Well, i took it to the local smog station, and I failed. Here is the results:

15 MPH (HC: Max = 121, Meas=148) (CO: Max=0.76, Meas=0.45) (NO: Max=807, Meas=106)

25 MPH (HC: Max=96, Meas=93) (CO: Max=0.65, Meas=0.21) (NO: Max=746, Meas=0055)

The smog technician told me to change the spark plugs and Catalytic Convertor. The Catalytic Convertor has 155,000 miles on it, but I really don't have $300 to spend on a catalytic convertor. Any suggestions will help. BTW, I had the timing retard to about halfway from the middle position.

 

do a tune up, that might be enough to bring it down that little bit, but since ots only hc that failed, not many options

 

A you sure the airpump is working?

The key is the NO number. Rotaries are naturally low in NO production. If your cat was not working the NO would be pretty high, but might still pass. The fact that your NO is so low tells me that the cat is partly operational at least.

Try hooking the air up directly with a heater hose. If that doesn't work, you are probably going to need a new cat. Can you use aftermarket in Kali, or does it have to have a CARB number? You can use a $100 aftermarket 3-way cat with air tube if the visual inspector will allow it. He might just choose to not look at your hardware again if he has already inspected it. The emissions will drop to next to zero with a new cat and working airpump.

Good Luck!

 

I remember buying a new cat for my gf's saturn and most sites say "california only" when your looking to make a purchase. Just a thought.

 

I'm gonna try a tuneup. Change the oil from 20w50 to 10w40. Put in Fuel System Cleaner, Spark plugs, and retard a bit more. If that doesn't work, then I might just go buy a new cat.

 

I had the same problem. Barely failed the HC portion of the test, everything else was pretty low. Took it in to have it looked at, turned out the front 2 cats were completely toast. One of them even collapsed a little. Getting both replaced, so hopefully it passes (third time's the charm). GL to your smog too.

 

IIRC, "california only" cats are only needed for OBD-II cars. Anything older than that, and a cat is a cat is a cat I believe...

 

mine fail the first time i smog the car i still have everything stock for a somewhat 20 year old car all i did was change the cat that cost me 100 buck at a muffler shop i got the bolt on cat not the welded so maybe that might work for u

 

Even obd 1 cars need good working cats to pass smog. OBD 2 just tells you if your cat is messed up. Catylitic converters have a picky operating range, they need to be warmed up to reduce emisions, but too much heat melts them.

 

Where'd you get cats that cheap? I paid about 300 for each of my 2 front ones.

 

where is a good place to get a 50 state legal cat?

 

This one is the exact part I used on my 91 vert. Says it is ok for california emissions pre 1995 (OBD1)
http://www.autozone.com/selectedZip,.../selectZip.htmI have passed emissions twice on this one. This 2-1/2" high capacity cat was rated for a V-8 of 7.8 liters and over 8000# vehicle weight. It is not choking the performance of my stock 13b.

Good Luck!

 

man your HC on the highspeed is 96 Max? wow WA is 150. ..even so...i failed horribly my last emissions test.. 1897 HC at 25mph highspeed

 

I have 2 questions:

Would retarding the ignition timing help lower HCs?
Where can I get denatured alcohol and what ratio should I use.

 

Put a **** load of denatured alcohol in it. about 35% alky 65% gas should clean it up enough to pass with some new spark plugs... You can get the alky at Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, any hardware store or paint store you can imagine... make sure you put the alky in when you're almost empty and fill up right when you finish the test to delute the remaining alky in the tank. If you're going to spend on a new cat Magnaflow has decent prices. Get the part number off their site and then plug it in on summitracing.com and you'll usually get it even cheaper.

 

So High HC and High NO, but low CO, means you need a new cat.

 

Actually, its High HC, low on NO and CO. Whats the run-in converter? Precat?

 

warm it up alot before you go

 

Dunno what "run in the converter" is.

Alchohol will reduce HC and CO, while maybe raising NO. It'll also screw up your idle (just gotta re-adjust it then adjust it back once you switch back to gasoline). You also want to get it out ASAP after the smog test. If you go with alky, use just a little on a small tank of gas, then fill-up your gas immediately after smog test to dilute it.

Retarding the timing will lower NOx and won't do much to HC and CO, IIRC. If you have a weak cat it might even raise your HC and CO. Try setting your timing closer to normal (or just to normal).

Oil weight shouldn't matter, though changing the oil might help. Try techron fuel system cleaner, though even that prolly won't help much/at-all (and you're short on $, no?). Use chevron gas before the smog test. Spark plugs will prolly help a good deal. Like I said, I'd try normal timing or less retarding. Then again, retarding the timing does reduce HC and CO slightly if you have a good cat (more HC than CO, I think). So who knows which way it'll move. But retarding it more might help a teeny bit at best, while returning it to normal might help a lot (or hurt it a teeny bit, at worst). So I'd gamble on normal timing.

You might want to get a performance cat later on even if you pass. Besides pollution, old cats get more restrictive and rob more power.

 

You were right. stock timing made me pass. retarding it brought HC and CO up very high and I became a Gross Polluter. I did put it back to stock timing and got these readings:

15 MPH: (HC:Max=121, Meas=37) (CO:Max=0.76, Meas=0.48) (NO:Max=807, meas=64)

25 MPH: (HC:Max=96, Meas=60) (CO: Max=0.65, Meas=0.24) (NO:Max=746, Meas=75)

Thanks for the all help!