CA 97 240sx I failed smog, help printout here

[rb25crazy]

Hi guys

California
1997 240sx
174k miles
Mods: intake and catback exhaust

So, I failed smog and I was wondering what things I should look at? hopefully any techs here that can help me. Really need to fix this myself if possible.

Here is my printout, please provide and relevant feedback please.

Thanks


http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p106/97s14a/scan0001.jpg

[qwerty]

correct me if i'm wrong but aren't aftermarket intake illegal in CA because they let the car run a bit rich?
i was reading K&N website and this is what i read


"Some Typhoon Air Intakes are not legal for use in California and other states adopting California emission standards while others are CARB exempt and 50 state legal. Check the K&N catalog or website vehicle parts search for specific CARB status. [MORE] (http://www.knfilters.com/typhoon/default.htm)

[rb25crazy]

I have an injen intake which is CARB legal, I have passed the smog test in the past with it.

[Chaluska]

high NOx is caused by your egr being clogged (most likely)

i would inspect the pipe from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold, inspect the valve, and thoroughly clean it. check all the vaccum hoses as well, a cracked vaccum hose from the egr valve to the EGR-BSPT relay will make a difference.. keeping the egr valve closed.

[Driftzenki]

chaluska is correct..also if you have one of them positive backpressure egr systems that require backpressure to open the egr valve, an after market free flowing exhaust system wont create much backpressure

[Mitsubayati]

My car just failed smog too. I changed my CAT to a know working OEM one, changed my O2 sensor since I haven't ever changed it, changed my intake filter since it was very dirty as well and I cleaned the egr passage that goes through the intake manifold. You can access it via a 10mm allen bolt right above your throttle body on the intake manifold. Get a cylindrical wire brush and shove it in there. Get all of that soot out. I passed mine after all of this and my car didn't pass CO NO or HC before. Hope that helps.

[carnal_c30]

I would agree, check EGR first you might be able just to clean it up and pass

[rb25crazy]

My car just failed smog too. I changed my CAT to a know working OEM one, changed my O2 sensor since I haven't ever changed it, changed my intake filter since it was very dirty as well and I cleaned the egr passage that goes through the intake manifold. You can access it via a 10mm allen bolt right above your throttle body on the intake manifold. Get a cylindrical wire brush and shove it in there. Get all of that soot out. I passed mine after all of this and my car didn't pass CO NO or HC before. Hope that helps.



is that what you are referring too?

I have never changed any sensor on my car, is there anyway to test to see if i need to replace it? instead of just replacing it just because?

Would you guys say it is necessary to take off the egr pipe and clean that as well?

also, what did you use to clean it besides that wire brush? did you use any kind of "Cleaner" or just the brush and water.

Another Q does it matter what kind of a wire brush I use material wise? not sure if I can use a soft one like or a hard one, well I have to go out and purchase it so, wanted to make sure I get the right one.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p106/97s14a/51.jpg

[wangan_cruiser]

you guys need to search more. this has been covered



http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/372184-trouble-passimg-smog-your-ka-look-here.html

[Mitsubayati]

is that what you are referring too?

I have never changed any sensor on my car, is there anyway to test to see if i need to replace it? instead of just replacing it just because?

Would you guys say it is necessary to take off the egr pipe and clean that as well?

also, what did you use to clean it besides that wire brush? did you use any kind of "Cleaner" or just the brush and water.

Another Q does it matter what kind of a wire brush I use material wise? not sure if I can use a soft one like or a hard one, well I have to go out and purchase it so, wanted to make sure I get the right one.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p106/97s14a/51.jpg


Yes, you got the right one. Just find the biggest brush that will fit in there and go at it. There's no science behind it haha. I didn't clean it out with anything, but if you have a compressor, shooting in there with air can help. If you have a Harbor Freight near you, they sell two cylindrical brush kits which I purchased to clean mine. They had every length, diameter, and hardness brush you would need. I think for the O2 sensor, you can check if it works by idling the car around 2500rpm and checking for a change in voltage in the wire. Other than that, I wouldn't know. It cost $20 for a universal O2 sensor and is a basic maintenance item I hadn't changed for a long time. Also, the O2 sensor is only important during low throttle which is what is going on in a Smog test.

As for the EGR, you check to verify if it is functioning correctly by pushing in on the diaphragm from beneath the EGR while the car is at idle. If the motor starts to bog or even dies, it is working. It might trigger your CEL to come on, but that can always be reset. Your car barely failed, so I wouldn't see it being a hard task to get it to pass. Singlecamslam helped me when I PMed him with my questions. He posted that How to you see above, but he doesn't have the pics anymore unfortunately.

I would honestly believe that installing a brand new OEM CAT would do the trick as that along with the EGR and running lean being common problems for high NOx.

[rb25crazy]

Pushing on the diaphragm on the EGR to bog the car down? where do is that diaphragm at? I'm not familiar with the location of it, if you could let me know where it is that would be awesome, so I can test it out.


Yes, you got the right one. Just find the biggest brush that will fit in there and go at it. There's no science behind it haha. I didn't clean it out with anything, but if you have a compressor, shooting in there with air can help. If you have a Harbor Freight near you, they sell two cylindrical brush kits which I purchased to clean mine. They had every length, diameter, and hardness brush you would need. I think for the O2 sensor, you can check if it works by idling the car around 2500rpm and checking for a change in voltage in the wire. Other than that, I wouldn't know. It cost $20 for a universal O2 sensor and is a basic maintenance item I hadn't changed for a long time. Also, the O2 sensor is only important during low throttle which is what is going on in a Smog test.

