Stevey629

hey guys,
my car is in the shop and the guy told me that I am due for a vacuum hose job. I asked about having colored hoses, and he said that they are not smog legal. Just because the color of the hoses were something other than black, the visual inspection would instantly make for a failed visual test. Both he and I agreed that this was crap; however, is this true? do any of you guys have problems gettin past the visual inspection for smog with colored hoses?

dubulup

You'll save about $300 if you get your hands dirty...

Stevey629

thats what I thought...How could there be any reason for that to screw with smog? If you could pass the sniffer with the "colored" hoses, then jeez, why would you fail? Vacuum hose racists.

Stevey629

well the guy also said that its possible that taking some of the hoses off will result in breakin solenoid nipples, since theyre made of plastic. Theres gotta be some way to avoid this, cuz those things are expensive. But he was chargin 295 for the whole job, and an extra 65 to 75 bucks per solenoid that "Has" to be broken in order to remove the brittle hoses. I'm a fairly busy guy, so I figured, save myself the hassle and get it done by someone else. The stuff he uses is a bmw silicone that is black. He said it holds up well. I personally wanted to run red silicone from Hose techniques or something, and possibly try to save my solenoids, but was worried about the work involved...not the time necessarily because I can probably try to allocate 6-7 hrs on some idle sunday morning, but if more importantly if something goes wrong, then I won't have the expertise to fix a problem should I come across one. What do u guys suggest?

Vintage Red Touring

I just installe dthe red silicone hose from Hose Techniques, and it is a very labor intensive job. I was fortunate that I only broke 1 solenoid, and was able to get a used one from a forum member.

6-7 hours is a fair estimate of time, if you have the proper tools and know what you are doing. There is tons of how to info on this forum, and lots of advice from those who have done it. I suggest doing a search and reading as much as you can, and study the vacuum hose diagram before attempting.

Lots of people believe that you shouldn't mess with the hoses unless you ae having a problem, which I tend to agree with, but I had my UIM and TB off being polished, so I figured what the heck!

Good luck!

Stevey629

Ya, so if I get those red ones, will it really affect visuals for smog? Cuz, if Im gonna put the work in, might as well have a little something to show for it. I still think that is some major BS. And, Im assuming that those solenoids are in fact a real problem. I am having some problems with the vacuum lines, as some of them have cracked, and all of them are just rock solid brittle.

SoCalLove

I'm sure if you explain carefully why the hoses were changed, they'll let you off. As for me, helllllll no am I doing the hose job, I'll spend the dinero for someone else to do it . Btw, what part of SD are you from, I'm down here in Paradise Hills.

spurvo

Hmmm... not having done this myself, I'm in a less than ideal position to reply (but being the post ***** that I am, I'll do so nonetheless!)

To confirm visual inspection rules, I'd contact your state's EPA/ECA equivalent. Up here in WA, they only perform cursory visuals, but I hear they are rather draconian down by you folks. If a different color hose is indicative or flags an inspector to changes in federal and state mandated emission controls, then you could have your car impounded and declared undriveable. Check with THEM first to be sure.

The hose job is reported to take the better part of three days to the novice, so set aside some time if you plan on doing this yourself.

When replacing ALL the coolant hoses on my car this last weekend (Those assembly line workers are SADISTS!!!), the charge relief hose SHATTERED in my hands upon removel. So you can expect these hoses to be hard and welded to the solenoids. I noticed that if I simply took a sharp knife and cut lengthwise along the hose at the connector, I could carefully peel the hose from the few connections I replaced with no ill effects. I don't think the solenoids HAVE to be replaced during this process (unless they are non functional, of course) but you will have to be VERY patient as you perform this task (mine going down next weekend, as I have other things to replace more urgently first, and I have no boost problems, yet!). Be prepared to remove the upper intake manifold (UIM) and to strip many screws in the process. LOOK ON THIS FORUM for most of the pitfalls. Get the manual from iluvmyRX7.com.

I suspect your mechanic is just alerting you to the possiblity he might break some of these in the process as he cannot afford to baby the job along like you could. He gotta eat, too!

My $0.02 spent.

Vintage Red Touring

Not sure about the smog issues you Californians deal with (Thank God for that!), but it does seem a bit stupid. I'd shoot an email to Hose Techniques, www.hosetechniques.com and ask them about CARB legality issues.

My guess is once they stop laughing, they'll tell you not to worry

It is possible to do the job and not break anything, but it is highly unlikely. Those things are very brittle, but it is easier to remove the hose without breaking anything if you use an Xacto knife or a razor blade and slice the hose, then use a small screwdriver to loosen it before trying to remove it. I'd have one or two solenoids and check valves on hand before starting the job. Ask around the forum, I'm sure you can find someone with some extras laying around that they will sell you.

