Smog Heads...Help

[evil-G-nius]

Well I am almost ready to get my car back on the road. One problem I am having is the 15mph Nox is out of whack and I am failing smog. I dont have any CEL's and the car runs fine. One issue is it drinks oil like Paris Hilton snort blow. SO my cat may not be running to its full efficiency and my O2 sensors may be shot as well. I got new sensors just to basically put a bandaide on it (hopefully, havent put em in yet) butI am not 100% sure what the issue could be. I am 99% sure I am running rich as well and I have no way of combatting that...thought that was the computers job. Any ideas? Ask me questions too just in case I forgot to mention anything

[warren]

oh i had the same probllem the water from the radiator was getting in the head wich means you need a new head

[evil-G-nius]

my bad....my heads are fine....I meant like "old heads" LOL. Hey Mods....change the title to Smog Gurus please! LOL

[mko]

NOx usually means car is running lean, its burning hot. 15mph high level of NOx may be due to PCV valve not operating properly. Do you have CAI? YOu need to know if car is holding vacuum at idle. It should be at 22 inches/hg

[evil-G-nius]

no CAI...just a short ram. The PCV was replaced a few years ago but the car hasnt been driven much so I cant see how thats bad yet

[mko]

Test it, you never know. It might have been a defective one to start with

[peanotation]

yeah sometimes PCV valves are bad from the start. i always had the high NOX problem when getting smogged, and pretty sure I narrowed it down to my massive exhaust leaks

[evil-G-nius]

I had my exhaust redone....no leaks! Thank god cuz that gets expensive

[RavenWolf]

check your EGR valve for build-up/ operation

[evil-G-nius]

pulled the egr out a few months ago and cleaned it out with carb cleaner completely. I am not throwing any egr codes....well...any codes for that matter. So me no think thats it

[peanotation]

hmmm how old is your cat? i don't know if going thruogh oil (assumed burning it) would cause high NOX....are you burning or just leaking oil? i thought you had a rebuild on that motor....

[evil-G-nius]

^^^^I did, and this motor has never held oil properly! It gets burnt up somewhere. I have a little leakage somewhere but I cant find it. There is never any oil on the ground but there is a little oil on the outside of the pan (which has since been resealed), the valve cover had a little below it (which the seal has since been replaced)....all I know is this engine consumes way too much oil. So it might be the cat, I am gonna try and cheat since the numbers werent too far off and just replace the O2 sensors and see if it will squeak by. My theory on the oil is that the piston rings never seated right and thus major oil consumption. I just have so much to do body wise, that I am not gonna tear down the engine to replace the rings.

[mko]

you can replace rings wit the engine in the car - just remove the head and the oil pan. You can use the honing tool and remove the glazed layer on the cylinder walls.

If compression checks out then most likely the oil rings are worn out. Cat converter has nothing to do with it. try running some thicker oil. right now i'm using 15W50 Motorcraft diesel oil.

[evil-G-nius]

well the cat will make a difference. If it is not working optimally and is gunked up with oil then it wont do its job.

[w/oarctic7g]

I am not normally a fan of liquid fixes but these actually work. If it is truly rings then use Engine Restore 6cylinder formula put at least 50 miles of spirited driving after putting it in. Guaranteed to pass is a great product as well, put it in just before testing and pump a little fuel in to mix it good keep the concentration high like less than 1/2 tank of fuel.

[peanotation]

run a compression test. $30 for the tool. will help a lot.

[koji464]

do the cat, run thicker oil and a bottle of that Rislone stuff. But deff. run a compresion test! BTW Dont you have 20 days after the inital inspection to go back as many times as needed?

[evil-G-nius]

I have used Restore....but the 4cyl formula. The cat is going to be a last resort because those fuckers are expensive. I cant get just any cat you see online....over 95% cant be sold in cali, even direct replacements, so...I will try the 6cyl formula, change the O2 sensors, put the OEM airbox back in, run a tank of premium with a detergent cleaner and keep my fingers crossed! Koji...that would be a negative. If you go to the right place, you can pay a little more and get a free retest but other than that....you are assed out! You have to pay. My car is test only so that also pigeon holds me because I have to go to a specific shop to get it done.

[peanotation]

gotta love the cat problem. haha god bless this state and all it's retardation

[dronesurfboards]

if its your cat, you can go to an exhaust shop and have it checked to see if its bad, worse comes to worse i bought a new one for 460 at this online shop in texas. cheapest ive seen, anywhere, california legal....www.converterwarehouse.com. i wasnt about to spend 900 bucks on one at the stealership.

[evil-G-nius]

even 460 is too much right now. That is a huge chunk of change for a stupid part that wont increase any performance! LOL
IDK...the new years resolution is get this bitch back on the road and by hook or by crook its getting done. Even if I have to drag my illegal ass to LA to get it done