On the same boat. Ordered an 02 sensor , tps sensor, egr gasket,Air filter,and plan on cleaning the TB. If all else fails I’ll get the CAT cut off and have a universal one welded. The Magnaflow is anywhere from $110-150, plus a weld job for 50$ at a local place.
I’ll update you guys once all the work is done.
yeah that makes more sense that if you are burning oil your HC emissions will go up. Don't bother with higher octane I have never seen that make a difference in our vans. I might even go as far as suggest one of those Lucas treatments where it thickens the oil unless you notice a significant difference running the 20w-50 if it still smokes with 20w-50 you have nothing to lose adding the Lucas oil treatment to get one more smog pass out of the engine. In another 2 years if you want to keep the van you may want to consider a new engine or another van. I would do a seafoam treatment through the intake to get rid of as much carbon as possible
If you do eventually need the Cat make sure it is for California. The cheapest one Magnaflow I see for CA is $360 for a universal. I’d go with the direct fit from RockAuto in that case for $430. The smog tech will definitely check the number on the new cat.
https://www.amazon.com/MagnaFlow-447.../dp/B007C800XU
How about this one?
If it’s what it says it is. It should have the Carb # stamped on the shell. If not you can return. Hot exhaust has the Magnaflows much higher.
Hey guys!
I’ve been calling and doing nothing but research on the CAT for the past two weeks. I did happen to find one that is approved and cheap. On top of that it’s from Autozone so they crossed referenced numbers and verified it fits.
https://www.autozone.com/emission-co...61171_0_234589
Just make sure you have access to welding equipment!
I got quoted $450 for replacing a CAT so it makes sense there would be one cheaper than what is on Rock Auto.
Order # D-280-94 will work. It’s listed in the Carb database for 84 Van. $120 At AZ is a good deal.
MY order for the direct fit was d-193-105
Why do you think California neighbors Oregon and Arizona have 2-year registration? So Californians only have to go every other year to either smog ther car or or pick a county with no smog and get one of those PO Box business address to send your mail to. they will forward it to your house when it comes in you just drive to Arizona register your car & go home. Az & Or insurance is a lot cheaper too.
home
I'm not sure what the penalty would be or even if they look for this sort of thing (regarding smog), but I do know they hunt people down who do this for reasons of tax evasion. I realize that these vans are not worth a lot, so perhaps it's not an issue, but, when it comes to having a PO box in another state (simply for vehicle registration) can be risky. I work in the RV industry and some of the vehicles I work on are very expensive (some north of $200k). I personally know of 2 different customers that are WA residents who got busted for doing that. Both had gotten PO boxes in OR so they could they could register vehicles there to evade WA state sales tax. Big mistake. The penalties for this are huge and both parties suffered greatly. I'm not saying this will happen, nor am I making any recommendations. I'm simply saying that doing this type of thing can raise a red flag and put you at risk. TimOriginally Posted by ChetsJug
I’ll confirm Chet on this. I’ve done both.
Was living in SF around ‘74. 67 bug. The state came out with a law that I needed a PCV. So drove it up to Oregon and registered using friends address.
Currently my DL address is SF but use a PO Box in a non enhanced zone for reg to avoid having dyno test and NOX smog test.
Topic at hand. Got it smogged 3 weeks ago. Knew it would fail badly. Can smell unburned HC at idle and mpg sucks. But it’s my workhorse and I currently just don’t have the time to remove
the throttle plenum and replace injectors. So again temporarily replaced the original 370K cat with the new CARB one mentioned in earlier post. Passed with 0.0 CO at both idle and 2500 speed test. Idle HC 10, 2500 speed 6. They allow 150/180. So that’s on a 30 mile round trip CAT in 2 years time. Should last my lifetime.
I’m sure the penalty is severe for these things but when you live in a state with never ending new rules and regs there are not enough enforcers to catch all the scofflaws. And hopefully like in Wash only go after the big boys.
Just wanted to edit my last post. I donÂ’t need a smog for another year but it will be an informative experience and I will of course advise here.
Because after many years of very poor gas mileage and a terrible smelling rich mixture coming from the tailpipe, I finally figured it out. It was actually from the advice of the mechanic who did the last smog. He couldnÂ’t figure out why it passed so cleanly yet ran so poorly. If you read my last post you know why. Anyway he suggested a vacuum leak. So after a year I had a little time yesterday.
So with a can of acetone carb cleaner I sprayed all the hoses. Only place that caused an increase in RPMs was near the EGR. Particularly where it connected to the intake. And that was it!!! The gasket had turned to brittle, thin, black paper with a small section missing. When I had cleaned out the carbon blocked EGR around 20 years ago, knowing me didnÂ’t put in a new gasket. Now it runs like an actual car. Not some big gas guzzling truck. IÂ’m sure some of you know the feeling when you get your baby back!
