I took my new 1985 rex to a safety and emmisions test and these are the results:
High Speed HC(ppm) failed : standard=220
reading=876
Idle HC(ppm) failed : Standard=220
reading=832

Can someone give me any suggestions on why this might be?? the mechanic said it might be the spark plugs or wires, but the wires look new, so spark plugs mabye?

Safety Test
Steering and Suspension failed because of Left/Outer strut and Idler Arm

Can anyone....I mean anyone tell me: are they hard to replace; how much to replace/fix; and whether this is a common problem or not......
Thank you in advance,
Breck

 

Maynard,
First off, great name. I assume you take your name from the allmighty Maynard James Keenan.

Ok, For the emissions test Try running a pipe from your air pump directly to your cat. A budy of mine who failed really bad did this and passed with flying colors.

As far as the left outer strut. Thats funny because there is not an inner or outer strut just a left and right or front and rear. I would buy 2 struts (front) and have someone like a suspension shop put them in.
The idler arm is just a bushing. Its cheap, can't remember how much but less than $10. Put in yourself its a 10 minute job.

Good luck,
Mike

 

Put a new air filter in, use super unleaded gas, drive it on the highway for about 5-10 miles at a high speed, put new plugs in, and change your cap and rotor. If that all does not work adjust your air fuel mix down and you will be fine, By the way is yours a 12a or 13b?

 

I've heard that running high octance gas in the RX-7 actually won't help because the properties of the gas cause it to be less completely burned.

No idea if this is true, as my RX-7 just sqeaked by our tests up here.

 

Hmm, looks to me like you have really high HC. Check your plugs for that nice brownish color. Chances are that they will look very black (covered in carbon). 12A or 13B? Get another air filter. Change your oil and filter. Possibly change your cap and rotor. IF you are really daring, hook up DLIDFIS to help lower the HCs. Yeah, run a hose from the air pump to the cat.

The idler arm bushing kit should be cheap. It's easy to change and well worth it. I'm going to help my friend change his very soon (he would fail an inspection I suspect).

 

Thanks for all your help!
I will let you know how my retest went
1. yes my name is from the all mighty maynard james keenan
2.tool rules
3.its a 12a


thanks again,
breck

 

The high octane gas work for me in the past, so that why I put it out there. I would not use it normally.

 

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, when you say replace the rotor you mean the rotor part of the engine. Right? If so how much do those usually run?

When you say replace the "cap".......what exactly are you talking about.

And last but not least....where is the air pump located.

thank you for bearing with me while I learn to not be a newbie,
Breck

EDIT:::::: How much does the previously mentioned "cap" run

 

He's talking about the distributor cap and the rotor button in the distributor. Changeing these can make a difference if they are in very bad shape. This is one of the places where you want to use Mazda factory parts. A little more expensive but ell worth it. I cant remember how much they are but I think you can get both for less than $30 from your local dealer.
However , while this may help, It will not fix the huge margin that you failed by. The thing I told you to do will give you the biggest gain. My freind failed very badly like you did. He tried lots of things. he leaned the carb out, drove it very hard before he got there, bought all new normal wear ignition parts(i.e. plugs, plug wires, dist cap, rotor) and he even bought a new cat. After failing twice he ran a heater hose directly from his air pump to his fresh air pipe on his cat.
This not only lets the cat work much better it also mixes lots of fresh air in with the exhaust. This greatly dilutes the gasses emitted from your engine. And he passed with flying colors.
Try this and you will probably pass. just don't leave it like this because the hose will probably not last very long.

Mike

 

It sounds like your cars Air Control Valve is going out, It is on the passenger side of the carb and it silver, For a long term fix you will need to have it rebuilt. It controls the amount of fresh air that is pumped into your exaust.

 

how do i do this (the hose to the cat)? i've failed twice this month, and have a week before i face a $250 fine.

pls help!

 

well, i ran an airhose from teh output on the air pump straight to the cats. dropped my hc's by 350ppm, and dropped my co by .5%

but i was still hitting 1150 ppm on the hc's.

replaced my plugs (they were dirty!) dist cap and rotor. but still smells gassy.

it sounds like (and mechanic verified) the gas isn't always combusting. like it's skipping cycles, thus blowing unspent gas out the pipe. only at idle, though. runs smooth in the revs over 1500rpm.

thinking about trying the dlidfis, but it looks intimidating. anyone tried it?

 

Well if you have changed your air filter and it is still high, you may want to adgust your fuel mix down. It is a sure fire way to pass,

 

Damn I didnt know things elsewhere were so bad! Here no emission tests Also no cats, no emission vacuums, no air pump well at least on my car Hope you get your problem solved