I just took my FD for a new inspection sticker and they told me I needed two new tires and new wipers before they would even try and inspect it... so, I borrowed $325 and got it done.

Took it in for inspection and it failed the low speed emissions testing.. miserably. I took it to the same place who got it passed for me last year and supposedly knows how to get them passed... but not this year.

My low speed emissions failed results are below:
Pollutant/Standard/Reading/Result
HC(PPM)/136/1332/Fail
CO(%)/.76/6.99/Fail

All High speed emissions testing passed.

The car is a 93 Touring automatic with 68k miles and all original equipment and operates perfectly.

I have no money to take this somewhere to be fixed and am looking for some do it myself help to get it to pass.

Also, are these test results on some statewide computer meaning if i take it somewhere else i will need to show that the car was fixed at a authorized garage using their form... or can i just pretend this is the first time I was getting it inspected this year?

Thank you for any and all help you can offer!

 

You aren't going to like my answer dude and I know this isn't what you asked for...so please do not take offense.

If you do not have a job or money...and neither are forthcoming in the near future...I'd sell the car. You can always get another one when your situation improves.

Good luck regardless of the path you choose...I wish you the best.

 

A few things first, change oil and make sure the car is nice and hot before you take it in to test. Listed below are causes of high Co and HC

High CO
- Defective Oxygen Sensor
- Inoperative Air Injection System (if equipped)
- Leaking or defective Fuel Injectors
- Restricted air filter (especially if high CO is present only at high RPM)
- Vacuum leaks resulting in improper MAP sensor operation
- Defective air mass or air flow sensor
- Malfunctioning fuel evaporation system or purge valve
- Defective Catalytic Converter
- Defective thermostat (cooling system), thermostat stuck open
- Oil contaminated with fuel, excessive miles between oil changes

High HC
- Worn spark plugs
- Defective spark plug wires
- Worn distributor cap and/or rotor
- Improper ignition timing, usually over advanced
- Vacuum leaks
- Engine mechanical failure, low compression, worn valves, excessive oil consumption

 

Thanks for the idea(I guess?), but selling is not an option since i would not get enough to buy another car as dependable as this one and without a car, no job is possible. I currrently have two part time jobs which bring home almost $180 a week between them, and without a car these jobs would be gone too. In fact, I borrowed the new tire and wiper and inspection money from one of my bosses and now am working for him for free for the next three weeks to pay him back. I also go on interviews weekly for jobs which would pay alot more and without a car, no interviews.

Right now, my best option is probably to just keep driving the car uninspected and hope for a good job which would allow me to pay to have this car fixed or allow me to buy something else.

Anybody else have any suggestions on how to self fix this car.

 

I wonder if this could be the problem?
The only issue this car has had was a complete loss of coolant due to a cracked AST. I replaced it and refilled and burped the system and now the temp never gets about half on the gauge but... I've been repeatedly checking it and have had to add more coolant every few days or so to bring it back up to full.

Is replacing the thermostat easy to do?

 

sell it or trade it

you should easily be able to buy a decent DD with the amount you get for it and still have extra left over, unless it is missing all body panels and interior. bite the bullet if you are in that bad of a situation to help yourself out, it's just a car, an automatic at that.. even running almost straight alcohol during the test won't get it to pass, something is very wrong with it and you will need to throw money at it to try and diagnose it, since these are dummy ECUs with no live feedback there is no easy way of determining why it is dumping so much fuel without swapping parts and tossing handfuls of hours at it.

 

Your cheapest option aside from selling the car, is probably going to be to see if you can use cash as an incentive to get someone to pass your inspection. I'm sure if you ask around the South forum, someone can point you in that direction.

 

Careful, that could get him thrown in jail and borrowing even more money for bond.

 

Isn't there a way to spike the fuel with some alcohol or something to get it to pass?

Obviously you can't boost with the fuel spiked or you'll blow the motor. Might want to search on past emissions threads to research that.

