Problem Help Please

[Potter]

I cannot get my tleg to pass emissions . Its HC are .030 over and my CO is over 1.256 and my idle is really rough at 400 rpm. I am having a really hard time getting it to pass. I put a new air filter in ran BG44k threw it changed the oil and the plugs and wires were good. Oh i also got the stock catted dp for it and it still didnt help. So im asking you all to please help me get my car plated and legal.

Thanks in advise
Chris

[evolutionmovement]

Sounds like you're running rich. How old is the O2 sensor?

[Aerotech]

^^ X2, O2 sensor change.

[Potter]

I just replaced the upstream O2 sensor in it and I'm wondering if it could be the cat is shot or not

[Crashsector]

Does it have a check engine light on? If so, have you pulled the codes?

Are they testing at idle, at a certain RPM in neutral, on a dyno, or some combination? Did they tell you at which point the offending emissions were present?

--Andy

[Potter]

There is no check engine light. They run it on a dyno to test HC CO and NOX. It is not passing HC or CO by barley anything. The limits for HC are at 1.5 and the limits for CO are 15.0 and the car is barley over on both. HC is over by .030 and CO is over by 1.256. I changed the air filter ran BG44k threw it all vac line look good new oil change and spark plugs still looked brand new.

[Crashsector]

My guess is the stock cat is toast. Everything I've read says factory cats are expected to last 100k miles, no more. I think you might have to bite the bullet and get a new one.

NAPA carries universal cats for like $80 - any muffler shop can weld it on for you for an hour or two of labor.

--Andy

[Potter]

See thats what i though because it had a 3in sti down pipe and it was way out so i got the stock catted down pipe and it dropped it way low but its still out of the limit so your thinking a new cat?

[Legacy777]

The cats should be fine as long as they haven't been contaminated. Mine passed emissions with +150k miles.

Sounds like you have a mis or something that is causing incomplete combustion and elevating your HC & CO emissions.

Have you done any recent maintenance on it? When's the last time the plugs or wires have been replaced?

[Potter]

i just did a ton of maintenance to it to make it pass. Could a bad pcv or a bad coil do the problem? Plugs and wires are good but there is a very weak yellow spark from the coil to the plug wires.

[Crashsector]

Most municipalities have a certain dollar amount in repairs that waives you from further testing if you reach it. In MD, this is $450.

Look in to this. You may already be over the limite.

But yes, a bad coil could cause incomplete combustion.

--Andy

[Potter]

Ours in colorado is 750 and it has to all be done by a certified mechanic or if you've had exhaust work done that is over 750. So I am no where near that mark so I'm just trying to get it to pass. So I'm gunna try to pcv and coil and maybe stock exhaust and see if it passes

[SLODRIVE]

DON'T bother going for the repair waiver. A Turbo Legacy, even a modded one, should pass emissions with little trouble if it's running properly, which it sounds like it isn't. Our TW with 180,000 on the odo passed easily, and the modded SS fared even better - and this is in CO.

You said the plugs and wires are "good" - How have you determined this? Do they look okay or have you tested them?
Also, take a good look at the vacuum lines...they can get very hard and crack on these cars over time, which can cause all sorts of problems.

[Potter]

We pulled the spark plugs and they were clean. Pulled the plug wires out of the coil and cranked it over, we got a weak yellow signal on all of the wires. That's all I tested and I changed the oil, air filter, put a catted dp on. I looked over all my vac lines and they look all perfect there not hard or cracked. The first time I went to get emissions done I forgot to turn down the boost controller and take it out. So I took it out but didn't turn it down. Could that be a problem?

[SLODRIVE]

We pulled the spark plugs and they were clean. Pulled the plug wires out of the coil and cranked it over, we got a weak yellow signal on all of the wires. That's all I tested and I changed the oil, air filter, put a catted dp on. I looked over all my vac lines and they look all perfect there not hard or cracked. The first time I went to get emissions done I forgot to turn down the boost controller and take it out. So I took it out but didn't turn it down. Could that be a problem?

I'm not sure what you mean about the boost controller. If you took it out, what does it matter if you turned it down? I also don't understand how you checked your plug wires by unplugging them from the coil...unplugging them from the spark plugs would be better, although an ohmmeter would be better yet. Also, if none of your vac. lines are hard or cracked, it means they've been replaced, and it may well be worth your while to check their routing, especially if there's an aftermarket boost controller involved. You said you have a rough, 400rpm idle? Maybe get a vacuum gauge on there too, it sure can't hurt.

[Potter]

Ok I'm stupid i met up with the guy i bought the car from and the idle is fine i thought it was at 400 but he said the mark i was baseing my idle off of was 700 rpm so I am good with idle. Boost controller was in when i took emissions so i took it out and put the vac lines where they should be. I did a test with the coil by disconnecting the plug wire from the coil pack and held it close and cranked the motor and it was a weak yellow signal. So i got a new Dimond coil pack and i am gunna test the plug wires with a ohmmeter. Plugs had normal were on them so they are gray like they are supposed to be. I have NGK plugs and MSD plug wires.

[Potter]

So I got it to pass. I put a dimond coil on it and changed the pcv and ran e85 threw it and the e85 made it run so much cleaner, the numbers for it ran way low

[Potter]

So if you can't get your car to pass emissions do e85 it works wonders

[kimokalihi]

Is E85 good for your engine? I would think not as it requires larger injectors right?

[Potter]

It does require bigger injecters to run just e85 I did a 25 75 mix and it helped a lot and it makes your car more responcive.

[Legacy777]

You can run e85 in smaller quantiies like Potter did. I don't know if I'd run it for long periods of time or really run it hard without supporting modifications

[Potter]

The only modification you need to run straight e85 is bigger injectors. So you can run a mix but if you wanna run just e85 you need to get injectors

[Legacy777]

You won't be getting the full potential of E85 with just injectors. There is some additional timing that can be had with E85.

Additionally, there's some material compatibility issues that may occur over time.