Emissions test tips.... RPX?

[Welby]

I have to get my '87 Limited tested since it has NJ stickers on it right now. Any tips on getting it to pass? The previous owner said it passed in NJ, and it does have an '06 NJ sticker on it (Every 2 years in NJ?) Has a single sticker though, does that cover everything? In PA there are two stickers, one for the regular inspection, one for emissions....
Only thing that concerns me is the owner told me it has a gutted cat. Do you guys think any additives would be a good idea to help it squeek through? I did a search and someone mentioned RPX. Any comments on this stuff?
I really only need to do the emissions thing now, and then in May to match my plate, because if you do under 5,000 miles a year, your car is exempt. I don't plan on driving it more than that.

Thanks

Mark

 

[charlloots]

its good to let the car get really hot right before

 

[gofstbuick]

It appears that the NJ and PA emissions tests are simular. So it that is a legitimate test for NJ, your car should have no problems passing.

 

[Welby]

Accckkkkkk, it failed miserably. At idle, the CO% limit is 1.2, I was at 1.78. The HC ppm limit is 220, I was at 700!

It passed ok at 2,500 rpm with a 1.03 and 61, with the same limits.

I think I might have made the situation worse buy throwing in some of that "Guaranteed to pass crap", but I wasn't able to run my tank dry and get some fresh gas running through it. I think because I still had that junk running through, it was spraying carbon junk all over his sensor, lol . I have a free re-try within 30 days. What I'm going to do is put some fresh plugs in it, and throw a brand new converter on there. Having a gutted one on it sure isn't helping things .

My question is, where can I find a direct fit converter that I don't have to rig together with a bunch of stupid adapters? I just want a bolt on converter, car has the stock downpipe, but an aftermarket exhaust that mounts with a flange at the back of the converter. Cheaper the better
Also, is there a way to turn up the idle a little bit? The guy mentioned that it was missing a little bit and that probably hurt my readings. That's why I'm going to get new plugs, but it seems to idle awfully low, it sounds "cammed up", which it isn't. His equipment was showing it idling at about 750 rpm.. He had to feather the gas to get it reading over 1000 for the test.

please help me out here, and advice would be fantastic, thanks

 

[frankunderpsi]

If you are running a 160 temp thermostat . put in a 195 temp thermostat.

Fresh oil and filter change just before testing .

And a new / clean Air filter.

Many have passed with a gutted cat.

If you have an adjustable Fuel pressure regulator try turning the pressure down a couple of # pounds for the test.

since your ar failing @ idle

A new O2 sensor will help to... Good Luck

 

[gofstbuick]

You can get a flanged pipe from an ATR vendor (or Aggressive, ATR, Poston, Kirban, Full Throttle Speed or Ramchargers). Then you can set up a cat that will slip fit to the DP and mount properly to the y-pipe. Your chip probably runs very well with the 160 degree t-stat, so leave it alone. You need to post your mods, plus the rest of the readings. Emissions work in conjuction with other gases and the relationship is graphable. So if we cannot see the other gases (HC,CO,NOx,O2,CO2), then it is a guess at best. For instance you may have really high HC and moderate CO, but if O2 is on the floor , it may be rich and if O2 is up in the 3% range, then it may be lean. IMHO, don't be messing with anything else until you get the engine into a good tune. If you want to raise the idle speed, lower your IAC counts.

 

[Welby]

Well, the only things the printout tell me are the HC and CO limits, this is the results.


IDLE:

CO limit: 1.2
My reading: 1.78

HC ppm limit: 220
My reading: 700

2500 rpm:

CO limit: 1.2
My reading 1.03

HC ppm limit: 220
My reading: 61


So the real problem is at idle. Do you think having the tank burning that "guaranteed to pass" junk during the test screwed me up? I'm just going to order up a new cat and get it put on there, I have a feeling that will be all I need to do, since the gutted one is esentially useless. I noticed Postons has high-flow cats for $159, but there are 3 of them with the same description but different part numbers. Anyone know the difference, and which one I'd need?
I don't have a Scanmaster yet, as I just bought the car, so I really can't get into adjusting much at the moment *shrug*. We have a baby on the way, so I can't be blowing the money on one right now either. I just need to get the car to pass now and in May, after that, I'm sure I'll be doing less than 5,000 miles a year and I'll be exempt.
Would running 87 octane in it help for the test? Of course I'd stay out of the gas until I cleared it out of the tank...

Thanks alot, Mark

 

[gofstbuick]

Usually catalytic converter issues are barely fail problems, so you're going to have to get the emissions closer to passing without the cat before you install a cat. I sent you email, call me

 

[Welby]

Well... I went back for a free re-test after adding the new cat, CR43TS plugs, and a new Denso O2 sensor, and it still failed

The numbers were all much better, but it still failed the HC test at idle, the limit is 220, I was at 335 or so. More than 1/2 of what it was before, but still well abover the limit.

All of the other readings were excellent this time (I don't have the sheet on me to give the exact numbers)

I'm lucky enough to live about 6 miles from Jay Frick (JaysGN), and stopped by on Saturday. He looked at the car and pointed out a few things wrong. The hose leading from the valve cover the the turbo was hacked together, so he sold me the right one. And he mentioned that my fuel pressure regulator was smashed (Said it was an old trick to get more pressure, but without having a guage on it, there's no way to tell what pressure I'm running, and that might effect it ) Also mentioed that I might have a bum injector because they are 17 years old.
He was ready to sell me a ton of stuff, new injectors, new fuel pump, you name it, lol, but he was pretty helpful, and I don't doubt for a second that he'd help me get everything back in order.


Any other suggestions?, I'm stumped, and parking the car for the winter.

 

[gofstbuick]

I don't think the crushed FPR will affect HC, unless the CO is still up also. Now the injectors may cause you an issue, especially if they're clogged. If the HC is high an CO is really low, the engine may be running lean.

 

[MaxVO2]

I live in Maryland where they have pretty strict emissions testing (IM 240). I think it would be VERY difficult to pass without a good cat convertor, and a good state of tune.

I also had problems passing, so this is what I ended up doing to get it through.

1. Catalytic convertor. Put a real one on..

2. Cleaned injectors by running a couple of gallons of Xylene through the tank. I also have an old Napa fuel injector cleaner hose setup that mounts onto the rail and uses commercially available injector cleaner plus propellant.. Probably overkill as the xylene does a great job.

3. Closed loop chip with EGR functioning. Checked EGR valve for proper function..

4. Decarbonized motor with top engine cleaner.

5. Changed oil/filter

6. New plugs, checked coil, ohm'ed out wires to make sure less than 1000k per foot of wire..and no breaks...

7. Made sure TPS, IAC and other basic sensor values were to spec.

8. Set fuel pressure to stock level (I ran the stock, updated chip)

9. Checked air filter (I have a K&N, it was clean..)

10. Warmed it up VERY well before getting to the station.


Finally, I made sure the guy running my car on the roller kept the car running smoothly over its trace as opposed to just stabbing the gas and building boost... Car passed with no problems after all the above after having failed 4 times due to not making sure the car was in good working order beforehand..

Hope this helps

Billy
Montgomery Village, MD

 

[mybuick]

take off the wastegate rod and let the puck flop. vehicle wont go under boost so no extra fuel put into engine