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My truck failed the smog check

3

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
I had a tune-up shop do a check on my truck before I went for my smog check. Every thing was high. It would have failed the check for sure. They suggested a tune up, ok I can have that done. Also said the cat. may be bad saturated with bad stuff. I can have it replaced for 500.00 plus. Someone said adding a gallon of alcohol to the tank, this will help clean up the catalytic converter. Anyone done this? or will it really screw things upStan
 
Truthfully, does anyone's vehicle that is more than a couple years old pass these tests??? I do not trust them, if we removed all the so called "environmental" equipment from our vehicles, they would get 5 to 10 MPG better milage, so, that said, how much do these so called controls really help? if we burned less gas, we would have lower emissions right?

Just more government controls forcing more spending on non essential issues.
 
cheif: depending on model/year/engine,,some people have ran a couple of gallons of ethenol[e-85] whth about 1/4 tank of gas,,,it will help burn out build up in e-g-r valve and cat...couldn"t hurt, only a couple of $"s of gas..
 
How much does the truck get driven. i used to have failures regularly. One time it just happened that I had a 100 mile trip just before the test. I had failed the previous test and gotten a waiver. Didn't do any repair, but passed the test. After that I drove 40 miles on the freeway before the test. Never had another problem. They tell you to have a hot engine, but don't tell you that if you only drive short trips you will fail.

Areo
 
I've got a '78 Jeep J-10. Some years back, when NC was still making all vehicles undergo the sniffer test, the guy at the shop looked at me and said, "She might smoke a little when you startt her up, but she's burning cleaner than a new car." Yep, 360 AMC engine, with a two barrel carb, and nothing emissions wise but the old 'smog pump' and the emissions were less than those from a car 20 plus years newer with 4 times the EPA mandated crap. Granted it doesn't get the MPG's of the new cars, but if it burns twice as clean then I can use twice as much fuel and still break even.........

Another example. Got one customer that had a 30 year old dragline. It had a MP22 Murphy engine in it. The Murphy's have been around since the thirties and changed little since then. They side lined the old crane and bought a newer, used one. A year or so into using the newer crane Dad asked the operator how it was doing. His reply was that with the old crane he would burn 30-40 gallons of fuel per day and move x amount of yards of material. With the newer machine he was burning 130 to 140 gallons per day and moving maybe half as much material. Now you tell me which machine was more environmentally friendly.......
 
Try some Sea Foam, seems to work and clean everything up on the truck and tractors. Not sure what it is but might be the wd-40 and duct tape for the garage. Gotta have a can in every garage. Besides it isn't that expensive to just give it a try.
 
I take my truck at times to see my daughter that lives 3 hours away( all open highway).Its 3 hours home and it runs great after running hot for that length time. It burns all the stuff out of the cat.that it collects from all the short jaunts around home.
 
Now, maybe you have a trustweorthy shop.

But....

You ask them to test it, it comes up negative on everything, and they get to suggest a lot of parts to put into it to make it now pass the test......

That's kind of an open invitation to help you out of your checkbook, isn't it?

--->Paul
 
Any time I have had one totally bomb the test the Cat has been totally empty. The matrix crumbled up and blew out the tailpipe. Wonder how much platinum is in the berms along the road?
 
Gosh Stan, I thought you had a Ram 3500 with a Cummins. Guess I misunderstood. $500 for a catyletic converter? Might be cheap these days. All in all, might cost you a $1,000 to get it to pass, BUT that is still cheaper than buying something new. That's my take.

Then again, maybe they (government) are trying to usher you into the newest, latest, greatest "cash for clunkers" program.

Mark
 
Our daughter ran into that with her little Saturn 4 banger in Washington DC. It failed the emissions test, so she took it to her dealer. (She can trust them). They found a bad oxygen sensor. After they replaced the sensor, it still failed the test.

The fellow who did the test told her sometimes it takes some driving time for the computer to adapt to the new sensor. She went out and drove the entire beltway around DC, went back and it passed, no problem.
 
