95 Prizm Failed Smog

[stephiemullen]

I took the car to the Test Only station today and it failed for NOX. The print out said that the car is an official gross polluter and it exceeded gross polluter limits for NOX. I am so mad because I just put tons of money into this car and I don't know what to do next. My boss said something about an EGR Valve, but who knows? I need to get this fixed and its becoming a real hassle because I have other things to worry about. Now I am wondering if my Check Engine Light will come on because of this cause I don't know how long I have had this problem. What do you guys think? I am hoping it doesn't cost too much.

[stephiemullen]

I found a coolant leak on Saturday and I went to the store to get some antifreeze. The only ones they were selling were pre-mixed 50/50 "Can mix with any color antifreeze." I bought the stuff because it said it met the GM standard that my car recommended in the owner's manual. I put the coolant to the "full" line and then when I started the car up later that evening, it sounded like shit. It didn't overheat...it started up and kinda seemed like it wanted to stall but then kept going. When I backed out of the driveway and started to drive, there was a weird noise, almost what sounded like the fan with something stuck in it. I hadn't driven the car for about three days so I figured maybe that was a problem. The noise stopped once the car was half-way warmed up. I got around with no problems. This morning I got in and the same noise occured and went away at the same time. I know the NOx is high so I don't know if that is finally taking a toll on the car. I wouldn't think its the coolant cause the car didn't overheat and the sound stopped. Help!!!

P.S. I am getting the car fixed tomorrow!

[thehoot]

My '95 rolla failed too, the HC, CO and N0x all were 4-5 times the limits. After I changed the cat, the N0x (the worst one on the first test) was almost non exsistent, the CO was low, and the HC was right on the limit.

Either way a new catalytic fixed my emisions problem. If the only thing that is high is the N0x reading, maybe your timing/ spark advance is too advanced, or your car is running too lean (both of these cause excessive heat - heat causes nitrogen oxides).

Oh yeah, dont cut open the old cat to see whats inside, it qualifies for a core refund ( mine would have been $50 - the kid at the parts counter never told me about the core charge)

[stephiemullen]

Thanks for your reply. It was very helpful. I am thinking that my cat might be damaged from when the distributor cap and rotor and iginition coil all went bad. The car misfired a lot and misfired as they were trying to get it running right. I think it might have got the cat way too hot and ruined it. I am also thinking it could be the EGR also? My car failed for HC, barely passed for CO, and exceeded gross polluter limits for NOx. I hope its just the same thing you needed. Are you from California? I keep looking at Cats and notice it always says "Not California legal." I wonder if they are more expensive for Cali? Thanks again.

[thehoot]

No, I'm from Ontario, Canada. I have no idea what the difference is for california cat's. Drop by your local autozone or pep boys (i have no idea what kind of auto part chains are down there) and ask them.

[stephiemullen]

Well, I brought the car into the shop to get the head pulled for Cylinder 1. There is oil leaking down into the cylinder at about 20%. It has been seeping from the valve cover for some time. My grandpa who was checking what needed to be done for smog said he thinks the oil could be contaminating the o2 sensor which is lazy, and also plugging up the catalytic converter. He wants that fixed to see how well those parts can start performing. After the head is done, he wants me to drive it around for a few hundred miles, then bring it to his shop so have it tested again for emissions. He also said that when he opened up the hood, it said the car is a federal/Canadian car. I guess that changes something with emissions. California is so f@$## strict! So that is what is happening now.