 

you gotta sell it. even if you sell it for 5 thousand dollars you can get a decent civic for that. even the crappiest condition FD's will go for 5 thousand if they are running

 

If you AST cracked i hope the car didn't overheat at the same time which usually happens when the AST goes.

Attached is the FSM page on how to removed the thermostat.

Yeah and a quick way to get himself banned as well.

 

Dude sell it.. sell it now honestly you can get a lot lot more dependable car for cheap. For example I just picked up a 91 honda for a winter beater for 700 bucks, car runs like new. Sell your car for like 5k buy something for around 1-2k and save the rest for your next fd when your situation gets better. Also try and find a discount tire near your place, they will pay you way more then 180 a week if you willing to work hard.

 

Banned? From what?

So let's take a step back from the Mother Teresa stuff for a moment. Not all testing stations operate the same. Not all of them operate the same every visit or from year to year. Getting through inspections by knowing someone, or by offering up something in return happens. Hell, browse the West forums for tons of that stuff. It's an option, one he can decide to pursue or not.

 

Wait time out, he can go to jail for paying someone to pass his car??

There are TONS of private stations that will pass your car for a cost.

There is a place where I WENT and paid 75 bucks to pass my car because it had tints. There is even a sign right above the desk in the office of the shop. Inspection 75.00.

I highly doubt any law enforcement could do anything about the person buying the sticker unless they catch them as they are doing it, or unless someone rats out the shop name etc etc.

But i will say this, i have bought my inspection stickers for my FD since god knows when. And guess what? They cant do ****. Or at least i wanna see them try.

 

Emissions testing enforcement and penalties are highly dependent on the locale.

 

All the shop would have to say is "well it passed the test when he bought it in here, something must have gone wrong since then".

hehe id go that route.

 

I wasn't recommending anyone get banned
But suggesting the OP bribe someone, which is how I took it...wasn't good advice IMO. Principal aside, not knowing how TEXAS deals with such things is why I advised caution. Especially when there appear to be less risky options that haven't been tried.

 

This is insanity. Sell your car. You can't afford it and the FD is obviously not suited to your lifestyle. If you can't buy a reliable beater and have a place to store your FD when it acts up then you have made some bad choices man.

 

[QUOTE=Force13B;10313387]If you AST cracked i hope the car didn't overheat at the same time which usually happens when the AST goes.QUOTE]

X2 and X3 on this. I hate to say it but if you overheated the car (even ONE time) you have bigger problems than not passing smog. You'll need to save $$$$$ for a new motor. It won't show up right after you overheat it. It could take a few weeks to several months.

The reason I know this is because I overheated mine (ONCE) and the motor was toast. Take it to a reputable rotary shop and have them do a hydrocarbons test of the coolant. Basically if there are any HC in the colant the motor will need to be replaced at some point. The symptoms are you need to add coolant every few days. It will get worse and eventually start forcing coolant out the plastic overflow tank located against the passenger fender. It could run that way for 6months maybe 9 months if you go easy on it. Always carry a gallon or two of water with you cause it will start to consume more and more each time you drive it. Eventually it will leave you on the side of the road.

I feel for ya man and I'm sorry for your loss.

 

If it hasn't overheated I hated the same inspection issue. I just had to get it warmed up before going to get it inspected instead of driving right around the corner like I did the first time. If that doesn't work, drive up here to College Station, I know of a few places you can get passed regardless of what county you are registered in.

 

Does the car smoke white smoke on cold startup?

 

while I think you should sell the car---if its driveable why can't you drive it a job app / interview?

I know your risking being caught, but if you don't joyride, drive all over the place, avoid spots where cops have check points - you shouldn't you reduce your risk?

I have a good job, and the rx7 is not my DD, I love them, but its a money *****....sometimes you have to let ****** go.

 

+1

I only practice what I preach, went 5 years between cars until I could afford a place with a garage for the beastie. You will be able to get another one someday

 

This is from the West forum but i'm guessing it would be the same anywhere
https://www.rx7club.com/announcement.php?f=193&a=195

 

edit