oh great i cant pass smog test!
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From: Washington
oh great i cant pass smog test!
hello guys in the state of washington the crappy rainy place it is you also are screwd if your cars a 93 because you have to take the smog test this year 
other than that the best part is i cant pass its the egr valve i have been searching on CL for a wile now and no one goes in to depth about how to actualy clean it. is there a good way that you guys have tryed or do i need to buy one (on a side note could me egr be getting me 11mpg?) can you guys help
thank you
other than that the best part is i cant pass its the egr valve i have been searching on CL for a wile now and no one goes in to depth about how to actualy clean it. is there a good way that you guys have tryed or do i need to buy one (on a side note could me egr be getting me 11mpg?) can you guys help thank you
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guessing a sc300? what did you actually fail for? you can usually pass the sniffer without the egr even working, so it may be something else causing high numbers. Egr helps with the numbers some but not a huge amount, unless the egr has malfunctioned then yes it could cause you to fail and probably run pretty rough most of the time. how many miles, it could be just an old cat and o2 sensors if you have never done them.
Seafoam, oil change, replace cats, and o2 sensors, test again and be done with it. Like Ali said, the EGR isnt a huge factor when testing, its usually your cats just at the end of their life.
As a resident of the republic of California, I laugh when others complain about smog.
I've had problems passing smog before. Ever since then, I take the EGR valve off (i think i am, at least. not really sure if the mushroom thing is the egr) and blast it to hell and back with carb cleaner, throttle body cleaner, or whatever cleaner i find in my garage, and soak it in seafoam for s***ts and giggles. Then leave it to dry for a good day or so. I've passed smog flawlessly since then.
I've had problems passing smog before. Ever since then, I take the EGR valve off (i think i am, at least. not really sure if the mushroom thing is the egr) and blast it to hell and back with carb cleaner, throttle body cleaner, or whatever cleaner i find in my garage, and soak it in seafoam for s***ts and giggles. Then leave it to dry for a good day or so. I've passed smog flawlessly since then.
you probably pass because all the rest of your components are working just well enough.
If cleaning your egr valve is the difference between passing and failing, your cat is probably approaching the end of its life.
depending on your air fuel mixture (condition/age of o2 sensors) it can last several more tests, or none.
A jdm motor with a good o2 sensor and a good cat, can easily pass sniffer but will fail visual obviously.
for some reason the first time people fail after passing all the previous years, they automatically think egr, when really they should be thinking have my o2 sensors been changed in the last 60k miles, and if not or unknown how efficient is my cat still from how rich the car runs when the o2's wear out and cause a rich condition. Rich conditions will douse the cat in fuel and the catalytic material literally burns up over time.
if you have worse than average mpg, which at 11mpg you are way on the bad side, I can almost Jedi sense that your o2's are long done for and probably your cat by now, most likely you will be needing new o2's and a cat.
If cleaning your egr valve is the difference between passing and failing, your cat is probably approaching the end of its life.
depending on your air fuel mixture (condition/age of o2 sensors) it can last several more tests, or none.
A jdm motor with a good o2 sensor and a good cat, can easily pass sniffer but will fail visual obviously.
for some reason the first time people fail after passing all the previous years, they automatically think egr, when really they should be thinking have my o2 sensors been changed in the last 60k miles, and if not or unknown how efficient is my cat still from how rich the car runs when the o2's wear out and cause a rich condition. Rich conditions will douse the cat in fuel and the catalytic material literally burns up over time.
if you have worse than average mpg, which at 11mpg you are way on the bad side, I can almost Jedi sense that your o2's are long done for and probably your cat by now, most likely you will be needing new o2's and a cat.
Last edited by Ali SC3; Mar 11, 2013 at 04:50 PM.
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