car failed smog

hey guys i just want some input before i go spending money i cant afford to on the wrong stuff. i recently had put an attarco d15b motor in my car after blowing the timing belt at 80mph and ruining the valves.

i had my car smoged and it only failed because he couldnt visually see the timing marks. well i had been a tooth off on timing, i fixed that and timed the car dead on. i already noticed i have more power.

i replaced the cat right before the first smog and that was 9/30/08

so the emissions the first time on the left todays results in the middle. max on right
please help. i'm broke, i have to borrow money. the smog guy mentioned the cat could be bad by now. it was a cheap one. 80bux installed. what controls the NO,CO,HC.


HC 15mph 84 212 failed 138
25mph 50 109 112

CO 15mph .24 2.13 failed .84
25mph .10 .5 .73

NO 15mph 819 1726 failed 859
25mph 35 670 798

Check that you don't have stored codes in the ECU, take your O2 sensor out, heat it up w/ a torch until it's red, then spray it w/ WD40 and tap it off something (cleans the coke off it.)

Check that your other sensors are working properly, clean the IACV (little consequence when you're not idling, but do it anyway, cuz it's free.)

Clean your throttle body, change PCV valve.

Take your intake off while the engine is at high idle, and fill a spray bottle with warm water and rubbing alcohol, 50/50. Spray the mixture into the intake enough that it won't shut the engine down... do this 20-30 times. It will clean coke out of the intake tract, and the intake valves.

Make sure that when you spray water, you're spraying a FINE MIST. The droplets in the mist will bounce off the inside of the intake, and help to clean small carbon deposits.

Best of all, just about everything I've told you is free!

PS You can clean your PCV valve too, just soak it in gas or paint thinner, then flush it w/ a turkey baster several times until it starts coming out clean.

Also, when you clean the IACV, Spray it full of carb cleaner or whatever you use, but make the solenoid work while it's full... You can do this with a couple pieces of wire with spade connectors... connect one to each terminal, then touch one to the negative of the battery, and quickly "pulse" the positive side on the battery about 20 times. this will loosen up anything that's inside the IACV beyond the screen (they don't all have screens), and allow you to flush it out.

Also, if you have an aftermarket header, relocate the O2 sensor to the area where the pipes all merge in the header, this way the ECU gets an average across all the cylinders and meters fuel correctly. It doesn't really matter how far downstream it is, as long as it's before the cat.

I highly doubt your cat is dead already, but if your'e running rich enough to risk the cat, you should be able to feel alot of heat behind your center console on the floor... it's hard to explain how hot, but you'll know. You'll be able to feel it through the carpet, and it will be the "hot spot" over all the area.

whats up drop. thanks again dude.

i was told today to try replacing my plugs, air filter and oil/filter. last time was when i just got the motor installed. the plugs were the ones outta my other engine. age unknown. but they were clean. oil was brand new, now it has 3000miles on it. how do i varify the other sensors are working. also i've read online through google searches that the ecu could go bad? i doubt mine is but how could i tell that its not. also i didnt warm up the car that much before, he let it idle for about 10mins before doing the test and even mentioned it wasnt warm.

my grandfather mentinoned adding alcohol or acetone to the tank. and i looked it up and found alot of posts about it. what do think about that. he said he added a half gallon of 100% alcohol in his 22gallon van tank and it passed because of it.

thanks again, you've been a huge help with my honda. appreciated all youve done.

Drive 'er till she's empty, pull up to the pump, add 1 gal of Xylol (about $23 at MAB paints) then fill 'er up with regular. Increases the aromatic content of your fuel, which increases hydrocarbon output. (Xylol is a hydrocarbon, and is added to gasoline in measureable amounts anyway.)

You can also use Ethanol/Methanol, although you'll get less MPG for that tank. Acetone won't hurt anything, but I've never done it personally, other than a couple ounces in 11 gallons. You could try it, I dunno if it will work.

I know that increasing aromatic content of your gas will help to clean things out. I do it all the time... but I get Xylol/Xylene free b/c of my line of work. We use it as a solvent to clean our tools, then I filter/still it and put it in my gas tank... ratio is 1 gallon to full tank that I use. Makes your car stink a bit though, if you rev high enough to notice. I only do it about once a month, but I put 3k on my car in a month too.

Yes, you should also make sure your air filter is clean, since your car uses a Speed/Density injection system. This makes less of a difference on MAF-based injection, but still makes a difference.

Use the search function to find information on testing sensors. If you can't find it immediately, use google. Also check your coil/ignitor w/ an ohmmeter.

Check/clean/change your plugs. Probably wires too... full tune ups are usually a common sense repair for alot of things. This would include the PCV valve.. just clean yours if you can't afford the 3 dollars. They never actually go bad, they just get gummed up.

Cleaning the TB and such are going to be the best methods you can use right now w/o costing anything to lower your emissions results. Also, the car should be tested at operating temp. Cold tests are a no-no. The test technician should know that.

All in all, if you take about $300 in receipts to the technician, he can grant you a "free pass" so that you don't have to actually pass emissions this time around. It's a waiver. Once you've spent that much, take him the receipts. Don't just go spend it though. Actually try to pass. It might be cheaper (free) than you think.