Did they pull any codes? Sounds like they're shotgunning it. I assume you got the beast good and hot before you brought it in, and they immediately checked it out before it had time to cool off.

What the heck is a "tune up"? Plugs go for 100K these days, and there's not much else you can do to a modern vehicle that qualifies as what we used to call a tune-up.

How old is the vehicle? Much of the emissions control system is covered under the federally-mandated emissions warranty, some up to 8 years/80K miles.

What did it fail? NOx, unburned hydrocarbons, or something else?
 
No you wouldn"t get 5-10 mpg better. If we got rid of all the crash related safety items and took off the emissions then maybe. But then you"d have a 1980 Honda Civic.

A lawnmower produces 10"s of times the emissions per hour of operation of a new car which is why they are bringing in emissions for small engines too.
 
He was pulling your leg meaning its doing good for a truck of the day. All that emissions crap isn't there for the auto makers good, you need it to get the emissions down to low levels. Its pretty rare to all the emissions on oldies down low for a drive cycle.
 
I failed to mention it is my 96 Dodge 3500. I use it to pull my MF 231, and my JD when I have a mowing job. The truck doessn't get long trips. Maybe that's the problem. Stan
 
hydrocarbon's high? Sometimes an oil change will bring them back down. EGR system including the PCV valve working?

What kind of vehicle, how old, how many miles, is it a lost cause all ragged out with a lot of blowby?
 
That is one of the main reasons I no longer live in the State of California. In 1972 they failed my 63 Chevy PU, I had to add a bunch of crap according to them to make it pass. I sold it to a buddy for parts or whatever.
Here in S. TX our inspections consists of:
Wipers, lights, horn work. Open fuel door to be sure no one punched it. Maybe see if the brake fluid is full. Usually look under to see if cat is still there. Glance at the tires. Drive it a few hundred feet to be sure brakes work. Be VERY sure you have valid insurance. $14.50 and your good for another year.
No idea why anyone would continue to live in that state of lunacy named California.
 
While I can see what you're saying, is it really worth burning all the extra fuel for the sake of fewer emissions when we supposedly face an oil shortage in the future. Look at all the diesel trucks produced a few years ago that got 1/2 the mileage of anything produced previous. There's gotta be some balance to it, but with the EPA in charge, that's not about to happen.
 
Amazing that happened to you in 1972 with a 63 Chevy, as California didn't implement smog checks untill 1984 and vehicals built before 1976 were exempt.
 
Stan, Here in South Central Texas, The Air Quality Board made Travis Co.(Austin),,Hays Co.(Wimberly),, Williamson Co (Georgetown)Have to pass Emission on all Gas cars and trucks. I had my 97 F150 fail and it took a week in a local handy man Shop and enough parts to fill a Baseball cap and $600 to get it to pass! Since the surrounding counties have not been added to that list, They do not have to have Emission test, If I had property in one of those properties I could have move my registration to that county and avoided that Pain. Perhaps you can do something like that!
Hope that helps.
Later,
John A.
PS when a cat get stopped up the best remedy is to replace!
 
Nah, he wasn't just pulling my leg. In fact the test results were printed out on the inspection sheet, and at the time (mid 90's) I also had an '88 F150 with the V8. I matched the percentages up between the two and the Jeep came out on top in almost every thing that was measured for.

That said I had a mechanic at one of the dealerships tell me, about the same time, that they routinely saw the older vehicles getting better test results than the newer stuff. His reasoning for it was that tuning up the older ones could be done alot cheaper and by the owner, while the onew with the newer technology often had to go back to the dealership and as a result cost an arm and a leg to tuneup. The result of that was that the older vehicles stayed 'tuned up' and running clean while the newer ones were let go as long as possible between tuneups in order to save money, and usually didn't get anything at all done until they were nearly 'dead'.

I can only assume that's why the most modern vehicles have all of the new self diagnostics, and, as far as tuneups go, have nothing that can be done to them short of changing the plugs. It's to the point that, at least here in NC, they won't pass the test at all if the check engine light is on.....even if it's for something as simple and stupid as the gas cap not being tight......
 

