Ok.... So i failed emissions inspection after changing the igniters (I had other problems that were solved by that), replacing the ignition coils, rotor, cap, wires (All Borg Warner), had the lube, oil, and filter done at the mazda dealer (wasn't that expensive?), I changed the air and fuel filters, and put two bottles of techron through the engine. This is what I did BEFORE I failed emissions inspection (Gotta love NJ).

Anyone have any ideas to help fix the emissions problem without having to go to the high priced dealer? My Hydrocarbons and CO were too high, but not that far. What do I do next? The car is an 83GS with 151,000 miles on it, and it is all STOCK. Thanks!

 

Do you know for sure that your air pump is working, and your Catalitic converter(s) are still good? Can't you lean out the carb for the emmisions test? Or does that involve changing jets?

 

Hey, spinner, where in Woodinville are you? What kind of car is yours?

~T.J.

 

How would I check to make sure my air pump is working? My failure numbers were not that far off. Also, how would I check to see if my catalytic converters are ok? I was reading something somewhere about an ACV... Where is that located?

 

I don't know any way to know if your cats are good without taking them off and looking inside. ANyone else know a better way? When I had mine replaced there was practically nothing left inside, or at least thats how Hayes phrased it.

You will know if your air pump is working if you disconnect the hose that goes from the air pump to the cat (at the air control valve i think). YOu should hear a pulsating air noise, and it gets louder when you rev your engine if i remember correctly (correct me if i'm wrong). I know this because one time my air pump hose blew off when i was accelerating hard.

Air Control Valve... On my car it's right above the exhaust manifold. Looks like an actuator sorta...

 

Yeah, that sounds about right. Next to removal, I dont think that theres any way to tell if the cats are plugged. And if the air pump is pumping air, Id say its good .

~T.J.

PS - Spinner, do you drive a 1st gen? What color? Where in Woodinville? I only ask cause Ive only seen one other 1st gen in Woodinville and its for sale by Texaco on Avondale.

 

To my surprise, my rex passed the tough NJ emissions test first time! A day or so before I took the test I stopped at WallMart and picked up a gas additive that supposedly helps you pass. Well, I ran the car on the stuff for about 3/4 of a tank and then took it for the test. It passed by a long shot and I'm guessing this stuff helped. Give it a shot. Good luck!

 

I'm going through the same thing right now. My HC's were so high that the guy told me it'd never pass. (He was a poophead). I took it to the dealer and paid the $80 to tell me that my cat was bad and it'd cost $1200 to replace. I looked around and found a cat for a little over $100, and I am buying a new (used) ACV from a guy on this forum. Hopefully that's enough to push me down. Here in ohio they'll let you go if you can show a 30% improvement. I'm crossing my fingers.

By the way, I have an all stock 1982 with 85,000 miles.

 

An acv will solve a bunch of high emission problems. Be sure to remove your cat and save it for the next years test

 

The solution to pollution is dilution! I know the engineer folks have some fancy way of describing why they inject air . My opinion is my first comment. If you inject fresh air into your exhaust it will surely reduce PPM/PPB emissions. So this is one piece of emission equipment that I would be reluctant to remove from the car.

Don

 

So if you hooked up your Airpump directly to your exhaust you have no need for the ACV

 

True, but if you happen to have an inspector that knows what ther are doing and live in a state that mandates a visual inspection of the engine bay....guess what.

The ACV is notorious for going bad. It is soft rubber, and is located in probably the hottest area of the engine bay. That is the first place you should look when hunting the emissions grimlin.

If you study the way the ACV works you will be able to find the way around it.

Ryan

 

My hydrocarbons were too high due to a bad cat. It wasn't getting hot enough in a certain area therefore not diffusing the hc's. I replaced it with the bone'z single cat (instead of stock 3 piece) for like $200 and the car passed easily. I had also already been through the tune-up like you mentioned. The cat is CARB approved so you should be ok everywhere. Then again, you may not have a cat problem...

 

Here's what you do. This was my problem and resulted in my car getting tagged gross poluter 3 times running.

Not assuming it's your cats, it's either timing or you ACV probably.

Mine was the air control valve, after 5 mechanics. What it does is regulate air into the cat to burn and air sucked into the manifold. If it fails, it won't supply the cat with air and it won't let enough fresh air into the intake.

Here's how you rig it so you don't need to replace it!

It took my car from 1500 ppm HC's to 125. First, get some tubing long enough to run the air pump (smog pump) from the pump all the way to the connector that feeds the cat. I had to put a smaller hose inside the larger hose so that it would adapt to the cat feeder tube. Once you do this, you have successfully created a fresh air supply to your cat, problem 1 solved. You cat will now not only react better, but also heat up higher improving it's efficiency.

2nd thing. The intake manifold has an exhaust tube that connects to it's back side at a flang using 2 screws. Disconnect the tube from the exhaust and run a foot and half tube down there and leave it hang from the intake flang. This will allow your car to suck fresh air. Now make sure you get some black (oem looking) ties and make those tubes look like the belong there or else you'll fail visual.

I did this and my worries were gone. I have since replaced the ACV and hope it passes smog next year. The probelm with doing what I said is the it is a bitch to run when it is cold.