failed smog. need help

[///digitalme]

Numbers were
Hc(ppm). No(ppm)
Max. Meas. Max. Meas
15 mph 124. 220. 815. 2551
25 mph. 98. 83. 754. 1114

Co was good
Anyone point me on the right direction of what to change?
Just did an oil change.

[Wschnitz]

Dont live in California.




Your welcome :)

[monkeyodeath]

Car could be running lean, but with NOX numbers that high, your cat is probably dead.

[e30james325]

I just had mine smogged last week, failed twice in the same smog center then passed the third time in a different smog center.

It then had a complete tune up, new spark plugs, oil, air oil and fuel filter, new distributor cap after failing. Then on the third smog, they let the car idle for like 30 mins or so. And it passed with flying colors. :D

The smog technician told me that most probably the other smog center just did not let the car warm up enough, so the catalytic converter wasnt that efficent during the first 2 tests.

BTW the smog centers were only with in 5 mile radius of our place.

[///digitalme]

Just replaced the cat with a known working one. My old cat had a hole on the bottom and was completely gutted it was just a pipe . Now my car is really quiet , will change my Afm and spark plugs and possibly o2 sensor in hopes it will pass. I have a free retest chance. Anything else I should change

[downernsp]

Coolant issue usually aim towards NOX and on HC how many miles?

[///digitalme]

Miles on the engine are about 173k

[///digitalme]

Explain this whole coolant issue

[MR 325]

How new is your o2?

[e30shmobberr]

how warm did you get the cat before you did the check?

[///digitalme]

O2 is around 2 years old. I'll be replacing it. Will the cat alone make high nox?
Just did maintanance stuff because it needed it. Will change my oxygen sensor and known working afm. The car was on and I drove around town for 30 mins. Also the techs did some pulls on my car to get it warm.
But now that the cat is replaced I'm more confident it will pass just need to get an o2 sensor and I'll go foe the free retest

The old cat was useless it was hollow and had a hole

[e34john]

Yea get the cat hot. I always make an appointment then drive around at higher revs for a bit and make sure they get the car into the bay right away.

[MR 325]

But now that the cat is replaced I'm more confident it will pass just need to get an o2 sensor and I'll go foe the free retest

The old cat was useless it was hollow and had a hole

Wait, did you get the numbers above with the new cat or the old one?

[e30shmobberr]

Yea get the cat hot. I always make an appointment then drive around at higher revs for a bit and make sure they get the car into the bay right away.

try this op. the warmer or hotter the cat is, in return make it more efficient.

if your just driving normal to the place, or the place is close by you may not be getting the cat warm enough.

[///digitalme]

The numbers were with the old gutted cat with a hole in it. I wasn't aware the cat was in such bad shape.

The newer cat looked in good condition from what the muffler guy said.


I drove in the freeway for.about 10 mins driving it pretty hard to get it hot. I guess it was useless since the cat was.in such a bad shape it didn't do anything other than just get the engine hot