Yeah, he explained to me that if I were to do a real smog, it would have been tagged a GP (Gross Polluter). The thing that gets me is that I was very specific that i wanted nothing sent to the State. Well, it did. His shop gets a big fat red flag (Lakeside Radiator & Auto Repair) in my book and hopefully other will heed to the warning.

Swap L-Jet you say. Nah, this is when this 928 becomes home for the fishes and scuba diving classes in the Harbor.

I suggest sticking with a Bosch universal O2 sensor.

I have to admit it would look cool for scuba class, but I suspect you will need a few permits before you get your U boat commander license.

Yup, that's the one I got. A Bosch single wire Universal. SmileWavy

If you're hooking the O2 up to an Air/Fuel meter, don't you need a wideband?

According to this vendor, it only needs a signal wire from your stock O2. I emailed them to confirm.

http://prosportgauges.com/blue/White-air-fuel-ratio-gauge.aspx

http://prosportgauges.com/images/pro...AnalogBlue.jpg

Two kinds of AF meter, wideband that looks at the voltage and reports, and narrow band that looks at the on and off and show a kind of average depending on mostly on or mostly off. I'm not sure narrow band is all the useful for actual tuning.

OTOH wide band O2 sensors often don't last long when the mix is all over the place, ie tuning. My sensor was about $48 from amazon, but I haven't played with it yet (using a borrowed innovations LC-1 when I do play with it).

The way I see using the narrow band is that as long as I can use it and see that i am within Optimal or Stoich range, then I should be golden. It should also let me know where within the range is under WOT. I also thought of the wide band, but didn't big LED numbers staring at me. I didn't feel it was really necessary. I am probably wrong though.