Stevey629

are those things suppose to be that much? NE ways, I guess I should contact the emissions board or something. And maybe I should also suggest to my mechanic, that it is possible to avoid breaking those things with some patience and an x-acto blade. Im nearly thinkin of takin on the job by myself, but I'd be doing a lot of research and real soon...I got other stuff to take care of though. Jeez.

Stevey629

oh, and SocalLove, Im in Pt. Loma, and probably gonna be in an apartment soon in mission valley. There was a meet last night that I went to, but Im not sure whether or not u were there. In any case, its all about SD man...aside from lame *** emissions apparently.

Rated R1

I did mine on an engine with over 100K miles. I did not break anything. Like was said earlier use the X-acto knife to slit the hose lengthwise before taking it off. Go to rx7.voodoobox.net and look at Dave's pointers.

maxpesce

I passed the visual with all purple silicon hoses (and a DP) at a CA TEST ONLY station - no problem. given the amount of work involved, 6+ hours for somebody that knows what their doing, $295 is a good price. I was quoted $500 + materials by a couple shops.

suprfast

well anything that is not stock in CA is pretty much illegal. they will fail you if they want to be ********. you would be able to get away with black silicone. the rubber hoses have met an emission BS thing from the factory. we technically can not mess with anything doing with smog ever(yeah, right). i have yellow on my car. just find a shop that looks the other way for visuals. usually shops out in the cuts. aslong as you pass sniffer they dont care. usually an extra 20-30 bucks to kinda look the other way.
kris

Nathan Kwok

I have actually emailed the CARB about this and was referred to an engineer that was very helpful about these types of matters. Basically, anything that increases performance must have a CARB#. Parts that replace stock parts but offer no performance increase, and also do not change the functionality of the original do not need CARB#s, even if they are made by an aftermarket mfg. So, bottom line, vacuum hoses do not need a #, neon colored or not. However, if you do have other illegal mods (dp), common sense would dictate keeping the lowest profile possible. For those that are curious, ducting to the airbox is legal as long as the airbox itself is not modified, which in theory could increase performance on some cars (not possible with ours unfortunately), but altering IC ducting is NOT legal. I asked specifically about this and that was the response. Also, some people have used a razor to remove the hoses without breaking the solenoid, I had mine done at Mazdatrix when I had turbo work done, and they only replaced the ones near the turbo that were brittle, then tested the whole system, so that is one way to save money if you want (I only needed one solenoid and one check valve replaced). I have perfect boost now so I can't complain.

Stevey629

hmm...now its just a matter of finding a shop that would smog me I guess. Thx for the help with that smog ques. I just got the car smogged, so I dont think it would be much of a problem until later on down the line, however, its good to know. So is it a do it yourselfer kinda deal? I dont have much experience with this motor, so Im having doubts. But the guy said that I should expect to break at least two or three of the solenoids if Im lucky, and a lot of you guys are tellin me this can be avoided with patience. I got time to do it, just a bit lackin in the knowledge dept. Ill read up and see what I can find about doing it on my own.

SoCalLove

70 possible boost problems in my car!
70 possible boost problems!
Pulll a hose out!
Replace it, no doubt!
69 possible boost problems in my car!






Hehehe, wha?

Hey stevey629, hopefully I'll see you all at the next meet. I'm sure if you asked the guys they'll give you some shops to let you pass. And I don't have a dp yet, but everyone tells me that the majority of all smog places don't even know rotaries, so theres alittle chance they'll know about a pre-cat.

maxcooper

Colored hoses are SMOG legal. However, they will make it obvious that you have messed with the car, which might make the SMOG tech take a closer look for any real violations. I have passed SMOG at a TEST ONLY station twice with colored hoses and they never said anything about it. You don't need to find a friendly shop, just be aware that it might increase the chances of the tech noticing something that really isn't legal on your car.

I spent a lot of time doing my hoses (way more than 6-7 hours) and spread the time over a few weeks while I was installing a bunch of other stuff. I would not count on being able to finish the job in one day if this will be your first time removing the upper manifold. I also broke one solenoid and replaced most of the check valves just for the heck of it.

$295 sounds like a great deal. I would have your tech do it if I were you.

-Max

Stevey629

hmm...so as far as the colored hoses go then, what company would u recommend? cuz I was reading up on the fact that the hose techniques kit is crap. Recommendations?