Another EA81 Timing thread

[RebelYJ]

Ok hopefully this one will be different from all the other ones I see. And yes I read a crap load of them and nothing seemed to say what I need answered.

 

Here's the dilemma, I have been trying to pass ca smog and have had absolutely NO luck what so ever. So I am going to try tackling the issues one by one. First off is both shops I went to say my timing is at about 14*. How I don't even see possible. I have had timing issues in the past but have it all working and timed great or at least so I thought.

 

The way I have it timed is just with a generic sears timing light from my buddy that clips to #1 lead and flashes when there is a spark. Typical light I suppose. I have the vacuum advance and vacuum hose plugged and the motor at a decent idle of ~800-850. When I flash the light I get ~8* +/- a degree due to a slight misfire I believe i have. But right on and shouldn't have any issues. When hooked back up it still idles fine and timing still at 8*. When accelerating I see the normal advance working its way up.

 

However when I take it to the smog shop they hook up their fancy shmancy snap-on timing light with a bunch of features. When they look at it, it says '0' on theirs when it flashes right at the 8 mark. But they insist that to do it they hit the advance to where it says 8 on their timing light.

 

Now I'm just confused as hell as to which way is right or what, but the motor runs great even with a craptachi carb.

 

Does anyone have any insight?

 

Also, I failed smog dramtically, they also said I couldn't pass because the ADS wire was disconnected, and I explained to them it doesn't effect emissions just shut-down, failed the evap test, and a gross polluter (CO and HC).

[hatchsub]

Well i can answer one of your questions positively. You are timing it correctly. Vacuum advance plugged as well as that vacuum line. What do you have for a carb? If you have a weber you can set the timing more around 10 or 11 and it should be fine. I have mine conservatively at 10 right now.

[mountaingoatgruff]

did you watch the smog tech's timing light indicate 14deg? sounds like they're just BSing you about how the advance feature works on their equipment so i'd want to know how they came up with 14deg.

 

in the context of CA smog, every part of your carb is "emissions related" and has to be working properly as originally designed. some places are more anal-retentive than others, as it seems you've noticed.

 

i just found out CA supposedly revised cat requirements as of 1/1/10 and the new ones are over twice the price so beg the power of your choosing you won't need those...

[GeneralDisorder]

Your timing is fine.

 

You may have some vacuum leaks. You need to figure out the source of that miss.

 

If you want to pass you will likely have to replace the catalytic converter. The miss you have has surely destroyed it - unburned fuel will make quick work of a cat.

 

The stock carbs are a real mess - be prepared for a fight to get it passing.

 

GD

[naru]

Hard to see how 2 unrelated shops would get this wrong exactly the same way.

 

Never heard of it before,but,possibly buddy`s T-light is misbehaving and acting like a fancy advance model(by delaying the flash).

I would try a second(4th) timing light.

 

AntiDieselSolenoid is indeed a smog related item.

Your dieseling Sube certainly wouldn`t pass any smog test.

I`m sure they were impressed with your explanation/lame excuse.

[RebelYJ]

Thanks for the help guys. I did just replace the cat with that new exhaust you guys might have seen on ebay a couple weeks back. It was the whole y-pipe. Not sure if the cat is fully functional however...

 

lame excuse

I don't see how it was a lame excuse. Dieseling is a term referred to the run-on of a engine igniting without the source of a spark, generally just raw fuel. I agree yes that could be an issue at shut down however the tech had no idea what that 'solenoid' was and I tried explaining it to him that in did not effect how the car runs (I have actual plunger inside removed). He disagreed with me, so to solve that I'm just going to tape a wire to it and call it good

 

Due to the many issues I have, I have spent most of my time asking around where I could just spend some $$ to pass as opposed to wasting countless time and other monies to get it back like stock.

 

Tomorrow it's time to call up the state and see if I can get $500 to help 'fix it'

[idosubaru]

to solve that I'm just going to tape a wire to it and call it good

that's what i thought when i first read this. in the worthless state of CA - why even leave a wire exposed. i would just fake something like that before taking it in.

 

don't know if CA is more stringent but in the emissions testing states i've been in, all i've ever needed was a tune up. plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filer, PCV and passed after failing.

 

i agree with GD though - passing with a miss might be tough.

 

so sad that you're EA81 is killing people, ruining the environment and bogging down the economy :lol: i'm sure you're putting lots of miles on it:lol:

[mountaingoatgruff]

Thanks for the help guys. I did just replace the cat with that new exhaust you guys might have seen on ebay a couple weeks back. It was the whole y-pipe. Not sure if the cat is fully functional however...

 

i recently called a few shops for exhaust for my brat and learned that CA cats supposedly have to meet new CARB standards for 2010 including having the part number stamped into them and exhaust shops are no longer legally allowed to sell/install the old ones. anyone else seen this?

 

 

I don't see how it was a lame excuse. Dieseling is a term referred to the run-on of a engine igniting without the source of a spark, generally just raw fuel. I agree yes that could be an issue at shut down however the tech had no idea what that 'solenoid' was and I tried explaining it to him that in did not effect how the car runs (I have actual plunger inside removed). He disagreed with me, so to solve that I'm just going to tape a wire to it and call it good

 

like i tried to say, in CA smog every detail of your air/fuel/ignition systems is emissions related even if it is superficial (though an ADS is obviously not) and regardless of how ignorant/stupid the smog tech may be.

 

Due to the many issues I have, I have spent most of my time asking around where I could just spend some $$ to pass as opposed to wasting countless time and other monies to get it back like stock.

 

Tomorrow it's time to call up the state and see if I can get $500 to help 'fix it'

 

ahhhh.... criminal and socialist substitutes for actually fixing something.... that's refreshing in this state.