California hates me...**passed!!!**

[Avery4jc]

Well I took the beast in for smog this morning to one of our long time family friend's shop and I failed terribly.
He did everything that he could to get it to pass (within the law) and I still failed, the hydro-carbons are supposed to be around 100 for my truck and she was spittin' out nothing below 1200 the whole time, even after it was warmed up. He would be more than happy to help me fix it but his shop isn't legal to do anything except smog and oil changes until the paperwork goes through and the guy comes out and signs off his shop on Tuesday (yeah, one in a million timing) then he'll go back to a full service shop like it was before he bought it out. Anyways that's a long story.
We did do a little investigation and found that the shop that rebuilt the engine from the heads up decided to not hook up the ground wire for the computer so we thought hmmm and followed it around only to find that the entire computer was just sitting there. The prognosis from him was that I need to hook up the computer and set the timing (he said it was at 14* and it should be at around 7*) so I'll have to hook it all back up, set the timing, cross my fingers and hope everything works.
He said that the computer was why I failed and that the engine was running strong even without it but he explained to me that the computer controls the carb on my truck and for emissions basically what was happening was it was dumping in way too much fuel so the smog computer at the shop was reading too much raw fuel which spikes the hydro-carbons.
Just thought that you all would like to have a little update.

-Avery

 

[1-ton]

Maybe you could sue the company that did not connect your ECM back up. If connecting the ECM back up to the engine was supposed to be part of what you paid for, then you have a strong case. Your best bet is to take it to another shop to have it connected back up to the engine (along with documenting the problem, and reporting the first shop to your state Automotive Bureau of Repair), and then sue the original shop that was supposed to do it, for the amount you paid another shop to do it.

 

[RootBreaker]

dunno if it is safe for computer controlled trucks.. but I failed the first time... then used a jug of that... Guaranteed to pass.. follow its instructions.. and I flew with flying colors!!!!

 

[onetonbb74]

first thing i would do is fix the computer prob and re-run it. BTW Cali hates all cars 1976-1996 as they make those cars smog at a test only stations and get repaired at different stations by law. Id get a new cat if your still having problems. My 79 a couple years back had the same problem, it wouldnt pass and i didnt want to pay up the ass for smog crap just to register so i put 1 cat on and it passed with flying colors like 50 hc's at idle and 0 hc's at 3000 rpm's. Good luck and buy smog exempt!!!!!!!

 

[Avery4jc]

I am taking it back over on Tuesday to drop it off and he's going to hook the computer back up, set the timing and run it as a pre-test again to see where were at. If it needs some work done to it I'm not worried because the owner before me is financially responsible since you can't legally sell a vehicle that doesn't pass smog. I'll keep you all posted.

-Avery

 

[1-ton]

Your mechanic was correct about it running too rich because the ECM was not hooked up. Without the ECM connected the carburetor defaults to a full-rich condition, just like when the engine is cold in the morning.

 

[roadnotca]

Avery, what year is that?

 

[Avery4jc]

1 ton: do you think that is why I failed w/ my hc's so badly? I am guessing that the hc count reflects the amount of raw fuel that is spit out which would make sense.

roadnotca: 1985

 

[Avery4jc]

I've had a request from a member via PM for some pictures of the emissions tag, for what reason I don't know but here they are....

 

[1-ton]

1 ton: do you think that is why I failed w/ my hc's so badly? I am guessing that the hc count reflects the amount of raw fuel that is spit out which would make sense.

Yes. That is also what your mechanic was trying to tell you. I am surprised that With the ECM disconnected to the engine, that the truck runs good enough to drive it anywhere at all.

 

[Avery4jc]

I have a tough decision to make guys, I really just want to take it back to the shop and let him hook it all back up and set the timing but I have a teacher (fellow wheeler) who told me not to touch it anymore and let the original owner take care of it so that he doesn't blame our mechanic for it not passing. I don't want the original owner to take care of it because honestly I don't really trust him but if it's going to be more $$$ than just an hour to hook it back up I'll be forced to make him take care of it.
What do you all think?