So hereÂ’s the deal. Evidently a very small leak near the EGR location, or perhaps anywhere, is just enough to not throw a code or cause stumbling or erratic idle but tell the computer to pump gas into the cylinders.
Now back on topic. Next November when the smog is due, IÂ’ll keep my old catalytic converter in place rather than swapping it for the day. Just to see how much abuse from raw gas an original 35 year old converter can take. It sure smells clean now.
That always puts a lasting smile on my face when I finally solve an annoying problem.........especially when it's one I've been living with for a long time. It's easy to convince yourself you're dealing with something complex and then put it off indefinitely, only to eventually find out later it's something simple. When these vans run good they are a real joy. It's amazing how much difference there can be in driving pleasure with some simple, easily corrected issues. I once drove without power steering for ~ 2 years. When I finally took the time to address the issue it ended up being a stupid o-ring and power steering pump actually still worked when I put fluid back in the system after repair. I had let it run dry for ~ 30k miles. I still remember how much I started loving the van again after I finally got off my ass and fixed it.
Tim. Exactly I had foreseen removing the plenum and all to repair the injectors. Imagine if I had done that to to no avail? Compounded the depression.
However last year I had actually put a fuel pressure gauge on the rail and monitored the drop as I activated each injector individually and saw identical readings. No leak down etc. So didnÂ’t go there.
This time I was fortunate to be able to remove the EGR tube at the exhaust with an open end wrench so could pull the EGR with the tube attached up and out. They should make a tool for that. Kind of like an O2 sensor tool.
8/83 is my manufacture date. That is coming up on 39 years! In the movie ,Pretty Woman, there is one identical to mine, maroon, on Rodeo Drive. They were a big deal back then among the rich and famous evidently. Now just among a club of us greasy DIYers.
Hello All, I recently moved back to California from Oregon and needed to get my 1988 5spd 4x4 California Emissions Van smoged. It failed. Below are the test results.
The way I interpreted the results are it failed the 15 mph test for NO. I was with my kids at the shop and was distracted when the gentleman was explaining the results.
Here are the things I have done to the van in the last 2 months preparing for the smog test: compression check 160 PSI on all for cylinders, replaced TPS and set it properly with multimeter, replaced coil, rotor, cap, wire, spark plugs, air filter, FPR, set timing to 12' BTDC with check engine terminal jumped (when removed it jumps to 20' BTDC).
About five years ago I replaced the catalytic converter (not a CA cat) and both O2 sensors in Oregon and it has about 5000 miles on it since.
The van runs good (average 21 mpg) but not perfect, it feels like it has a slight miss at idle (~900 rpm). If I try to lower the RPM to 800 with the idle adjust screw it runs rough (shakes). My thought is it has to do with the EGR system by looking at the service manual and way it failed smog and the symptoms it is having. I am trying to diagnose what part needs servicing. Reading the steps to check the EGR system I am a little hung up on the below set.
It says to connect the R port directly to the intake manifold with another hose. I am not sure which port to use. I removed and caped the hose that connects the highlighted filter below and attached it there. The engine did not start miss firing. I also used the same port to applying vacuum to EGR Valve in the next step. The engine did not run rough or die. I am doing this wrong? When I apply vacuum to the EGR valve with a large syringe connect to a piece of hose I can hear/feel the valve moving inside.
The EGR Vacuum modulator and BVSV check out. The van does not have cooling issues and reads just above 1/4 on the temp gauge, but I dont know if that correlates to the combustion temperature not being too hot creating access NO.
Any pointers on how to do this test properly? Thanks again! Since moving back to california working on the van has been my only real hobby. Which is why I have been back on TVT..
Last edited by Ian R.; 02-16-2023 at 10:27 PM.
Your catalytic converter is probably worn out or clogged. I just went through this last year with my van to get it to pass ca smog. All the emissions systems were working as normal but it wouldn't pass smog until I put a new cat on. My van had similar emissions numbers as you did and similar mileage, really high nox and barely too much on the others. Take your cat off and look at the internals look for clogs or damage to the honeycomb structure. If it's the original one it's gonna be real tough to get off so start with some cycles of soaking the bolts with penetrating oil and driving the van around.
Thanks headhunter38 for the tips! The cat is on this of possible suspects, I did replace it five years ago but with a none CA cat in Oregon. (I don’t know if a none ca cat matters). They just are so expensive I was going to wait till all other potential sources of the issue are sussed out.
I have a new erg gasket coming in the mail this week. I plan to take the erg off to inspect and clean. maybe the gasket is shot or the tube is plugged. Wish me luck!
You probably got lucky that you passed the visual with a non-CA cat. You may not be so lucky in future years (or even on your re-test), so at some point you may need to replace it anyway with a CARB compliant cat.
Most likely the next visit, as I mentioned to the tech that I had changed the cat in Oregon recently. haha hopefully not...
Any pointers on what port to run the vacuum lines to apply vacuum to the EGR in the second image of post #95? Thanks!
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