High CO and HC

[asdfghjkl_carlos]

Hey guys went to get my 240 smogged today and it failed pretty bad I would say. Im in Clark County Las Vegas btw.

For the Idle Speed Test my CO were 2.78% when they should not be higher than 1.20%. Also on the Idle Speed Test my HC was 255 when it should not be higher than 220 parts per million.

For the High Speed Test my CO were 1.55% when the limit is 1.20%.

I changed fuel injectors, o2 sensor, used seafoam, and that Guranteed to Pass stuff. Also drove around for 15 minutes to warm the car up. Any help on what I should look at now ?

Thanks.

[asdfghjkl_carlos]

Anyone ? :/

[asdfghjkl_carlos]

No one has an idea ?

[jza80king]

Lemme try to help. I am assuming you have a KA24DE....HC Failure is the result of incomplete combustion so the first things that come to mind are spark plugs, worn dizzy cap/rotor, timing is off, vacuum leaks, or low compression, worn valves, excessive oil consumption. High CO numbers means you are running rich, basically too much fuel so combustion is rich. Can you provide more info on the fuel injectors? Why were they changed, were they leaking? Since you changed that, I would consider changing the fuel filter if it has a lot of miles. Next I would do the simple stuff, things like the PCV valve helps with crankcase oil vapors, has this ever been changed? If not you want to change this. Check your spark plugs and if they have a lot of miles or you are unsure how long they have been in the motor, change them. Same with the spark plug wires, if you are unsure how old they are might look into a good set. Continuing with ignition, definitely look at the distributor cap and rotor and see if you need to replace and check/set your timing to make sure it's good. Next I would do your standard oil change and oil filter and also check your air filter. A dirty or clogged air filter definitely will affect the air/fuel ratio causing shitty combustion. You already changed the o2 sensor so that's good, you could possibly have catalytic convertor issues which can cause both high CO and HC numbers, hopefully not though. Another thing I'd suggest, vacuum leaks. If you have never changed the vacuum lines you might have a leak and this definitely can cause emissions issues. I had several leaks in my 92 and I decided to change ALL the lines. I got a spray bottle with dish soap and water and started the car up....spray the vacuum lines with the soapy water and you will be able to pinpoint any bubbles. It took about 15 feet of vacuum and I changed 1 by 1 but once I did this, not only did my CO and HC numbers go down, my car idled way better and was much more responsive and not as erratic. So there you go, start with the basic stuff, Plugs, PCV valve, Air Filter, distributor cap/rotor, set timing, vacuum lines, then try to find any leaks in your vacuum like I explained. If after all that you still have high numbers, well then you might need to go in to more serious things like a compression test to see if your rings are toast or a leak down test to see if maybe valves are loose/bad/bent or whatever. Good luck man.

[bmaddock]

You likely have a partially blocked/bad catalytic converter.

Read here about them:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/catalytic-converter1.htm

Basically it converts the emissions of your engine (CO, NOx, HC) into 'better' pollutants (CO2, oxygen, water). If you're seeing increased CO and HC in your emissions testing and have fixed the basics as you've stated, it sounds like you may have to bite the bullet and get a new cat. I see you didn't list spark plugs or fuel filter, they're cheap and just might be enough to get you under the emission regulations.

[jza80king]

Your problem can be several things so before you go out and buy a cat which or may may not fix the issue, do the basic stuff (which is cheaper) that I listed. I have seen friends immediately go buy a cat and have it installed and still the car runs like shit or worse, it passes but you still have the car running like shit and after a year the cat is clogged again because the problem was not fixed they just put a bandaid on it so to speak. A lot of muffler shops will try to just sell you a $200 cat and send you on your way and then guess what happens next year? Same emissions issues all over again. Do it right and get your car running right. I just priced all the stuff online at rockauto.com for a 1992 Ka24DE. A new PCV valve is $2-$5, a new fuel filter is $5-$10. Air filter if you go with a K&N from autozone, it is about $50 and reuseable or non-reuseable aftermarket like FRAM or AC DELCO $6 again on rockauto.com. Fresh NGK or Denso plugs from rockauto aren't too bad, depending on if you run copper/platinums/etc they are between $1.50-$3.00 each. Plug wires for say BOSCH or Denso would be about $40 but there are cheaper brands in the $20-$25 range. Distributor cap is max $10 and the rotor $5 again depending on brand you choose could be less. So just those things listed are gonna run you maybe $60-$75 bucks. Although it MIGHT be your cat, if you buy a cat which ranges $100+ and still fail then you are back to sqaure one. By the way a new cat from rockauto.com is between $100-$150 but you have to make sure you buy one that is legal in your state. Almost everything can be purchased at your local autozone or oreillys as well, as long as you stay with brands like ac delco/Bosch/Denso you will be fine. Good luck.