Damnit, I didn't pass Smog. Lil Help?

[Kelvrick]

Ok, so I took my 1993 Toyota Camry 4 cylinder in to be smogged today fully expecting it to be a smooth process. Well, they called me up and told me that the car has high NOx emissions so it couldn't pass smog. That, and they want like $150 just to test for what is wrong.

So, I did a little research and I found that it is Oxides of Nitrogen? What is that? Is it just one of the byproducts of burning fuel? What could cause high emissions of NOx?

My car is fully stock with no "performance" upgrades at all. Just the regular maint' like spark plugs, brakes, oil and stuff like that. The only thing I can think of is that when my car overheated for a bit, the thermostat seems to always be a little open so the engine runs kind of cool. That would cause the engine to burn more fuel, so would it cause the high NOx emissions?

If anyone else has any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT: I replaced the spark plugs with the Bosch Platinum +2's about a year ago. THe car is at 112k miles and the timing belt was replaced at around 83k. Oil changed about a month ago and can't remember anything else.

 

[Pokey007]

who called you? Maybe it's a scam?

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: Pokey007
who called you? Maybe it's a scam?

The auto shop that I took my car in to be smogged at. THen when I got there, they gave me a paper saying failed smog because of NOx emissions.

 

[The Stigenator]

incomplete burn.. non working cat.converter..

those are the two i cant think of.. is your plugs new, is the timing on check? Is the airfilter new.

Thing is that Nitrogen is the most common element in the atmosphere, so its going to be around. NOx is basically a byproduct of incomplete combustion..

I would say that's where your main problem is.. however if your EGR isnt working right it can cause some NOx issues.

Take it else where for repair.. unless they can guarenttee it that their fix will pass.. my mom's neon needed 200 dollars in repair, but that was only because during the test the damn check engine light came on and basically they had fix the car, so it got a tuneup and other stuff done to it. The car has been running awesome every since.

 

[TekDemon]

hmm yeah it could be a lot of things...but it'd be easier if you told us when was the last time you replaced all those goody parts =p

Most likely since you've probably never replaced your cat(and shouldn't for no reason) and the car's 11 years old, it might be a worn out cat that no longer burns up the junk. But I don't want to jump to conclusions =p

 

[IBuyUFO]

get a second opinion somewhere else. There's a place around my house, it's actually a chain, but sometimes they "fix" the cars to fail the smog test. That's how they make money by making repairs and on slow days I guess they create problems. A customer was one day yelling at the mechanic. I don't remember what he was upset about.

 

[NeBaWONG]

you didnt pass cause you suck and live in Davis and skip work because you lied about having a hangover from drinking then ight before.

 

Here's what you do ;


Go out and purchase a Haynes repair manual

Locate the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation)

This valve admits exhaust gas back into the engine, this reduces combustion chamber temps thus reducing nitrogen oxides.

Remove it from the vehicle and thoroughly clean it with carburetor cleaner (DO NOT spray the cleaner inside the rubber diaphragm)

Reinstall it with a new gasket

Clean the throttle body with throttle body cleaner (DO NOT use carb cleaner)

Now go out and purchase Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner, pour in gas tank and then fill it up with gas.

Drive vehicle until the tank is down to 1/4, this will clean not only the fuel system, but also clean out the combustion chamber(s) and exhaust system.

Now go have the vehicle retested.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: NeBaWONG
you didnt pass cause you suck and live in Davis and skip work because you lied about having a hangover from drinking then ight before.

Actually, I did get drunk and had a hangover and since I missed work, decided to get smogged.

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Would the O2 sensor have any impact?

 

[marquee]

I own the same car. (edit, mine is the '97 model) I havent take mine in for inspection yet, but I recently received a letter from toyota acknowledging there mgiht be a problem passing emissions. It's a manufacturer defect, and with the letter, I can go into any toyota dealership and they'll fix it for me for free.

You might want to look into this, contact toyota or browse their websites.

 

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

 

[Pepsi90919]

you said yourself the engine ran too cool, this can cause some issues. might want to replace the thermostat if you suspect it's faulty.


and i dunno why you wasted your money on the bosch platinums (actually, i must confess i've been there myself, but with the +4's), i think it came stock with NGK and it would probably work best with those.

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

What's a firewall?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

What's a firewall?

My car has a wall for fire?:Q When does the fire light up? Why can't I see it? Does this use more gas? Can I turn it off to get better mileage?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

What's a firewall?

My car has a wall for fire?:Q When does the fire light up? Why can't I see it? Does this use more gas? Can I turn it off to get better mileage?

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

What's a firewall?

Dummy... its like ZoneAlarm. Windows XP has one built in.

 

[Balt]

Move to a different state.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Actually, running too hot will increase NOX emissions, not running too cool. Even if there is a problem with the T-stat that is causing the engine to run cooler than normal, this should be helping the NOX emissions, not hurting them.

ZV

EDIT: You said that the car overheated a bit once, what was done to fix that? If you're getting overly high combustion chamber temperatures or overly high exaust temperatures it will cause a spike in the level of NOX emissions. If the T-stat is stuck open and the coolant is flowing all the time, you might have lower coolant temps while still having higher exaust gas temperatures.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Roger

EDIT: Roger, what is the throttle body? I can clean the EGR but can't find mention of the throttle body in the Haynes manual.

Follow the throttle cable from the firewall to the throttle body

i forsee the next question coming up

Actually, I was gonna ask what the throttle body was. I'm guessing the firewall is behind my glove compartment?

Zenmervolt: The car overheated once when one of the hoses going from the radiator to the engine popped out of the socket and released a wave of coolent on the freeway while I was driving home one day. The temp went into the red but I pulled over before and stopped the car pretty soon after that. The check engine light went on for about 30 seconds (I'm guessing from the heat) before I could get to a spot where I could safely get out of the car and try to fix the problem. What was done to solve that is that I walked to a gas station, bought new holders (forgot the name of them) and reattached the coolant hoses. I then refilled the radiator and the resevoir with coolant and continued home. That was when the car started to run a bit cool.

What I'm tempted to do is just trash the damn car and get me a new car/motorcycle.

 

Kelvrick, open the hood, you will see what looks like a bicycle shifter cable coming out of the sheetmetal at the back of the engine compartment (firewall), follow this cable, it will end up at the throttle body.

Remove the intake pipe and clean the inside with throttle body cleaner.

Got that ?

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: Roger
Kelvrick, open the hood, you will see what looks like a bicycle shifter cable coming out of the sheetmetal at the back of the engine compartment (firewall), follow this cable, it will end up at the throttle body.

Remove the intake pipe and clean the inside with throttle body cleaner.

Got that ?

Will do Mr. Roger sir.

 

[Kelvrick]

Bump for the night crown for any more suggestions

 

[Maximus96]

take it down to oakland, they have less strict emission rules, compared to sacramento area. when my car failed in davis, it passed in oakland. and it helps to run the cat really hot before getting tested.