As for the EGR, you check to verify if it is functioning correctly by pushing in on the diaphragm from beneath the EGR while the car is at idle. If the motor starts to bog or even dies, it is working. It might trigger your CEL to come on, but that can always be reset. Your car barely failed, so I wouldn't see it being a hard task to get it to pass. Singlecamslam helped me when I PMed him with my questions. He posted that How to you see above, but he doesn't have the pics anymore unfortunately.

I would honestly believe that installing a brand new OEM CAT would do the trick as that along with the EGR and running lean being common problems for high NOx.

[Mitsubayati]

Locate the EGR. It's behind the intake manifold by the firewall. Put your fingers underneath the round portion and push up on the part that moves.

[repda916]

Was your cat warmed up before you went to test? I always run the tank all the way low. 3 gallons of chevron 91 and 1 gallon of e85

[rb25crazy]

Can't locate that damn diaphragm, i must be blind i was feeling all over for it hah....

also, is this the o2 sensor?

More Information for APWI AP38 (http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3426480)

i was wondering where did you pick it up for 20? minimum i see is around 40 on rock auto and that's the cheapest place i know of.



yeah, my car was warmed up i drove around for a good 5-6 miles before hand and i'm assuming that is enough to warm it up.

Locate the EGR. It's behind the intake manifold by the firewall. Put your fingers underneath the round portion and push up on the part that moves.

[rb25crazy]

http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/getimage.php?imagekey=1998066&imageurl=http%3A//info.rockauto.com/BeckArnley/BA%25200460093-1.jpg

also, that is the EGR valve, but where is the diaphragm? i felt it all over like i was molesting it and couldnt find anything that felt like a "button" or a lil thing to push into.

[Jose1]

Hi guys




get a new catalytic converter not used.
get new spark plug wires and plugs
clean maf and buy new O2 sensor

done.

[Mitsubayati]

put your finger through those slots and push up on the thing inside.

Also, warming up your car is a good idea too. I drove like an hour before my test. A friend of mine told me that he would do pulls on the freeway to get his CAT as hot as possible then go straight to the smog test haha

[Krewlkid]

Bring it to me, im a CA Emissions Specialist, in Temecula.

but if you don't want to, High Nox is commonly cause by high cylinder temperatures, which can be lowered by EGR. Clean your EGR tube and replace the valve, eBay sells them cheap all day long.

Running e85/91+ octain just make the burn time longer which can bring up HC. being that 240sx's have a low HC max vs Nox max, i wouldn't do that.

also check your timing, make sure its on point.

[pacotaco345]

Well.. I can't say I got my car to pass the sniffer without an EGR but I got it damn close. I ran 1 part denatured alcohol and 1 part chevron 91 in the car, had a cat in it, got it REAL hot, and retarded the timing to 14*. I failed low speed NOx by (I kid you not) 1 ppm. I was so pissed. Everything else passed tho.

[rb25crazy]

ohhh, well my plan is just to do basic maintenance

replacing these parts whenever they come in:

egr valve
egr tube (since its rusted and probably going to be a hassle to work with after I most likely strip it)
spark plug
spark plug wire
rotor
cap
seafoam
clean out the intake manifold with a brush on the 10mm hex nut on top of the throttle body
02 sensor

I'll report back after i replace all this crap and see if i pass, if i do not pass i am going to be pissed.

[Kiro1968]

Always plan on doing maintenance before smog.
-check spark plug (replace if needed)
-check plug wires (replace if needed)
-check distributor cap (replace if needed)
-check distributor rotor (replace if needed)
-check egr system
-check air filter
-check o2 (replace if needed)
-check your timing
-check your primary & secondary cat

Put some seafoam in the tank, put some seafoam in the engine, feed the rest into the vacuum system of intake manifold. Drive for two weeks, change the engine oil. Make sure your car is warmed up really good before you go get smog.

I was told emissions got tighter/stricter last year.

Just my thoughts ^_^

[andisan]

I failed too, they had to switch the part next to the header, Not sure whats it called.
But i always ask them to save me the parts they switch out so that i can check it out, and when i did i noticed that the little nipple that connects to the vacum hose was clogged up with rust and other stuff, which im sure made it seemed that it didnt work to the mechanic. I guess if i would of just cleaned all of the emission componets i would of saved $200 dollars and i would of passed smog the first time.

So clean and check all of you emission components with carb cleaner and make sure all you passages are clean and clear as well, hope that helps.

[siksyndicate]

Always plan on doing maintenance before smog.
-check spark plug (replace if needed)
-check plug wires (replace if needed)
-check distributor cap (replace if needed)
-check distributor rotor (replace if needed)
-check egr system
-check air filter
-check o2 (replace if needed)
-check your timing
-check your primary & secondary cat

Put some seafoam in the tank, put some seafoam in the engine, feed the rest into the vacuum system of intake manifold. Drive for two weeks, change the engine oil. Make sure your car is warmed up really good before you go get smog.

I was told emissions got tighter/stricter last year.

Just my thoughts ^_^

Before I rebuilt a spare KAE, I needed to take ownership of the 89 s13 I picked up since the previous owner was suppose to smog it before me buying it- I bought it knowing I'd be able to pass it. The motor was knocking, it smoked, didn't idle well. Basically it looked like a POS motor that wouldn't pass. I did all of the above including the seafoam which I think is a miracle SMOG passer product haha. I took it to the smog shop with all above being done without the seafoam first. It failed miserably. I took it home seafoamed it, ran the car for 2 hours made sure the cat was nice and hot. I took it back the same day since it was a free retest....and it passed with flying colors. The smog techs were like WTF?

-True story. Now go have yours OP.

[S-Nation S13]

timing should it be at 18 or 20 or 22 which is best ????