og89sb

Hey guys

Just bought a 1988 non-turbo. Took it through smog and it failed the CO emissions portion. All the other levels were normal. The EGR failed the functional test, but I thought that would only affect the NOx levels (it was a basic smog test). Then I thought it could be the cat, but then thought it would raise the levels of everything else as well.
It is definitely running rich, I can strongly smell the fumes. I smogged in CA and the CO% measure was 4.64.

Any ideas?

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

welcome to the board.

your best bet is to get enough posts (by using the freebies available to you) to be able to access the other areas of the forum. there is a Regional forum that would cover CA and your questions would probably best be answered there - assuming a search fails (not likely).

until then, here are a few random ideas to hopefully get you started.

well, if the EGR is known to have a failed, then you should address it, particularly if you plan to keep the car smog-legal.

is the air pump connected and functioning?

did you get a tuneup between purchasing the car and taking it for testing?

og89sb

Thanks for the reply! I realized after I posted that I needed to get some minimum posts, took care of some!

I have an appointment with the owner of a local specialty shop (Mariah Motorsports in Santa Barbara), but because the previous owner was so "confident" it would smog I figured I'd give it a shot before I did a full tune up and testing, plus my local smog spot will retest for free. I should have known, it was pretty obvious from the smell of fuel while running that it wouldn't.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to replace the EGR as I haven't been able to find one anywhere that isn't made for the turbo. I'm hoping that Mariah's will have one as they build and race RX-7s, but I've also heard that a failed EGR could still pass. Also, wouldn't the rest of the emissions levels be high as well? The problem was local only to the CO levels, everything else was low. He did a basic smog test it so I didn't get the NOx levels, if which were high then could definitely signify a bad EGR.

I'm still familiarizing myself with the engine bay and the engine itself, but I'm still a newbie for sure. I know where the air pump is, but short of removing it is there a sure-fire way to make sure it's fully functioning?

Also, on the note of familiarizing myself with the car, is there a good spot to find diagrams of where certain parts are specifically? I have the manual and all kinds of PDFs, but if I wanted to say "where is the (such and such) located exactly" and I could look it up?

The oil also smells pretty strongly like fuel I found today..
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

honestly, i'm not going to be of much use to you on this. i'm not in the habit of troubleshooting the emissions systems on these things. however, my gut tells me nothing is wrong, you probably just need to tune it up (oil, filters, etc.) and have another go. however, like i said, your best resource will probably be info from the Regional forum with guys that have had to smog an Rx-7 in CA.

for the EGR, i have serviced a few of them (not on rotaries though) by simply removing and cleaning them thoroughly, of course new gaskets, etc.

funny you should mention the oil ... AirCare emissions testing program | Repair Info - Causes of Excess CO Emissions

og89sb

Went through the cat, air control valve and egr valve, mechanics did a general run through. All are good now, replaced a few bits and pieces, new spark plugs. Ran much better and could barely smell any gas. Ran it hard on the freeway, got it nice and hot and then tested again. Still high CO levels. Lower than before, but still flagged as a gross polluter. Can't figure the damn thing out! Help!