-Avery

 

[1-ton]

Another thing you might want to check is if your truck even still has an ECM controled carbutetor on it. A previous owner may have changed it to a regular (atmospheric pressure controled) carburetor, in order to get it running so he could sell it, which would explain why the ECM is not connected.

 

[1-ton]

What do you all think?

Well, California state law does hold the seller of a vehicle resonsible for smog certification. You may want to renegotiate the selling price of the vehicle, so that you have some money to repair the emission equipment, or you could just give the vehicle back to him, and get your money back.

Missing or broken emisions systems is the problem with buying older vehicles. I am going through the same thing right now with a 1985 K30 Duallie. It took a lot of investigation, and searching, but I finaly have all the parts to get it pass both the visual and tail pipe sniffer parts of a Nevada state smog inspection (although it would never pass a California Smog Nazi state visual inspection).

 

[thatK30guy]

Wanna fix that smog problem?

Simple:

Move out of California.

 

[dyeager535]

If the law is on your side, then I would say that your teacher is correct. If the seller has to make it pass, then his only choices will be to do it right, or cheat somehow.

I personally don't like the idea of "giving" a vehicle you've paid for back to someone who has no real vested interest in it, but as long as it works when you get it back, I guess you aren't out any money.

As was mentioned, first things first, check to make sure the CCC carb is still there, and you can always try and trace the vacuum line routing following the emissions decal, to see how bad things are. (CCC carbs will have TWO electrical plugs you need concerned with...one on the passenger top front, typically blue, two wire, and one on the drivers side, front of carb, opaque with three wires...anything less than those two plugs is NOT CCC)

I had a bad ECM in my Olds (5L/307) and that thing got 10MPG regardless of where or how I drove it. I was amazed as well that it ran with the carb full rich on the primaries, but it did, and was not noticeable (except in economy) that something was really wrong. When GM redesigned the primary fuel supply on the CCC carbs, they probably designed it to allow them to run "full rich", instead of just getting lucky and having it work with no ECM input.

 

[Avery4jc]

Holy smokes guys I just had a TON of problems cleared up when I didn't even realize it was being done.
While I was at school today my dad took my truck without me knowing and dropped it back at the shop for the day. As usual our super cool mechanic just said to leave it and he'd be done shortly. My dad came and picked me up from work tonight in my truck and I started into him about how I didn't want to run it until I got it fixed and/or spoke with the old owner (he let me go for a little while) then he just said that it's all fixed and I mean ALL.
The mechanic hooked up the computer, reset the timing and fired it up. Next he tuned the carb to run with the computer (it was WAY off). It still wasn't passing so he dug into wiring next, he replaced many of the frayed and messed up connections (grounds mostly) and then put a full set of nice plugs in along with a few of his personal spark plug wires (I guess 2 or so of mine were frayed beyond recognition). He fired it up again and it was running well, he tuned it in once again and then went to work on making it pass....he replaced my gas cap on the driver side since it didn't seal well enough to pass the California death smog then finally he tore open the dash and fixed the wiring and replaced the bulb for the check engine light.
The truck not only passes with flying colors now for Cali. but it also is like a whole new truck. He said that I was only effectively running on about 6 cylynders! They are all firing now and my hc's have dropped WAY down. Not to mention that it now gets up and moves (even w/ stock gearing) and for those of you that remember my shifting problems....their gone! It shifts like a dream now. Man I love that shop.

-Avery

 

[1-ton]

Your mechanic sounds like he is pretty good. It sounded to me like he knew what he was talking about from some of the things you posted that he had said to you about your truck.

 

[Avery4jc]

Your mechanic sounds like he is pretty good. It sounded to me like he knew what he was talking about from some of the things you posted that he had said to you about your truck.

no joke, he is really a great guy and honest. I wouldn't even blink throwing him the keys to the truck for anything. He has run an honest shop and has worked his way up through the years where now he owns the shop and has a partner who is just about as great as he is. Being honest and having fair prices has paid off for him as local people such as my family always take our business to him and don't even question him if he says that something needs to be done.
I just can't believe what a performance difference his little magic today made. It really moves now and doesn't feel sluggish like it did before.

 

[ProJunkRacing]

what did that cost ya or was it the old owners mechanic

 

[Avery4jc]

$190