best way to lower carbon monoxide

[vortec]

just got back from the inspection place and failed . but, it wasn't for hydrocarbons, like i expected, so that's cool. it was way high on CO. my simple thought is burn more of the fuel. i was thinking new plug wires (plugs are brand new), and maybe a new cap and coil if necessary. runs very well at current timing, so i'd love to leave that alone if possible. any other suggestions? a couple of bottles of g2p?

 

[hunterguy86]

Hey where in Texas are you?

 

[sled_dog]

Are your cap and coil old? Plug wires old? Those would be decent ways to help things. Gapped the plugs properly?

Carbed truck? QJet? If some other carb, consider leaning out the air fuel mixture a little bit.

Have catylitic converter(s)? They are there for reduction of HC and CO, and sometimes NOx.

Does your truck have an airpump? is it hooked up? If not do you have one you could throw on to get through emissions? The job of an air pump is to create oxidation and reduce HC and CO.

 

[vortec]

i'm up in the dfw area, so i'm subject to the crappiest restrictions in the state, along with houston and a few others. they do the two speed sniffer test on a dyno.

yes, my air pump is hooked up. it does have a quadrajet. hei dist. i can't swear to the condition of the cat, but would really rather not replace a part i won't even need next year, when the beast will be exempt from emissions testing. plugs are new and gapped properly, and i just finished putting together a new set of accel plug wires a few minutes ago. they'll have to wait until tomorrow for install, since i'm about to head out. cap and rotor seem to be in good shape, though not brand new, and i haven't actually put the meter on the coil (it's raining on my work area). but, a few weeks ago, i checked for spark, and it was orange. i think it should be blue, like my other truck. maybe bad wires, or i may end up with a new coil, too, i guess.

 

[broncoman6524]

you might want to be a smartass and be like mr (insert desired bill presidents name) here says that uh i have pretty low co. just a thought, man if they had emmissions in fl. id be screwed the only emissions thingy i've got is an pcv valve

 

[sled_dog]

id be screwed the only emissions thingy i've got is an pcv valve

Thats more for proper engine operation than emissions in my opinion.

I am on the bandwagon of, why no cat? So many are high flowing and still very functional at this point in the game. Whatever, thats another discussion.

What plugs did you install? I had a set of those Accel Shorty plugs for a little while, they were JUNK. With less than 10,000 miles and a stock ignition system they burned up.

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

If you have access to something like an infrared pyrometer, a quick, rough check for cat operation is to shoot the surface temp at both the inlet and the outlet of the catcon (while the engine is running). The outlet temp should be higher than the inlet temp, if the cat is OK.

If the cat is kaput, it's only about 50 bucks for honeycomb-type, hi-flow cat. Installation labor ranges from free (if you do it) to a bit more than free if you pay to have it done. If it isn't functioning properly, replacement sure can't hurt for passing those smog tests.

edit: Speaking of IR pyrometers, the Actron CP7875 is a good budget buy. I got mine from Amazon for ~35 bucks shipping included. Very handy, measures up to 480F. It's amusing how many things you find to shoot the temp on once it's so easy to do so. "Are my header tubes all running the same temp right by the ports" and so forth.

 

[broncoman6524]

Thats more for proper engine operation than emissions in my opinion.

me too and thats the whole reason its still on there...

 

[diesel4me]

A-l-c-o-h-o-l...!

Adiing a few bottles of Isopropanol dry gas will lower the hydrocarbons and CO quite a bit.I've passed with flying colors in vehicles that flunked badly on the first attempt,after adding the dry gas...that "Gaurenteed To Pass"stuff seems to work too,but is basically the same thing in a more expensive bottle..

 

[vortec]

i certainly like that idea, and have considered it before. had trouble finding the stuff. and wouldn't it take A LOT to offset 30 or so gallons of dinosaur? i do think it's a good idea to reduce my co, considering it has no smell or color, and will mess a person up pretty bad. but, to get through the test, i'd be cool with fudging it.

 

[diesel4me]

Cant find drygas??..

Hmm..maybe in TX you dont have much trouble with water in the fuel!??..up here you can buy "Dry-Gas" by the case year round!..its a nesessity here,cars get water in the gas and ice up a lot here in the winter,thanks to high humidity..

You could buy Denatured Alcohol or perhaps Isopropanol at a paint store..or maybe a drugstore,but DON'T use rubbing alcohol--its 70% Alcohol,30% WATER!...it wont run good on that mix!..

I use 2 or 3 bottles of dry gas to a 1/4 tank of gas when I go for a sticker on a vehicle that needs to be "sniffed"..I doubt the tester will smell it,since the gas we now use is already 10% ethanol!..

 

[vortec]

nope. we don't have much trouble with water in the gas. nobody i know, anyway. for 5 years, i lived in a much more humid area of texas. 80% was a good day. still never had a water in gas issue, but it almost never dropped below freezing. and in the summer, a 100 degree day was a nice break from the heat. slight difference from what you're used to, huh? ha.

i'm sure somebody sells the stuff around here. might save me from having to put a new cat on there.

 

[vortec]

so where is this 50 dollar cat from? looks like you're a better bargain hunter than i am. i've seen some $60-80 universals, but the direct fits, with clamps included, are about 110. still not a fortune, but i'd rather not spend that much when i can't even be certain that it will fix my entire problem. yeah, i'm cheap.

and by the way, i ordered the actron pyrometer on amazon.com. i wanted one for a while, and this gave me an excuse. so, i'll measure my pre and post-cat temps when it arrives.

the dude at the inpsection place was pretty clueless on the whole topic. no surprise.