Here in Pa we have auto emmissions in several counties. Drop your gasoline level to about 1/4 and then add a couple of gallons of IPA(Isopropyl Alcohol) to the mix. Drive in and take the test. When you get out add gasoline to the tank. It won't hurt a darn thing. I had an old Dodge 318 that I ran on 80% alcohol and other non hydrocarbons. It ran fine.

(fuelsandlubestechnologies.org)
 
Scott, may I suggest you check your information closer. I moved away from the land of fruits and nuts in 1973, and yes indeed I had a 1963 Chevy C10 that failed a smog test in 1972. The list of required items needed to update the truck (283 and 3 speed) to meet the NEW California standards were going to almost double the value of my truck, which in fact would have made it worth nearly nothing since the fuel mileage would suffer not to mention the truck probably would have run like crap. It was the intent of the state to turn any vehicle with some age under it's belt into a non-op vehicle. It worked with mine.
 
John, they pulled that same stuff in Dallas County when we lived there. It was short lived as the supposed state run stations failed in short order. We had land in East Texas at the time and I promptly put up a mailbox and registered all my vehicles there since we were there nearly every weekend anyway. A trip into Tyler for an inspection on a Saturday once a year resolved the problem. After a few years Dallas County said they were changing the color of the inspection stickers and if you were caught you could be fined. Yada yada yada, it amazes me how much time and effort they waste to keep the money in their own counties.
 
Son's work car flunked. Said the test guy told him he needed a new oxy sensor. We pulled the old one, cleaned it up and reinstalled. Passed. Saved him $165.

Mark
 
I agree with Downsouth, I remember as a kid growing up in Diamond Bar in so cal, my family all drove Chevy Corvairs, the CHP would set up roadside inspections on Brea Canyon Road between Diamond Bar and Brea by the mobile oil property. Under those new smog equipment guidelines the vacuum advance distributors that were original equipment on the car, were all of the sudden "non compliant", the inspecting officer would pull off the vacuum line from the carburator's to the distributor, then plug the hose fittings with huge blobs of green goo (silicone ?? ), give you a fix it ticket and send you on your way. I remember this really ------ Dad off. Thats when my parents traded Moms 4 door '61 in on a used '68 olds. At least the weather is still nice in So Cal.
 
I stand by everything I said, No State of California Smog checks before 1984, pre 1967 vehicals were exempt. Except new cars certified by the factory there were no tailpipe standards untill 1984. I suspect that you may have got caught up in a South Coast Air Pollution Control Dist or BAR equipment check. The car must have a functioning PCV (required in 1961 cars and later) and be in good state of tune (?) and probably something else I am sure I forgot. Untill recently with diesel fleets, at no time in the State of California, in 1960's thru the 1990's was there ever any mandate to add and "new pollution control equipment". Keep the existing stuff operating in good order: oh yes. In 1972 there was no tailpipe emission standards no smog shops or any requirement to have a smog test. So , no! No one failed a California smog test in 1972. Local district equipment check, maby, put that is not what you said. Perhaps you should check your facts!
 
(quoted from post at 13:31:40 06/28/12) I stand by everything I said, No State of California Smog checks before 1984, pre 1967 vehicals were exempt. Except new cars certified by the factory there were no tailpipe standards untill 1984. I suspect that you may have got caught up in a South Coast Air Pollution Control Dist or BAR equipment check. The car must have a functioning PCV (required in 1961 cars and later) and be in good state of tune (?) and probably something else I am sure I forgot. Untill recently with diesel fleets, at no time in the State of California, in 1960's thru the 1990's was there ever any mandate to add and "new pollution control equipment". Keep the existing stuff operating in good order: oh yes. In 1972 there was no tailpipe emission standards no smog shops or any requirement to have a smog test. So , no! No one failed a California smog test in 1972. Local district equipment check, maby, put that is not what you said. Perhaps you should check your facts!
Click to expand...

