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A week ago my car failed the CA smog test. This is the second time it failed even after adding in some snake oil I mean product called “Guaranteed to Pass Emissions Test.” For those that are not aware CAians have to have their vehicle smogged every two years. A month ago it failed at the 15 mph mark and was labeled a gross polluter at 25 mph. The catalytic converter is not even 2 years old since it failed two years ago. What I would like from here is a heads up as to what component(s) can cause these poor readings so I can have an idea what this will cost. The hydrocarbons and the CO% are what need to be lowered. Many thanks!
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[quote=”DieselMan” post=32219]**Update** I got my car back yesterday and it passed the test. It had a bad oxygen sensor. I am safe for another 2 years!
BTW I had no idea the oxygen sensor could cause such bad readings.[/quote]
Good to hear that everything worked out. sent you a pm a while back not sure if ya got it. ever need a hand let me know as we are both in Sun-diego.
[quote=”DieselMan” post=32219]**Update** I got my car back yesterday and it passed the test. It had a bad oxygen sensor. I am safe for another 2 years!
BTW I had no idea the oxygen sensor could cause such bad readings.[/quote]
Good to hear that everything worked out. sent you a pm a while back not sure if ya got it. ever need a hand let me know as we are both in Sun-diego.
If you are burning oil it will cause the blue smoke coming from the tailpipe and could be from the P.C.V. valve (you already changed it), valve seals or bad rings. I would do a compression test dry then wet to see if there is a problem with the rings. Eric has a video showing how to perform the test. If the engine is not making enough compression it will not burn the fuel efficiently and will have less power than it should. If there is big change in compression from dry to wet the motor will need new rings. This is a big job and is very labor intensive so you will probably want a mechanic at this point unless you have the tools and time to remove the engine and rebuild it correctly yourself. Since the car has a lot of mileage on it you might want to shop around for a new car because this repair won’t be cheap.
Now if you want to get the car to pass without actually fixing the issues so you have more time to find another car you could try adding an oil stabilizer to thicken the oil and coat the cylinder walls and seals to slow the burning oil. And adding Acetone to the fuel in the car is supposed to make any car pass a smog test but I have never tried it. You might want to check the Acetone thing out for yourself but I added it to my Suburban and got 24 M.P.G. on the highway with it in the fuel. I don’t know if it burned cleaner but it got better mileage. Hope this helps.If you are burning oil it will cause the blue smoke coming from the tailpipe and could be from the P.C.V. valve (you already changed it), valve seals or bad rings. I would do a compression test dry then wet to see if there is a problem with the rings. Eric has a video showing how to perform the test. If the engine is not making enough compression it will not burn the fuel efficiently and will have less power than it should. If there is big change in compression from dry to wet the motor will need new rings. This is a big job and is very labor intensive so you will probably want a mechanic at this point unless you have the tools and time to remove the engine and rebuild it correctly yourself. Since the car has a lot of mileage on it you might want to shop around for a new car because this repair won’t be cheap.
Now if you want to get the car to pass without actually fixing the issues so you have more time to find another car you could try adding an oil stabilizer to thicken the oil and coat the cylinder walls and seals to slow the burning oil. And adding Acetone to the fuel in the car is supposed to make any car pass a smog test but I have never tried it. You might want to check the Acetone thing out for yourself but I added it to my Suburban and got 24 M.P.G. on the highway with it in the fuel. I don’t know if it burned cleaner but it got better mileage. Hope this helps.
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