Passing an Emissions test

shaggy911 · Jan 22, 2011

My 95 gt is modded, heads/cam/exhaust headers etc.

I have a check engine light on when i turn the key to on without cranking the engine. no light when engine is running.

Also the car is running rich.

feeling anxious over the emissions test. i hope it doesnt cost me a lot.
Any advice?

Zero_chance · Jan 22, 2011

The check engine light is functioning as it should. It stays on when the keys in accessory with engine off. So long as there are no problems, it shuts off with the engine running. So dont look too far into that. The running rich... did you have your vehicle tuned by any chance after you did the HCI? Do you still have cats? Does your car get tail pipe emission tested? Im assuming yes, but figured Id ask.

shaggy911 · Jan 22, 2011

Zero_chance said:
The check engine light is functioning as it should. It stays on when the keys in accessory with engine off. So long as there are no problems, it shuts off with the engine running. So dont look too far into that. The running rich... did you have your vehicle tuned by any chance after you did the HCI? Do you still have cats? Does your car get tail pipe emission tested? Im assuming yes, but figured Id ask.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes as per prev owner, vehicle had a tune after the hci. It was tuned for pump gas.

when i bought it it would die out with clutch in or at low rpms while driving, so he had a shop adjust the tune again, apparently.

I will have to check on the cats, not sure if they are there.

Yes it does get tail pipe tested.

FAILED Emissions this morning.
I got the test done today morning. The only failure was idle Hydrocarbons are too high. only at idl does it run rich. At 25 mph on rollers in second or third (as per test) it is much below the limit for hydrocarbons.
Is there any cheap way to fix this without paying a shop again big bucks to lean out the idl?
Appreciate your help.
Would adjusting the distributor help?

SlammedGT · Jan 22, 2011

Well if you went to emissions with no cats you would know it....you would have walked out with a $10,000 fine

revhead347 · Jan 22, 2011

If it's just failing the hydro carbon test, just get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a fuel pressure gauge. Dial back the fuel pressure a little before the sniffer and it should pass.

Kurt

shaggy911 · Jan 22, 2011

I think i am in love.
Thank you very much!!

shaggy911 · Jan 22, 2011

SlammedGT said:
Well if you went to emissions with no cats you would know it....you would have walked out with a $10,000 fine

good one

shaggy911 · Jan 23, 2011

revhead347 said:
If it's just failing the hydro carbon test, just get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a fuel pressure gauge. Dial back the fuel pressure a little before the sniffer and it should pass.

Kurt

will this hurt the engine any like say improper timing advance? how much is little - a degree turn? I have a bbk adjustable regulator.

revhead347 · Jan 23, 2011

I'd dial it back about 3 psi and see if you can smell it in the exhaust. It's not going to hurt the car at the revs they are running it at. I wouldn't run around at full throttle though.

Kurt

Zero_chance · Jan 24, 2011

Good tip to tone it back on the PSI before the test, just remember to put it back. And for the 10K fine comment, crap I'd hate to live in your state. Never heard of that one. To the OP, do you happen to know what your base timing is set to just out of curiosity? Is the smog pump and appropriate plumbing still hooked up? Just some random thoughts.

revhead347 · Jan 24, 2011

Zero_chance said:
Good tip to tone it back on the PSI before the test, just remember to put it back. And for the 10K fine comment, crap I'd hate to live in your state. Never heard of that one. To the OP, do you happen to know what your base timing is set to just out of curiosity? Is the smog pump and appropriate plumbing still hooked up? Just some random thoughts.

It's actually a federal fine. The EPA fines $2500 per emission device removed. That's $2500 for each catalytic converter. They can also access the fine for the smog pump and the EGR if they are also removed. So if they caught me, it would be a $15,000 fine. It's pretty rare you hear of someone getting fined though. They have to prove that you removed them. If it's a used car, there is no way to prove that you did it, and not the previous owner. If you live in a state that has private inspection, the fines are almost unheard of. Private inspectors are in the business of getting happy customers by performing inspections fairly. An inspector who reports someone to the EPA for emission control violations runs the risk of getting bad mouthed in the community and internet as being a snitch. They will probably refuse to give you an emissions test, and that will be the end of it.

Kurt

Zero_chance · Jan 24, 2011

Sign me up for 10K in fines then. I switch back to a catted H pipe every two years however for emissions.

revhead347 · Jan 24, 2011

Zero_chance said:
Sign me up for 10K in fines then. I switch back to a catted H pipe every two years however for emissions.

You're so damn lucky. I have to switch it out every year here in GA.

Kurt

shaggy911 · Jan 25, 2011

Zero_chance said:
To the OP, do you happen to know what your base timing is set to just out of curiosity? Is the smog pump and appropriate plumbing still hooked up?

nope. EGR was removed by previous owner (not the smog pump - my misunderstanding)

shaggy911 · Jan 25, 2011

Thankfully it does have CATS.
Oddly i havent seen anything like these before thought. From the pypes headers, there are fat exhaust pipe running till mid center of the car (near the driver seat) where they meets at an X pipe. But just before the pipes meet at Xpipe, on each side, they feed into a smooth but fatter ( by 3-4" in diameter) pipe of 1foot length.
It must be a cat, i dont know of any other component that goes between the header and the xpipe. But i have never seen one that close to the xpipe and it doenst look like any cat i have seen before, very smooth, no heat shield.

shaggy911 · Jan 25, 2011

Zero_chance said:
Sign me up for 10K in fines then. I switch back to a catted H pipe every two years however for emissions.

In WA there is a 150$ escape clause. If you spend 150$ at a certified emissions service center and they can visually confirm that all the emissions stuff is there, you are exempt from emissions.

Since mine doesnt have the EGR i dont know how big a smack i will get from them.

shaggy911 · Jan 25, 2011

Zero_chance said:
Good tip to tone it back on the PSI before the test, just remember to put it back.

How certain are you guys about this? I asked a bunch of my buddies here and they said it wont work. They suggested looking for a dirty sensor (O2 ?) or that intake/maf was dirty.

I read the installation instructions but they call for a vacuum line to be removed and adjust adjustment screw in to raise and out to lower the pressure.
Why do i need to remove vaccuum line?

Appreciate all your help.

Zero_chance · Jan 25, 2011

Raising and lowering the fuel pressure can have an impact on the amount of gas entering the system. From my understanding it wont be a HUGE amount, but adjustable regulators exist for that purpose. Sounds like you might have those little bullet style cats Ive seen. Thats only venturing a guess without seeing it firsthand. All of this stuff is exactly why I want to switch my registration over to Massachusetts. I'm currently registered in CT but have a house in both states. And MA went away with tailpipe emissions a few years back, just safety every year now. But it wont be cheap to switch over my license, insurance and three vehicles....

KamiKaziDK · Jan 25, 2011

It works, lowering your fuel pressure will lean out your system, but you have to know how much to lean it out or you risk burning up your motor. That's the reason there's a vacuum line on the FPR, to raise fuel pressure as the motor works harder so the engine doesn't lean out. That's the simplest explanation I can think to give in relation to it.

revhead347 · Jan 26, 2011

The vacuum line raises the fuel pressure up and down with the manifold pressure. It's there to keep a constant pressure difference on both sides of the injector. You take it off so that you have a constant to set the fuel pressure at.

Kurt

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