failed emissions and brake issue...

[diesel4me]

One 454 I had from a '74 Chevelle in my '74 K2500 always failed the emission test,till the day a guy at one place I went to get the sticker at said he'd "just make a few changes to get it to pass" that I could easily "undo" when I got home...all he did was take off the vacuum advance units hose from the ported vacuum fitting on the carb,and put it onto another nipple that was blocked off with a plug that had manifold vacuum,and the idle speed went up about 250 rpms...then he retested it and it passed within the limits..............................................................................................................................after I got the sticker,he said "lets try something,while the tester is still hooked up"--he then leaned out the idle mixture screws and backed off the idle speed down to 600 rpm from 850,and pulled the pvc valve out of the grommet and left it lying on the alve cover--the hydrocarbons and CO went down to less than half what it read when it "failed"...and I hadn't put any dry gas in it yet too!...when I drove home it seemed to run better,so I left the vacuum advance hooked up to the manifold port and plugged off the ported nipple...

 

[ashman]

problems solved! Thanks for all the help guys.

For the emissions, I reset the timing to ~11* at idle, turned the idle up a few hundred rpms, turned the mixture screws in about 1/2 turn, and for good measure, plugged the pcv valve. It passed by a mile! Numbers are attached.

On the brakes, it appears that soaked shoes were the problem. I changed the shoes (and all the springs just in case) and now the braking is almost dead even. It still seems to bias towards the drivers side a bit, but for all I know that could be just because there was a driver in it and no passenger.

Anyway, everything is all good. I really appreciate the help guys. When I get time to mess with it, I'll start working on that pinging problem.

 

[diesel4me]

Plugging off the PCV valve might have raised the emissions,because its a controlled vacuum leak,and the carb is calibrated to compensate for the additinal air it lets into the intake...its best to just pull it out of the valve cover and lay it aside while doing the test,that way any excess blowby wont get sucked into the intake and raise the emission levels........................................Glad it passed and you can now go about getting other things fixed!..I hate having to get inspection stickers,in my estimation they are nothing but a slush fund for state coffers,they do very little to improve safety or lower air pollution,when most people know someone who can get a sticker on even a junker that should never be allowed on the roads--and the money you waste on "fixing" a engine to pass emissions and for the sticker, would be better spent on new parts that might be "borderline" like slightly loose ball joints or tie rod ends,etc..........................................................................................................................................................................................................I need to get 2 vehicles to pass inspection and by the time I blow 60 bucks on the stickers,plus any repairs and parts they say they'll need to pass,I could have used that money to improve the vehicles,buy that new starter one has needed for months,etc...seems like every month one vehicle needs its plates renewed,a sticker,insurance payments,etc,and I never have any money left over to FIX things they need,and I'm forced to drive around in fear of breakdowns or worse,not have any GAS money TO go anywhere...its getting pretty costly to pay all this stuff just to be "legal",then you cant afford to USE the stupid vehicles,mine sit in the driveway 99% of the time lately...

 

[ashman]

mine sit in the driveway 99% of the time lately...

LOL, yeah, that's the funny thing, mine will probably be in the garage all winter now anyway. The only reason I went for the inspection in the first place was to get it legal before I headed into the mountains to get the calendar pics. Since it didn't pass, I risked it anyway, but I didn't want to throw the money away, so I wanted to get it to pass before the 15 days ran out.

I agree that for most of us it is a waste of money, but there are plenty of people out there driving around oblivious to the condition of their vehicles and this is the only way to get them to get them into reasonable shape. Like any government beuracracy, it causes a lot of unnecessary hassle for most of us just to keep the few retards out there from getting the rest of us killed.

 

[diesel4me]

I'd agree with you,but too many people here do stupid things to GET a sticker,like borrow a friends good "stock" tires & rims,and go get the truck inspected--then go home and re-install the bald 44" monster tires that it wouldn't have a prayer of passing inspection with...though the state is making it tougher to cheat at inspection places ,many still are willing to give just about anything that rolls into the bay a sticker,provided the owner is willing to pay more than the going rate for one to have a few things "overlooked"..........................................................................................................................................................................................A GMC dealer about a 1/2 mile from my house was fined 32,000 bucks recently after a "sting" by the RMV ,for giving stickers to vehicles that wouldn't pass emission tests by substituting another vehicles tailpipe readings...they also wanted to pull the inspectors license and fine him 8000 bucks,but they defered the fine and penalty if he has no further reprimands in the next 2 years--the employee has the license here,NOT the dealership or garage,so its on YOU if they get caught cheating......here,the bay and inspector is now also on "candied camera" with the RMV while they do the inspection,and employees at the RMV are paid to watch them like hawk on a monitor in Boston--so its not that easy to get away with "fudging" something like it used to be--but many places will overlook a lot of sins on an emission exempt vehicle,so long as all the safety items pass...they dont even jack them up half the time................................................................................................................................................................................................................I'm all for having a vehicle "safe" and in good operating condition,but some of the inspection rules are too anal IMO...like your gas cap "failing" a vacuum pressure test..c'mon,does THAT much vapor escape from a "faulty" cap when not a drop of liquid can leak out??..doesn't filling your tank with the cap off allow a million times more vapors be released?-is that bulls eye or 3" crack at the bottom of the windsheild really a "safety hazard" that might well cost more than the car is worth to replace it??...many cars get junked here because of stupid things like that..............................................................................................................................................................................................................face it,not many people will drive a car with slicks or extremely loose front end parts,they want their car to be safe and reliable,and will pay whatever it costs to fix them right--even dead broke ,I dont go risking my neck or anyone elses by driving a vehicle with a dangerous condition ,I park them till I can fix it right.................................................................................................--but when they flunk you for stupid things like a rot hole 1" in diameter that duct tape is "illegal" to use as a "fix",they are just forcing otherwise good vehicles off the road for no good reason---and too may shops MAKE vehicles fail so they can rape the customers and increase profits,I see and hear of that just about daily....................................................................If its legal for someone from Florida or another state that has NO anual inspections to drive here and kill someone driving with defective equipment,why should WE have to waste money on a stupid windsheild sticker that would have been better spent on parts and repairs in the first place?...thats my rant--if other states dont have inspections we shouldn't either...it should be standardized,not every state or county different!..one county might require emission tests,and yet another elsewere in the same state wont...so a vehicle might be "junk" in one part of the state,and perfectly legal in another...its all BS,to make states revenue money,IMO...and give cops another reason to pull you over and hassle you too...its like another TAX ,in a way,not so much a "safety" issue...