Scott I remember it being national news sometime in the 80's that CA tried passing a law that would have required that all motor vehicles would have to add on the smog crap to meet current standards. I also remember when it failed to pass.

Rick
 
Hi Rick, I moved to California in 1986 about the time that was being discussed. The law had allowed any 49 state car that passed smog to be resistered in the state. Some wanted to require all 49 state cars to be upgraded to California standards. The big secrete was that except for the sticker the cars were mechanically identical, and it wasn't about emissions anyway, it was about state sales tax. More about that later. Anyway, California was/is something like 20% of the new car market in the US. Everybody knew than, that the California type requirements were comming to places like New York, Texas, and other populated states (or areas of them) that were not in compliance with the Federal ambiant air quality standards. Lets call it maby 70% of the new car market. It would have cost more to manufacture a different car for the other 30%, so that is what most manufactures did, only made 1 version. When I moved here I had a 1985 Nissan PU that breezed through the smog test. I drove it till 2000 when it burned a valve, and it still passed. Finally I was able to "tune" it up enough to fail and I sold it, as a gross polluter, to the local air district for $1000. Anyway, back to what you were talking about, upgrades for 49 state cars was about sales tax. We could(and still can) go to a state that was lower or no sales tax, buy it and lic it in that state and drive it for a year and register it in CA as a used car. That i what they were tryong to stop. That was also the way to buy a 2 cycle motor cycle when they were no longer avaliable in CA.
 
Darn, I hate when that happens . I thought that you guys that lived in the land of the fruits and nuts only had to do that smog thing, on the west coast. Did you know that China makes 50% of all the green house gase , that you are being regulated on . They have NO standers.
 
Downsouth, I hear what you say but the Inspection Station hooks up your rig to a computer that is in turn hooked up to Austin and you have a h3ll to pay to get your truck to pass,,, either pass the inspection or get it registered in another county. They look at your registration an make you get an inspection in your county! I tried that and it didn't fly!
Later,
John A.
 
Don't doubt it. Why do you think a lot of manufacturing in the US is overseas nowadays.......EPA ran them off.

Heck with regulations up the gazoo and high labor costs, Henry Ford and his idea are dead (apparently), they can make something for $2.50 wholesale, retailer can mark it up to $12.99, stuffing wads of cash in his and his CEO's pockets, both make a fancy profit and the customer (you and I) get a super deal.....if we have a source of income that is to pay for it.

I just bought a product for that amount of money and learned later, via the mfgr in India advertising on the www, what it cost the store where I bought it. These are facts and one shouldn't expect anything to change. Too much honey in this sweet deal!

My 2c,
Mark
 
if we burned less gas, we would have lower emissions right?
Click to expand...

No.

You'd have a smaller quantity of exhaust, but most of that exhaust would be nasty stuff like hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, and carbon monoxide.

With emissions equipment most of a car's exhaust is carbon dioxide and water these days.

What isn't taken into account is how much pollution is put into the air producing the extra gasoline these cars burn, or the pollution put into the air by manufacturing these emissions gadgets.
 
I agree, there is no way that burning twice the fuel can produce less emissions, that is just plain crazy. Of course, this is the same EPA that runs amok and claims that natural gas wells that have been fracked have contaminated drinking water, thousands of feet above the gas shale that was fracked, then later after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawsuits and independant testing, the EPA is proven WRONG over and over. If anyone were to dispute their air emissions claims with real testing they would again be proven WRONG. Our Government is completely out of control.
 
makes me glad i live where they dont do smog checks, if they did half the cars in the state would be red tagged, i just replaced the head gaskets on a stock '83 c-30 i have, while i was at it i got rid of the smog crap,and i mean all but the pcv valve, smog junk doesnt to anything back in those years anyway and it sure doesnt work nearly 30 years after the truck was built, it starts better, and gas mileage went from 8 to 12, this truck has a 12 foot flatbed with dump and weighs 8800 empty not bad
 
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