Help! My 82 failed the emmisions test

[rcarroll]

I have an 82 CE with 18,000 miles on it. It failed the required emmision test. I have had the EGR valve replaced, injectors tuned and balanced by a supposed "expert", replaced the thermostat, air cleaners, spark plugs. $363 later, it still fails the test. Someone told me to try adding 1 pint of rubbing alcohol to the gas (with less than a quarter tank og gas) just before having a retest and it should pass. Does anyone have any knowledge of this trick. I really don't want to spend any more money on emmision repairs. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks,
Ron

 

[TomS77]

What about the cat? Do those things go bad over time? Or just over a lot of miles? Also, find out what "standard" you are supposed to meet. I don't know about CT but IL has lower standards for old cars (no dyno run, just idle test). Just a couple thoughts... cuz "i know nothing" (schultz says).


Tom

 

[vettefinderjim]

Smog Test

Hi , I live in California and have owned a shop and had my Smog licence since 1972.
I need to know what the limits of HC and CO are on the test and what limits were reached when tested. I am surprised that after all the tune up that was done that it did not pass. Generally any well tuned Chevrolet will pass even with a nonfunctioning cat convertor.
There are a varity of systems that have to be working properly to pass the test and perhaps one of these systems is inoperative.
You can e-mail me direct @ vettefinderjim@aol.com, but I don't mind trying to help here. I would be looking for a different shop that has a pass or do not pay philosophy, and or your friendly Chevrolet dealer. Trust me, a 18000 mile Corvette should fly thru the test. Do not be discourged, a "great" repair shop will fix the problem and you will then be happy to have a new shop that is able to help you.
Regards,
Jim Gessner
Palm Springs, Ca
760-318-0073

 

[Bullitt]

Cat problems

I could be wrong, but if the catalytic convertor goes out, shouldn't the car have problems running for any amount of time? My friend had a '94 Camaro Z28 with nitrous. One day while driving, the car lost power gradually and then shut down. It was strange and being on the freeway, we just decided to wait in the emergency lane. A bit of time passed and we got the Camaro off onto the feeder and into a parking lot where it died again. When we popped the hood, the exhaust manifolds were bright red, knid of like molten steel. ad Eventually, we got the car to my house and had a friend (mechanic) come over. Right away, we started to take off the exhaust and pull out the convertor. Since it was a Sunday and my buddy needed his car, we took a piece of rebar and knocked out the clogged cat. We did wear respirators, to prevent from dying or anything! We put it back on and the car ran smooth. He replaced the cat with a high-flow one, eventually. Also how were the injectors cleaned? Sometimes they can be damaged in the process, so try to find out what was done. Car Craft had a good article that showed how it should be done in their October issue. The rebuild was done by JET Performance. I clogged some injectors once, with one of those off the self cleaners. I hope your shop just didn't do that. :eyerole --Bullitt

 

[c4c5specialist]

Gases failed

HI there, Ron,
Boy, talk about in my back yard, anyway, you need to post your gases, and the amounts, as you can tell pretty much exactly what is in need by which type of gases you failed on.
I dont recommend the alcohol, as this could lead to major problems later on with the injectors. Not only that, your CO, and your NOX will go up because of the increase in the chamber temperature.
Please post your reading, I am sure it can be rectified. And just curious, who did the work???
Best to you, c4c5

 

[topless82vette]

82 not passing smog

my 82 had the same problem, turns out car was jumping in and out of closed loop mode causing it to run rich cause was the coolant temperature switch was faulty mechanic disconected a vacumm line which I guess leans the motor out and it passed right away till the actual problem could be fixed

good luck

 

[rcarroll]

82 failed emissions

Thanks to all who responded. The information I didn't include were the actual readings. here they are:
HC 164.4, failed, Max limit acceptable 148.0
CO .63, passed, max limit acceptable 1.84
NO 1408.0, failed, max limit acceptable 1047.0
Keep the suggestions coming. Thanks,
Ron

 

[c4c5specialist]

ok, this is good.

hi there,
Ok, the first reading, HC indicates unburned fuel. YOu said that you had all the tuning done. However, he did nothing with the oxygen sensor. If it is original, you could have a lazy o2 sensor, which does not compensate for the air fuel mixture fast enough.
The CO is fine.
The NOX is your major issue here, as this indicates that something in your EGR system is not functioning correctly. YOur EGR was replaced, however, is the passage blocked off???
I would also check to see, depending on your VIN, is the computer commanding on the EGR valve???
I dont think that you have a major failure here. The o2 sensor is about $50. The solenoid, if it is not working is about $40.
I think that this should be explored, please let us know how you make out, c4c5