Cascade Crew

STEEL

So, as ya'll know, I just got my car 1 week ago. I went out this morning, and got the trip permit, then I went back to get my camaro, so I could get the emissions tested, and I FAILED!

I got some of that jazz that is supposed to be guarantied to make you pass, sure hope it works! The sad thing is the instructions say, "Add to a full talk of gas, then run it out of gas, then put a tank of plus in, then re-test."

I really hope that it doesnt take all that, I need it licensed before I go to cows, and I dont want to pay for another trip permit. My plan is to drive the crap out of it tomorrow, then take it for a re-test early on Thursday. If all goes well, I will also get an IROC hood on there, with the louvers (just going to prime it charcoal for now) and MAYBE I will be all ready in time for cows....

cross your fingers and pray for me!

Xophertony · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:01 am Post subject:

was your car fully warmed up when you tested? if you fail again unplug your colling fan and let the car get real hot (not overheat, just like 220*) and retest. a hot engine is a clean burning engine. you may also want to try advancing your timing a bit.

EDIT* yeah, i meant retarding your timing. Rolling Eyes

STEEL · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:06 am Post subject:

Ya, I lost at idle, so you mean like unplug the fan in the parking lot to get it hot? Or when I am getting ready to take it down the freeway I unplug it and plug it back in when I get to the test center?

Lol, I have never had to mess with this stuff before, my last car was a 79 :p

Xophertony · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:27 am Post subject:

the fan will not make a difference on the freeway, unplug it in the parking lot and let it get a little warm. i don't know how it is in WA but here we have a 45 minute wait to test, if you leave the car running that entire time with no fan on it will overheat, so i would do this:

unplug it. let the car heat up to like 220* and turn it off, flip the key to run and watch the temperature gauge, if it drops below 200 turn the car back on and let it warm up again. keep doing this until you test

it would be better to unplug the relay for the fan, as that is easy to get too so you can plug it back in before you leave the test center.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
some more info on our cooling systems:
these cars have no large front "grill" to speak of. camaros do more then firebirds, but still, the majority of the cooling air for the radiator comes from under the car. you will hear these cars referred to as "bottom feeders" because of this. the air damn (if it's still there) should provide all the cooling you will ever need if you are doing 45MPH or higher.

if you are going slow, or stopped THAT is when you will need your fans to suck air through the radiator. there are three types of fans 3rd gen cars got.

manual fan. just like your 78. it spins with a belt and has a clutch. some of the carbed cars 82-85 got these.

single fan. one electric fan. this is all models without TPI and AC. these single fans are turned on two ways. the 1st is when the AC is on if the car is equiped. the AC grounds the relay, the relay powers the fan. the second is by a thermo switch int he cylinder head. a tremperature is reached (235-255 depending on the model) and the relay is grounded and the fan kicks on.

double fan. two electric fans. TPI cars with AC got this setup. some other models sometimes received these as well. i think all 305TPI cars too. perhaps some other models, not sure.
1st fan is controlled by the ECM. the ECM uses it's temperature sending unit, when it sees a certain temperature (set but the prom at 220*) it grounds the realy and turns on the fan. this is the only way this fan turns on. the only way to change it without touching wires is to burn an ECM chip.
2nd fan comes on two ways. with the AC, just like the single fan, and with a thermal switch in the cyl head. this does not happen until 245*.

there are some great tech articles on TGO if you want to do some more reading:

duel fanshttp://www.thirdgen.org/electric_coolant_fan_spec_mod_dual

single fans http://www.thirdgen.org/electric_coolant_fan_spec_mod_single

Twilightoptics · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject:

Retarding your timing will help also. Just make sure after you pass the sniffer you get out and adjust it back up!

When you get tested you want your motor HOT. Not recommended for any other time! LOL

Which did you fail? Readings vs Limits?

STEEL · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:48 pm Post subject:

-double post, oops?-

STEEL · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject:

today I passed everything except for sitting there idling I was putting out 266 HC when I was only allowed 220. I kinda want to go back tomorrow and say it has the 350, see if then I pass!

I have an appointment to get a mechanic to throw money at it so I can (at the very least) get a waiver.

RSFreak · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject:

I haven't tried it yet but I was told to retard the timing to the point at which the car hardly runs. I will probably try this next week when I go for emissions.

Question regarding gas: Should you use premium or regular for the test? I would think that, because of the lower octane, regular would burn faster and thus more fuel would be burned during the combustion phase. Any thoughts? Confused

aaron_sK · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject:

IIRC lower octane burns hotter, and higher cylinder temps mean a more complete burn.

Twilightoptics · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 9:05 pm Post subject:

305 and 350 have the same specs.

STEEL · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 9:09 pm Post subject:

well, we will see what this mechanic has to say. Hey, you never know, he find something acualy wrong with the car....

STEEL · Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject:

Well, my cat is bad, w/e, I got a waiver. So, I tell my dad to please get the title taken care of tomorrow morning, and he said he was going to, but now my bill of sale turned up missing. GRR!

I guess Im going to be showing up at cows with another trip permit.... GRRR!!!