I know its not a Buick, but I need some help. My 87 Monte Carlo 4.3 daily driver is due for emissions inspection :eek2: Last time I barely passed. I just changed the exhaust including the cat. The car has a throttle body and has at least 165,000 miles. I have not been using it much because the exhaust. I believe it was tuned up least than 2,000 miles ago. I would have to check my paperwork. Will the car pass because I put a new cat converter on? What else can I do to lower the emissions?? Thank you, Rob jerseysky66
What did it fail for last time? HC's? CO? NOX? If you left it at the shop for the inspection, they could of ran the car when it was cold which would affect the readings. You guys are still dyno testing there on the early cars? Isnt the test like 15 miles an hour or something? Geez, we were running them at 55-60! :eek2:
Emissions will be effected by the cats, the air pump, and the egr valve. On a Toyota we had we swapped out the cat because it failed emissions. With the new cat it actually did worse. They said it was probably a bad egr, but the car didn't actually have an egr. They were only on the California cars that particular year ou: Best bet is to be friends with someone at an inspection station. I can't say any more than that
I failed last time because I was a big dummy and forgot to hook up a vacuum line ou: I found the paperwork from when I barely passed. Here are the numbers. For some reason I don't see any numbers for NOx, It says the standard for HC is 100 and my reading was 100. For CO the standard is 0.50 and the reading was 0.47. The RPM - 2394. I think the last tune up was just before I took it last time. I drove just under 2,000 miles since. They still do the dyno test. They only check emissions now during inspection. My mechanic has the set-up just does not inspect anymore. I might take a quick run up to his shop and put it on the machine. maybe you will have a couple ideas for me Thanks, Rob
I am not sure why my mechanic does not do inspections anymore. Maybe the state of New Jersey Inspection is the only way to inspect anymore. I might be able to take it to a certified emissions shop. I will have to see. Thanks, Rob
Hey John, Maybe I can move next door to you :beers2: :beers2: :beers2: I have thought about getting out of Jersey. I like PA because there are tons of car guys. Are you going to E-Town??? I will be riding my bike tomorrow morning. I don't think I will be there Sat.
I would run some sea foam in the tank, and in the oil... Take it for a good long drive then change the oil and make sure the plugs are clean and not fouled. I have had good luck with beating on the car before testing to make sure there is no carbon in the engine.
I had a 87 monte with a v6. The carb needed work to pass. The garage told me that year carb was finicky. Lucky for me the guys at the garage messed with it to pass. That car is long gone but I routinely do work to other peoples cars to get them to pass. A new egr valve usually will help NOX levels if they are high. Check for vacuum leaks. A tune-up with plugs, wires, cap will help with the HC and CO even if the engine doesn't seem to be missing. A fresh oil change helps as well as having the engine hot so the converter burns off hydro carbons (HC) before the test. If there is alot of blowby though it is not legal or recommended you can slit a v notch in the hose off the PCV and plug it inside the hose at the carb. Though I've not used it like Sean says that seafoam is what alot guys swear by to clean an engine out. Ray
Thanks Sean and Ray. They sell the seafoam at ace hardware :TU: . I will look over everything mentioned.
4.3s are notorious for bad EGR valves. Another trick is to run fuel tank almost empty, put 3-5 gallons E-85 in for the test, get it as close to the testing station as possible. Make sure to fill ASAP with unleaded as the e-85 is not good for that fuel system
If the egr valve are notoriously bad one thing you can do is while it's idling press the diaphram with one of your fingers. If it wants to stall the engine the egr passage is clear and the diaphram likely works. You could always take it off and clean it to be sure it moves freely and make sure it holds suction. It is supposed to open with a certain amount of vacuum. If you have NO on the emission test form this is NOX. Here is an example of just changing two year old plugs and an oil change on a freinds 96 LT1 I recently did. Nothing else. Before and after the change. This one failed NOX and the egr works, holds vacuum, opens smoothly with vacuum but will get a new one. Motor runs exellent too. I'm surprised it failed. It opens up smoothly as it is brake torqued. Also many times a different emissions center will have different results. 25mph/40km............curb idle .......bfr......aftr....bfr....aftr HC.. 29........8.......17.....7 CO...08.......01......00.....00 NO..975....919..limit .313 Ray
On the Snap On/Sun tester we used in NY, there was a way to manipulate the drive trace to make the car pass or fail NOX at will. :Brow:
Run some 5W-20 . . . Ford has been doing it for years . . . Apparently that's the only reason they switched over to a 5W-20 vs a 5W-30.
That's just not right. Thanks for the info..I told the guy to take it somewhere else as I can't see why it would fail (even the coolant is super clean) but he is snappin. No money, 3 kids and works 4hrs away from home so he's only home on the weekends. Cars been off the road for over a month now. This is really messing his family life up as he uses his wifes car right now so she's not happy. I'll get him to take it elsewhere before changing it and relay the info.. I'll report back with the results. Ray
I've heard that isopropyl alcohol added to the gas will reduce emmisions long enough to pass the test.
I always thought it was a conspiracy. Good way to get a bunch of people's engines to start blowing smoke and send them scurrying into the dealership to trade up...
