Emissions FAILED but, I don't understand Y???
 

Hey all!

Just recently I had my Head Gasket, Timing Belt and Water Pump replaced, in doing so my engine was totally flushed and cleaned. Also I just replaced the muffler, and the catalytic converter was visualy inspected.

Today I had my Ontario Drive Clean Emissions test done ( at Crappy Tire). It failed, well it passed when the car was at idle, but when on the dyno it failed miserably. :confused:

Here are the results.
HC ppm was 147 , the limit is 94
CO % was 0.85, the limit is 0.52
NO ppm was 1604, the limit is 732

I should mention the car was tested back in Sept. 2001, and it pretty much scored the same; and that was before all this engine work.

What could be the problem? I can't see it being anything major.

Crappy Tire will anayze it but it costs $70., and I am flat broke.

Any help and advice would be great?

Thanks
Don
:thumbup:

1992 Civic DX hatch. white

how many miles do u have on ur car?

is that place actually called Crappy Tire?

I have around 120,000. miles on it .

Crappy Tire's proper name is Canadian Tire.

I might've missed it, but what mods do you have on the car?

No performance mods. Everything is stock.

Thanks
Don

Is your car running really rich.. Sounds like it could be an o2 sensor.....When was the last time you had a tuneup ie.plugs, wires, cap rotor?

its about time for a new cat :P

Check your Honda warranty manual. I believe hondas are covered for emissions for seven years or something like that. Maybe even the life of the car. I don't remember. It's something to look in to though.

HC: As for the high hydrocarbons, your car may be running rich. It can be rich due to the fact that you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Or your engine temp. is too low. Or you have an injector misfire. Or an ignition misfire. I don't know what your situation is but you might what to check these. Here is the tricky part of HC emission: anything can cause high HC.

CO: For the high reading of Carbon Monoxide, here are a few things that can result in high CO: leaking fuel injector, high fuel pressure, saturated charcoal canister, the PCM thinking that it needs more fuel, or a contaminated crankcase that causes the PCV valve to throw back fuel vapors into the intake which will richen the air/fuel mixture.

NOx: Sometimes a clogged or stuck open EGR valve will cause the high NOx emissions. Since EGR system only operates at cruise, it cannot cause high NOx emissions at idle. A very retarded timing will also raise NOx emissions and raise the combustion temperatures along with a large decrease in the engine's efficiency. A slightly retarded timing will reduce NOx but it will also slightly reduce the engine's efficiency. Doing the opposite like advancing the ignition timing will increase NOx emissions.

Since you just had a T.belt/waterpump job and a head gasket replaced you might want to check your ignition timing. Make sure that the technicians we're off a tooth on the cam gear. Also make sure that watepump is working by checking the engine coolant temp. It would also help if you check you cat. converter and make sure that it is working properly. You can easily check to see if the cat. converter is working properly by using a laser beam guided temperature gun. The temp. should be a lot hotter after the cat. converter.