Tricks to passing emissions

find a friend with a stock h-pipe and borrow it. hell if you wanted to make the drive you can have my old one. or go to the junkyard.

tricks, ive heard of using brake line anti freeze in your tank at a certain mix ratio, i forget the ratio but i could look it up for you. brake line antifreeze for big trucks is something like 99% pure methanol.

also, i heard that wrapping a plastic bag full of mothballs around your air filter works, because there is methanol in them. you'd have to pop holes in the bag for air flow of course.

retard the timing alot.

i used the garenteed to pass stuff a few times with great results every time. but i think its basicly, methanol.

either way you will probably fail without a stocker h-pipe. but its been done without them, your screwed if they look for cats though.

here in ohio they stick a mirror under the car to look for cats. if it passes thats the only visual check. alcohol has worked for people i know.

Borrow a friends h-pipe....

I passed with a catted Magnaflow H-pipe (and no thermactor system either).

The junkyards around here cut all the cats off the cars before they hit the lot.

why would you do that? cats are gonna make it feel slow as hell. and it will cost as much as a brand new h-pipe to have it done. borrow a friends h-pipe

I also live in md and yes they do have the mirror on the pole to look under your car. I've never seen them use it but its a 3,000 fine if you get caught. If you really cant get ahold of a stock pipe and your dead set on welding the cats in your h pipe you only need 2 of them. Take your air pump and hook it right up to the exhaust so it blows fresh air in that will help. Turn your timing down to 10 and get the car real hot before you test. If it passes great if not then try the alcohol trick.

Retard your timing, back your fuel pressure down if you have an adjustable regulator, use the guaranteed pass stuff you pour in your tank, or acetone works well. 1 oz per 4 gallons. very good at reducing carbon emissions not for better mileage. 30 bucks in the hand of the inspector if you go to the right place.

they are gonna know something is up because of how loud it is, and that might tip them off to checking under the car. dont wanna chance it. put your feelers out on this site and others to see if anyone local has an h pipe you can borrow. not a good idea to use your stockers welded in, the o/r pipe is likely 2.5" and the stock is 2.25" and you need all 4 to be fully effective, and getting them all in there might be tough being that bends are slightly different between the two

I have always been told to get the fuel tank to almost empty and than dump in a couple bottles of "heat", you know the stuff to prevent your fuel lines from freezing in the winter because it is basiclly alcohol.

lang williams said:

here in ohio they stick a mirror under the car to look for cats. if it passes thats the only visual check. alcohol has worked for people i know.

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Yep i had to borrow my buddys catted hpipe when i first got my notch cause it had a off road hpipe on it. now i dont have to worry any more cause i got collector
plates no mre echeck for me

you might be able to pick up some generic 2.25 cats an make a catted pipe if you have free welding help. Next year my 84 will be 25 years old an exempt from ohio e check...thats one of the reasons I picked it up.

Move to pa... we don't use the sniffer..... jk

There gettin rid of the dyno sniffer here in MA

How to pass emissions testing:

High NO - high combustion temps - retard timing, check EGR for operation.
High CO – Rich condition - fuel pressure too high, check O2 sensors, replace air filter, Clean MAF element.
High HC – Lean misfire, vacuum leak, common misfire due to worn or weak ignition system components. On rare occasions, an overly rich mixture may be the cause. Do the ethanol/E85 fill up as suggested.
High CO & HC - Cat converters, smog pump, and smog pump controls.

How to pass emissions testing:

1.) Make sure all the emissions gear the car was made with is present and connected up properly. That includes a working smog pump and cats.

2.) Make sure that you have fresh tune up with spark plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, fuel & air filters. An oil & filter change is a good idea while you are at it.

3.) Dump the codes and see what the computer says is wrong…Codes may be present in the computer even if the Check Engine light isn’t on.

Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great.
See Troublcodes.net Trouble Codes OBD & OBD2 Trouble Codes and Technical info & Tool Store. By BAT Auto Technical





If your car is an 86-88 stang, you'll have to use the test lamp or voltmeter method. There is no functional check engine light on the 86-88's except possibly the Cali Mass Air cars.



89 through 95 cars have a working Check Engine light. Watch it instead of using a test lamp.



Do not jumper anything to the single black connector. It is the power for the under the hood light. It is in another bundle of wires near the windshield wiper.

Codes have different answers if the engine is running from the answers that it has when the engine isn't running. It helps a lot to know if you had the engine running when you ran the test.

Trouble codes are either 2 digit or 3 digit, there are no cars that use both 2 digit codes and 3 digit codes.

For those who are intimidated by all the wires & connections, see Actron® for what a typical hand scanner looks like. Normal retail price is less than $30 or so at AutoZone or Wal-Mart.

Or for a nicer scanner see http://www.midwayautosupply.com/p-7208-equus-digital-ford-code-reader-3145.aspx– It has a 3 digit LCD display so that you don’t have to count flashes or beeps.. Cost is $30.


4.) Post the codes and get help to fix them. Don’t try to pass with codes not fixed. Clearing the computer just temporarily removes them from memory, it doesn’t fix the problem that caused the code to be set.

5.) Be sure to do the testing on a hot engine. Drive for 15-20 minutes prior to taking the test to get operating temps up into the normal range. Do not shut off the engine while waiting for your turn on the test machine. An engine up to full operating temperature puts out fewer emissions.

Ol' stocker catted H is the way to go. Once you get a hold of one guard it with your life. A lot of guys get them, then get an o/r and throw out the old stocker and regret it later. In my area I've seen h-pipes go for over $100. Damn Emissions