NickyP

Darn it... I bombed the CA Emissions check. Apparently my car is spitting out about 5X the allowable levels of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. CO2,O2, CO and NOX were all fine; its only the HC value that's out of range.

My oil consumption is not great, a quart every 500 miles or so, and I have some leaking from my chain boxes. The car has 55,000 miles on it.

Have any of you had a similar issue? What's the likely problem? I'm hoping its not a big four-figure fix...!!

Thanks,

Nick

goofballdeluxe

Well...

If your car is eating a quart of oil every 500 miles, your valve guides are probably shot and the culprit, and a top-end rebuild (at least) is the cure. Sooner rather than later at this rate of oil consumption.

Sorry to tell you that the cure is more likely a low five-figure fix rather than a four-figure one.

I'm sure wiser folks than I may chime in, but I bet I'm not far off the mark.

gonzilla

As Phil said, Oil consumption is pretty high.

Was the car warmed up when you tested it? I've gotten high HC readings when I don't drive them around before testing. I usually take them out for about a half hour and get the cats nice and hot. It's amazing how much of a difference that has made for me in the past.

JPP

FD Motorsports will do a top end rebuild in the $5K range ...

Analog Theory

My tech Ryan Calvert here locally at RSR Autosport can help you including with an honest assessment and a review of all options open to you + cost. PM if you want an intro.

NickyP

Thanks guys; now that I've had a few hours to think about it, my oil consumption is better than what I reported. I haven't really paid attention to it, but I go about 250 miles on a tank of gas, more or less. No way do I pour a quart of oil into the car every other gas tank. I'll bet I'm double that. I'm going to start charting it.

My car may not have been fully up to temp when it was tested either. I waited about 15 minutes and the tech then fired her up and pulled it in for the testing. He did say that at 5X over the acceptable limit he doubted that warmed cats would make a big enough difference. He also said to check my O2 sensors, but I never assume these guys know the nuances of these cars like they may on a Toyota.

Jordan- I appreciate the offer of an intro. I already booked with Black Forest on Monday to have Mark K take a look and give me an assessment.

I'll circle back here after I learn what BF has to say and hope for the best. I really don't want to think about a top end rebuild. If its $5K, well OK...but it's the "while the engine is out, why don't we..." that's gonna likely tempt me too much.

Nick

Ed Hughes

Good luck Nick, hopefully it will be simple.

chaoscreature

Mark will take good care of you, he's one of the best in the area
Best of Luck!

Ash

I recently failed my smog as well but decided to try the Jectron and Ventil Sauber cocktail with a 200 mile spirited run followed by a Smog retest.

I too was over on the HC numbers for the 25mph segment but after the treatment, the HC dropped nearly a factor of 10. Notice the NO numbers as well. For what it's worth, I retested at the same smog station that originally failed me as well.

I don't know what they put in that stuff but it worked miracles.

Here's the results:

Results #1 - Smog Fail (Before)
HC (15mph/ 25mph)
Max 54/37
Meas 33/51

NO (15mph/ 25mph)
Max 430/717
Meas 357/50

Results #2 (After 'treatment')
HC (15mph/ 25mph)
Max 54/37
Meas 8/5

NO (15mph/ 25mph)
Max 430/717
Meas 0/0

NickyP

Ash-

I am unfamiliar with this treatment, what is it? My test results are very close to what yours were; almost exact in fact. I'm all for throwing adding some secret sauce then going for a spirited drive if that will help me pass. Beats a rebuild.... Please pass along

NickyP

Continued...iPad glitch wouldn't let me finish the last post...

Please pass along info on the method you used. It may be worth a try.

Thanks,

Nick

Ash

Hi Nick,

Ventil Sauber and Jectron are additives (by a company called LubriMoly) that help treat your injectors and valve deposits. You basically add a bottle of each to an empty gas tank, then fill up with gas and do your spirited run prior to a Smog retest.

A search on the web will net numerous places where you can get this stuff but Steve Weiner here on the board is a great contact as well (http://www.rennsportsystems.com).

I also ran into this article on high HC values which was an interesting read for me: http://www.smogtips.com/failed-high-hydrocarbons-HC.cfm

As others have mentioned, there may be other underlying issues and the use of additives isn't necessarily a guaranteed fix. For me it was a first step and I was fairly confident I don't have valve guide issues yet as my oil consumption sits around 1500 miles per quart.

Good luck!

Edward

First off, the car has to be hot hot, not just "warmed up and driven to get it smogged" but stinky hot! Your cats will do better and car will run cleaner when the engine is hot. This I know from my 95, and also in Cali, and I'm still passing smog w/o issue, but only when the engine temp is up there.

Dunno if you're "consuming" as much oil as you think: gauge it carefully as well as compare to what you're leaking on the garage floor. If you end up doing a top end, don't forget to have the timing chain covers replaced, as well as a lot of other "while you are in there" tasks. It'll rack up the bill like nobody's business, believe me. But there are lots of chores you'd rather have done with the engine out than with it still in the car. Trust us on that one!

Edward

Pete Lech

As your car has low miles, do you do a lot of around time driving? Have you not done an Italian tune-up recently?

Then you probably need the Ventil Sauber and Jextron treatment.

If I drive around town and then go on a trip, my oil consumption will go up substantially for the first tank of gas, and then drop back down once moisture in the oil has burned off. This makes it hard to calculate real consumption.

I have 62K miles and passed with flying colors, after making sure the car was good and hot when I brought it into the test facility. My plugs have >30K miles on them.

Edward

BTW, dunno if the Ventil Sauber has anything to do with it, but i also have been using the stuff for many years now (switched to it from Techron long ago). Cheap insurance taht pro-wrenches seem to think does a great job.

Another BTW, does anyone really know the diff between the Ventil Sauber and the Jectron? I used to use both but now only use the VentilSauber (out of laziness, really).

Edward