Failed WA State Emissions

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Playnine

New Member
May 23, 2005
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Washington
Well, I've failed WA State emissions twice now with my 86.5 N/A. Wondering if anyone knows where I should start. I replaced the head gasket in March '08 after the car had been sitting for a couple of years, and immediately tried to pass emissions and get it licensed, my results for the March test are as follows:

March '08
Emissions1.jpg


After failing my car sat in the garage for a while as I haven't had time to deal with it. The first time I failed I hadn't driven the car much, just straight to the emissions place from home and I didn't get a chance to get it on the highway as it was raining and the wipers were out. This time around I drained the old gas in the car and filled it with premium, fixed a nasty vacuum leak and drove the piss out of it for a while before going into emissions, and it did worse than the first time:

October '08
Emissions2.jpg


Also, I tried to check the O2 sensor per the TSRM, but it seems I don't have the same terminals listed as the manual states. It says to put the voltmeter on Vf1 & E1, and I have Vf and E1, and to jump Te1 and E1, I do not show a Te1 listed. Any help appreciated.

Edit: Also, I'm throwing a code 51 but no other codes.
 
Last edited:
hornet7288

hornet7288

Member
Oct 18, 2005
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Savannah, GA
clean all of the intake ports out. There tends to be a lot of carbon cake up in there. I usually just scrape it out with a screwdriver with a vacuum over the port. I'm talking about the little cover on the top with the 4 bolts as the following picture shows.

p1152144_1.jpg


Also I pull the EGR off every couple of years if it's not working and clean it out. Usually if it's caked with carbon that'll fix it right up, but if the EGR itself is not functioning I have to purchase a new one. You can't really fix the plunger on the inside if that's what is bad. There is some type of vacuum test you can do to see if it works...I think you apply vacuum to the line going into the top of the EGR valve and if it's functioning at idle the car will stall/almost stall.

Finally...retarding the timing a bit(nor sure how many degrees) can also help. If the cat is really old (10+ years) you might want to think about replacing that. I passed the first time this year which hasn't happened in all 5 years I've had the car. My father was driving it to work (30 or so miles one way highway) which I really think helped burn a lot of carbon out.

Hope this helps.
 
Jaguar_5

Jaguar_5

It's ALIVE!
Feb 7, 2006
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Seattle
What is your timing like?

You need to fix that code 51 (you'll most likely need to recalibrate your tps)

It's not possible to set the timing properly with a code 51 anyways, you need to take care of that, get the engine nice and warm, then you jumper E1 and T (they changed the labels a bit over the years, Vf and Vf1 are the same, and I believe Te1 refers to just T in pre 89. just compare the location of the pins it shows at cygnus, and compare to what you have)

Make sure the idle screw in the throttle body is closed (screw all the way in) and that all the vacuum lines are connected and undamaged.

That should be enough to get you started :)
 
3p141592654

3p141592654

90T
Oct 11, 2005
3,816
16
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Thousand Oaks, CA
You are running rich in both tests. For the second test you have A/F

cruise:13.285:1
idle: 13.373:1

So you are not in closed loop. You need to find out why. Check the TSRM for troubleshooting this condition.
 
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Playnine

New Member
May 23, 2005
6
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Washington
I pulled the throttle body and Y pipe and cleaned them out, adjusted the TPS per the TSRM, and screwed the idle screw on the TB all the way in (it was not all the way in before).

One question, there is some play in the throttle to where I can open it about 1/8" before the throttle body valve begins to open:

throttlebody.jpg


Should I adjust the throttle stop screw to get rid of this play, or leave it where it's at?

I'm going to replace the plug wires before putting it all back together, then see if I've still got the code 51 and redo the timing.

3p, I'm not sure what you mean by not being in closed loop, can you point me to where I should look in the TSRM to troubleshoot?

Thanks for your help.
 
Jaguar_5

Jaguar_5

It's ALIVE!
Feb 7, 2006
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Seattle
When you check for code 51 again, make sure you aren't touching the throttle and don't have the A/C button engaged
 
91T breezen'

91T breezen'

ROMNEY/RYAN 2012
Apr 4, 2005
1,149
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0
NOYFB!
I think alot of your problem is, just not having the car hot enough to really get the cat working. I got my old truck through with a trick someone told me about too. First I used the "Guaranteed to pass emissions" crap all the way through a tank of gas. Then I went to Ace hardware and purchased a gallon of ethanol (de-natured alcohol) and mixed it with about 4 gallons of gas. I took the truck for about a 30 minute drive with both stop and go, and highway miles. Then, at the emissions station, I never shut it off while waiting in line. It was running like crap (probably too much ethanol) but it passed with flying colors! I then immediately filled the tank with non-oxy fuel.
Good luck if you try my method!:icon_razz
 
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