Failed the emission test today in the D150... I would've failed the visual if they knew what to look for... Smog pump has been removed, but I just put a new cat in (that failed last time).. Anyway, my HC and CO counts at idle is where I failed.

Any suggestions on how to get thru this? This is my last year for emissions testing in Washington, so even cheating it is fine by me

_________________
1973 Dart Swinger Super 6 with 71k
1976 Datsun 280ZX with Mopar I-6

High on CO indicates a rich mixture. High HC is either misfiring or another source of unburned hydrocarbons like oil. If it's only at idle chances are you can lean out the idle mixture and make an improvement. A shop with an exhaust gas analyzer is your best bet. As for cheating you could put the air pump back on and have it pump into the cat and that will burn the excess hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.

_________________
Joshua

Believe it or not but changing the oil will help. Even putting in a thicker oil than you normaly run can help more.


You can also mess around with PCV valves & find one that flows more than the one on the car now to get more air in & it can bring them down. If they will let you do it you can pull the PCV valve out of the valve cover & lay it to the side still hooked up & make a diff also.



Jess

The odds are pretty good on there being oil getting burned, since the motor has 320k miles and there is definately an internal oil leak. Putting the smog pump back on isn't an option because I bought it long after it was removed (the truck came from Tennessee which I assume has easier emission laws).

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give a few more things a try.

_________________
1973 Dart Swinger Super 6 with 71k
1976 Datsun 280ZX with Mopar I-6

Well there aren't any shops that'll touch it. Nobody can guarantee their work since all the emissions gear is removed and I don't qualify for a waiver for the same reasons...

Basically, my choices are try to tune it and sneak it through myself, or wait until January when it passes the 25 year mark and becomes exempt...

I was wondering how it'll run with the pcv out and if I should plug the hole in the valve cover, as I won't be able to do it there, and will have to do it down the street before I pull into the check station... They don't actually lift the hood for a visual check so that's no problem...

_________________
1973 Dart Swinger Super 6 with 71k
1976 Datsun 280ZX with Mopar I-6

Your best bet will be to go to the junkyard and grab a complete AIR injection pump assembly including all pulleys, hoses, and brackets, and reinstall it. The upside is that one from any year car, truck, or van will work, the downside is running the injection pipe back to the catalytic. I retrofitted one to my brother's 83 Dodge van and it wasn't too hard. Hopefully the cat you just installed has a provision for air injection. If not, hav e muffler shop install a bung directly in front of it for the smog pump to hook into.

The only tricky thing is determinig what sort of diverter valve the smog pump has.

HC is unburned fuel. Are you failing curb idle or cruise emissions? Make sure your choke is fully operational and your curb idle mixture isn't set too rich.

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

If it'll help you out any, I have all the smog stuff from an '80 B-100 (except the cat). After shipping from detroit, you might be better off finding something in the junk yard, but if you need a little piece, then it's yours.

I've never removed a cat or disabled any emissions related equipment, but I was under the impression that without the air injection the catalytic converter would clog up and fail. It almost certainly is not doing its job at any rate.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Another cause of high hydrocarbons is too much inital timing, or was that NOx? I can't remember, I haven't had a car fail emissions in a really long time. Our chevy and Mercury both breezed through this past month.
You did say it was the idle test so I would lean out the idle circuit first. Then I would change the oil and dump in a can of engine restorer, making sure to drive it at least 50 miles before taking it back in to be tested.
I dunno about where you are but here in PA if you spend over $150 on emissions parts you get a waver.

_________________

reducing initial timing reduces NOx emmisions. That is why they used the OSAC valve, to reduce the quantities of NOx produced during acceleration by delaying vacuum advance. I would do as the others suggested and lean out the idle mixture some, but don't go so lean as you have a lean misfire at idle. That will really screw your emmisions.

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Unfortunately waivers usually only apply if all the equipment is there to begin with..................

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I'm certain my '75 Coronet /6 auto did not have any air injection of any kind to its converter; no air pump, no reed valves, nothing like that. Converters are more efficient w/ air injection than w/o, but 1975 was (for the most part) the 1st year for unleaded and converters for Chrysler.

The '73 and '75 /6's I had both had the vacuum amplifier+EGR system; EGR also reduces NOx. My extensive testing w/ and w/o EGR in the '75 showed no difference in mileage; getting the '75 EGR system to work properly was very difficult. The '73 system valve had frozen closed by the time I got it, but appeared to be virtually identical to the '75 system.

We have the same waiver rules here is Washington, but only if the repairs take place at a State approved shop, and none of those shops will help me unless I replace the emissions gear... In my first failed test, the cat failed because it was toast and so I paid to replace it thinking if I still failed I could get the waiver, but it turns out the muffler shop wasn't on the approved list so the $190 I spent on the cat doesn't count. I really don't have the money or patience to go sift through the junkyard and I don't have the skill to do the repairs anyhow...

I'm going to do a tune up, oil change, add some miracle emissions gook, maybe I'll try the pcv trick... If it doesn't work, screw it, it's only three months till I'm exempt and this isn't my only vehicle, although I'm really tired of using the Dart for work and putting 400 miles a week on my low miles baby... How thick should I go on the oil?

Thanks for all your help everybody

_________________
1973 Dart Swinger Super 6 with 71k
1976 Datsun 280ZX with Mopar I-6