Failed inspection

[gtsfirefighter]

Well I got the exhaust fixed so don't sound like white trash anymore. I then went to get it inspected and it failed. The "Nox" came back to high. The guy said the exhaust is too rich. Anyway, took it home and was looking under the hood and found the hose from the charcoal canister to the fuel tank had a very bad crack in it, enough to not be effective. Also found a no. 5 fuel injector leaking around the head connection. Could one of those be the culprit? Any suggestions. Also, I have no codes and the check engine light is not on. Recent HG repair with new plugs and air filter. Car is bone stock. I've searched but everyone who has failed the same thing are running modified GTE's.

 

[oscolivar1]

car is bone stock and failed geez that sucks.

replace that Injector or fix it if possible and replace that canister or fix it if possible and bring it back to inspection if u fail report back.

i think its the injector though thats causing you to fail

 

[jetjock]

The NOx is high but the engine's too rich? A licensed smog guy told you that?? Post up the numbers and I'll tell you what's going on.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

The NOx is high but the engine's too rich? A licensed smog guy told you that?? Post up the numbers and I'll tell you what's going on.

I'm having the wife scan and email the report to me. I'll post the entire thing shortly.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

I'm having the wife scan and email the report to me. I'll post the entire thing shortly.

Here it is if I did it right. Sorry the quality seems poor.

Also if this helps, I had been driving it around with the donut gaskets blown out. I went straight from the muffler shop to get it inspected which was just a little of 20 highway miles.

 

[jetjock]

I expressed surprise because a rich mixture supresses NOx. It's very unlikely the two would occur together and sure enough, the engine is not rich at all.

It actually looks pretty darn good. CO2 is right up there, O2 is correct (proves the sensor is working and the engine is in closed loop) and CO and HC are also fine. Assuming it's not running hot you're looking at a faulty EGR system or a bad reduction bed in the cat. Most likely EGR. Test it. Might need cleaning too.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

I expressed surprise because a rich mixture supresses NOx. It's very unlikely the two would occur together and sure enough, the engine is not rich at all.

It actually looks pretty darn good. CO2 is right up there, O2 is correct (proves the sensor is working and the engine is in closed loop) and CO and HC are also fine. Assuming it's not running hot you're looking at a faulty EGR system or a bad reduction bed in the cat. Most likely EGR. Test it. Might need cleaning too.

How do you test the EGR. Would it not be safe to assume the catalytic converter is faulty due to the fact it had been sitting for long time and after the hg repair I drove it a while with bad donuts and got it inspected immediately after having that fixed?

 

[jetjock]

It's not safe to assume anything

The cat won't go bad from age. What kills them is burning oil or running rich, or pouring crap additives into your gas tank or manifold. It's unlikely your cat is bad because I can tell from the emission numbers the oxidizing section in it is working. That said the reduction bed may be dead but I doubt it.

Follow the TRSM for tesing the EGR valve and modulator. Apply vacuum directly to the EGR valve. If the engine stumbles at idle it's probably OK. You can also do this to verify the system is working properly in total:

Remove the EGR pipe from the intake manifold (tape over the hole) but leave the EGR valve in. Put a piece of garden hose on the outlet of the valve and stick the other end into a bucket of water. Jack the rear of the car up and chock the front wheels. Put it in second gear at 25 mph and then pull on the E brake enough to maintain 25 while adding gas to get back there. The hose should bubble the bucket big time. If helps if you leave a vacuum gage tee'd into the EGR valve so you can see the vacuum level but it's not really needed.

If no flow remove the valve and clean the passages. Intake manifold port, piping and valve passages in the head. An old speedo cable or piece of wire rope frayed at the end and chucked up in a drill does a good job. And pray the EGR cooler isn't plugged.