I have an 87 non turbo with a 1 year old exhaust that failed the massachusetts emissions tests.

I burned almost solely fuel injector cleaner and I still failed the HC test.

I've had the car three years and it's never passed an emissions test. it's also always had a strange smell coming out of the exhaust. Kind of like that new cat. converter smell except the cats aren't new (but they are in good shape).

I've also dealt with the warm starting problem for 3 years (I can pull the engine fuse without even looking). I think the cars runs rich or lean or something. But I'm not sure. It's possible the throttle body could be gone.

Does anyone know what I should do?
thanks

 

Are your cats still good? Main cat and Pre-cat. Check them both. Maybe one of them is dead. Or try driving your car for awhile before going to take the test. It'll help. Our cars should be running lean at idle.

- Kevin

 

Drive your car hard before you take it there. Also change the plugs wires, air filter and fuel filter before you go there

 

sorry dude its a rotary i have only seen one out of about 100 pass emissions and i worked at an inspection shop. good luck

 

I have had no problems passing California Smog check II Dyno emissions! with my 87 N/A and it has 198k miles on original engine. So I beg to differ with the 1/100 idea. NTM the emissions standards people know that its a rotary and the test is designed for a rotary and compensates for more emisions.

 

Cali also has the strictest emissions laws in the world (so I'm told) which worries me about my coming 7...

 

Try changing the O2 sensor , that might help. And do an oil change right before you go, for some reason this seems to help alot too.

 

Oh, and by the way, my car almost qualified as a 0 emissions vehicle last year when I went for my inspection, it ran that clean. 0% CO2, and like 0.2% whatever else they check for.

 

Massachusetts emissions blow chunks.

I had an inspecter that wouldn't inspect my car because it was too loud. That was after i borrow a pair of brand new stock mufflers and i had a high flow cat. I finally found one that did the test, and i passed because everytime the inspector shifted, the car jumped and one of the testers fell out of the exhaust. Otherwise, its tough here to pass emissions unless you can find a good hookup. First thing they do is walk around the back to see how big the tip is. If anything over 2 inches they won't do it.

 

Anybody ever try that denatured alcohol trick? A guy on here mentioned it was one gallon alcohol for five gallons of gas, he said he passed. Anyone else tried it? I know it can't be great for your car, but if your only doing it every other year.... I mean what good is having an RX-7 you can't drive?

 

Yes I know the alcohol trick works, but I could not remember the exact mixture formula. You may also want to check into whether or not MA has an emissions waiver program. Most states have this even though they don't like to publicize it. It goes something like this: If you spend over a certain amount of money (like$200) and can reduce your emissions by a certain amount from the initial reading (like 10%) then they will give you a waiver for the emissions test. Please check your local laws for any further info on this. I know DE, MD and areas of PA have this program, not sure which others.

 

the two times I had my 87 NA inspected it passed with flying colors. I bet one or both of your cats have failed. Get a new high flow performance cat and new O2 sensor and you'll be good. also run premium (which may be like $12.75/gal up there, paid $1.41/gal for premium this morning ) as well and fuel injector cleaner isnt the best thing to run to try to beat emmisions. you need the liquid heat fuel line deicer or anti freeze the stuff thats like 99.9% alcohol. Fuel injector cleaner has all sorts of other additives that will confuse the sniffer.

 

Paul C: I just bought my car from Arlington TX. You might have seen it, red 89 RX-7 T2. From a guy named Mike Torres. Just a thought

$1.41 I love texas! I should move there...

 

I have an idea that would be interesting for someone to try out. Make an exhaust out of small pipe diameter cats from the junk yard. Wield like 4 of them together. It will be very restrictive thus making your vehicle operate like it had 40hp. Obviously the cats would make things very clean, although I doubt they'd do anything after the gas passed through the second one.

 

Did anyone mention putting the line from the air pump directly to the cat, blows plenty of fresh air into the exhaust.

 

Have you tried adjusting your variable resistor? Has a rich/lean screw that is only effective at idle. A too rich mixture might be giving you that rotten egg smell and making it too rich for emissions when at idle.

 

tried that one on my 91 n/a....didn't seem to make any difference when i brought it back for a pretest. :-(

john

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone...

is the rich/lean screw the one right on top of the engine?? if so, I've never touched that.

I should've mentioned this before, I had the TPS adjusted at the dealer about 2 years ago.

the aroma is something like an omelet from denny's at 2 am...

I got double cats (one pipe, two cats) from rx7.com a year ago and the Y and mufflers are 1 year old dynomax.

I'll probably check the rich lean screw first, see if the smell goes away, then replace o2 sensor.

If that doesn't work then I'll apply for a waiver.

 

No. The rich/lean screw or variable resistor, is located between the air filter and the righthand strut tower.Its black and oval shaped. Has a screw in the center of what looks like a tower. has one plug on the bottom. Has the letters R and L stamped or embossed on it. You figure the meaning of rand l.

 

thanks..I found it and turned the screw all the way to the L (it was in the middle).

The car runs better; the idle is more stable. And the rotten egg smell seems to be gone--but I'll withhold my final verdict for at least a week of odor-free driving.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of running the car lean? What do other rx owners do?

 

You could cause detonation and blow an apex seal with too lean of a mixture...

 

Sorry, I should have written more. No, you won't hurt the motor. That variable resistor only effects IDLE. No other engine speed. ONLY IDLE. The other thing I should mention, is that you might go just a step further on checking your emissions before having a test done. Its a simple procedure. On the right hand side of your engine, there is a AIR CONTROL VALVE. You will see an approx one inch diameter black hose coming out of the bottom of the acv. Take that hose off. Now with a warmed up engine, put you fingers over the nipple where the hose came off. There should only be a whiff of air coming out. Now reach over to the left side of the engine where you will find a BLUE electrical connector on a solenoid. Disconnect the blue connector, and then put your fingers over that same nipple. You should feel a heavy flow of air. If either of these tests does not work as described, write back. Simple fix. Anyway the air should not be flowing out of that nipple when at idle and the blue connector connected. If it does, that means that escaping air is not going where it should, which is to the PORT AIR and SPLIT AIR ports. Not good if your trying to pass emissions.

 

Ooops .. I meant to respond to another post

 

I think I did everything as you said, but the engine just stalled. There was quite a bit of air coming out irregardless of whether the blue connector was in or out. The car just cut out the instant I pulled the hose off--it was just like I turned the ignition. I just wanna make sure that

http://hypntyz.rx7life.com/parts/DSCF0047.JPG

this is the right valve, the hose being connected to the top pipe in the picture.

I found that pic on the first search, don't ask -)

 

Wrong item. That is the BAC and is located on the left side of a 87 N/A. I'm refering to the AirControl Valve on the right side of the engine. Look at this thread and a jpg I attached of the acv. Its on the right side of the engine.https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=72272