Didn't pass my drive clean...

[Xgirl]

Hey I took my truck in this afternoon and it did not pass it was the co2 reading the limit is 0.29 and the reading is 0.83. The air filter was cleaned before going and suggestions?

[steelcityslicker]

BUMP!!! I don't even know what "bump" means or if I've done this correctly but I was feeling badly that your message was getting pushed down!!!!

[Bender]

Do you have any service engine lights on?

[Xgirl]

No light. I was looking at those fuel injection cleaners in CT thats where I had the test done. Do they work? I have about 250,000 ks on the truck. Truck appears to run fine!

[Bamboozled]

My guess is that the engine was too cold. If you just scooted down on your lunch or whatever, you wouldn't have givin it enough time to warn up.

Just a guess though.

[fleurys]

It seems to me that if you do not have any engine light coming on then it is your catalytic converter that is not doing it's job... If it was your o2 sensor then you would have a light..... Also, if it was running for less than 15 minutes before you did the test, then like the previous guy said, the engine would be running in "rich" mode until the O2 sensors are hot enough to give a reading...

S.

[nige]

yeah, hot engines burn cleaner. I'm pretty sure that's why mine has passed every time it's been tested. I always take a little run on the highway right before I bring it into the garage to get tested.

[minidisco]

As above: run the truck for at least 30min before heading in - and also try running it on Sunoco 94 (high octane). As for the fuel additives and cleaners, I had made it a practice to add some 4cyl oil additive to the oil whenever I change it, and at the same time add a whole bottle of the fuel injector cleaner to a full tank of Sunoco 94 (or Shell 91). I'm at 200,000 and I've never had problems with exhaust or with knocking.. so I hope I'm doing something right...

[Nd4SpdSe]

I don't know if running a higher octane will help, especially since it's harder to ignite and burns hotter. The EGR system helps emissions to cool the combustion, but this probably only applies if you fail from your NOx.

[Bender]

Just an update...


She brought her Xterra in too see us this morning, and based on the readings we pretty much figured what it was. With that high of a reading it is usually a fuel/air mixture issue sometimes related ignition/burning of fuel issue ( burning lean and the computer is dumping too much fuel to compensate, or burning rich could be a possibilty as well. Could be a result of something stupid as a clogged air filter or dirty oil..FYI for people searching the site later.).

Come to find out the vehicle had almost 250 000km's on it with out a tune up ever. Plugs were in poor shape, but the air filter was fine. We changed her oil 1000 km's sooner than scheduled just to be safe and while we had it in. Wires, cap and distributor replaced, plus throttle body and FI clean out as well.

Just waiting to hear from her retest hopefully tonight.

[Xgirl]

Well I passed the test but just barely!! The limit for co% is 0.29 that is what I got on the test! Some of the numbers went up.... some went down on the second test.

One guy said I was running "lean , the guy that did the test said maybe changing the CO sensor would help. They seem kind of baffled themselves with the numbers, something about the other numbers and the CO% did not add up and the fact that 70% of the mileage on the truck is highway.

Prior to the first test the truck had been on the highway for 15-20 minutes before bringing it in. I remember Luke telling me that is what he did with all his trucks and he never had a problem.

When I am doing extended highway driving (more than a tank of gas) I always put in premium gas as I find it makes a difference. Also find that Sunoco seems to be the better gas and believe or not gas south of the border seems much better than our gas. I only say that because I can feel the difference...the truck runs way smoother on US gas ?????

Not sure what constitutes a tune up but my truck has seen the inside of the dealer garage probably more than most trucks do considering I change my oil every 6-12 weeks. The only reason the spark plugs had not been changed when I did the timing belt was it was getting late and that we would do it another time.

[Bender]

Well to bring you from .83 to under .29 is massive! The other numbers were probably up due to your rad being so clogged and the engine running too hot, perhaps raising the other numbers now that it is running better. I am curious that if after the tune up, if we should have left the computer to self learn a bit before retesting?

Either way you passed for another 2 years.

[Bender]

I meant to add that the chemicals we added to clean the system out were probably still there when you tested again, thats probably why other things went up.

[Morpheus]

Emissions numbers are like a see-saw. When one side goes up, the other side goes down.

ie; to get hydrocarbons or co to come down, NOx has to go up, it's just the way it works.

[Adam]

This is such a money grab. Anyways Glad too see you passed. I have a question. My dads 2000 pathy is throwing an evap code, the gas cap is tight and it seems to run fine. Will it fail the e-test like this?

[morb]

Funny, just saw this thread. Mine failed too...CO at 1.02. Same conditions...no codes, mostly highway, but just under 100,000k. Dealership wanted to change the 02 sensor. My response...which one? They suggested changing all four, but no guarantee it would fix the problem....that's a ton of money so I didn't do it.

I'm going to change the plugs, cap and rotor on Sunday and see if that'll get the job done. My val tag is expired now, and it's nothing but a cash-grap pissoff since the truck runs fine, isn't throwing codes, and all the other readings were perfectly fine.

Yes, the truck was cold. Techs were baffled at the high reading. Stay tuned.

[Morpheus]

This is such a money grab. Anyways Glad too see you passed. I have a question. My dads 2000 pathy is throwing an evap code, the gas cap is tight and it seems to run fine. Will it fail the e-test like this?

No, evap leak/code will not affect tailpipe emissions.

[Scotto]

Please remember guys that if the cost of the repair is more than $450- you can get a conditional pass, which is just fine. You don't have to do the work and you can still get a two-year sticker. When my X failed this past June, my mechanic wrote "failed cats" on the sheet, ticked the conditional box and "more than $450- to fix", and off I went. (The cats were fine, but since they are so expensive, he chose that excuse.)

This won't work if you just bought the truck, or are planning on selling it, but I remind you that you don't have to purchase and replace all 4 O2 sensors just to see if it will pass.... Tell them to write the test as conditional, and you're golden.


Scott

[LGM]

This won't work if you just bought the truck, or are planning on selling it, but I remind you that you don't have to purchase and replace all 4 O2 sensors just to see if it will pass.... Tell them to write the test as conditional, and you're golden.

So you don't actually have to put the $450 into the truck to get a conditional pass?

I was under the impression that I had to spend up to $450 in repairs in order to get the conditional
or so the service adviser at a nationwide "tire" store had me believe.

[Morpheus]

If you vehicle fails, then an inspection must be completed (a fail inspection)

(as an example:)

1st scenerio

The tech finds you need:

Tune up $250
Air filter $25
Cap/Rotor/Wires $250
Oil Change $50
Catalytic converter failure $1500

although the repair cost limit is $450, and if added up, all the above would be well over that you are require to:

spend "up to $450" to get the vehicle to pass.

That would mean that you would be required to do the tune/up, air filter, and oil change for a total of $325, plus the fail inspection (usually around $90-$100 bucks) for a total of $425.

At that point, you've spent $425, (up to $450 required) but repairing anything else would put you over, you get a conditional pass even if you still fail.

2nd scenerio:

The fail inspection is done and it is determined that the one and only repair required is the catalytic converter replacemnet with an estimate of $450.

You would not have to do the repair, as it is over $450 and you would revieve the conditional pass with only paying for the inspection ($90.00-$100.00)