subynut Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Greetings all suby fans! What are the emission rules in Colorado? I am looking at possibly moving there and want to know if my EJ'd 87 wagon will pass or not? It's got an EJ25D running on a first gen EJ22 harness and computer. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLwagonlove Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 It will pass. My 85 GL that's carb (stock) just passed with no problem. You'll be fine. That was before I had a weber put on though, but I am good for other 2 years at least! Good luck with the move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj7291993 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 denver area is the only one that does it anymore. Colorado springs doesn't do it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 If it's 87, it won't have to have emissions next year. 25 years and older don't have to have them. Secondly, the readings they will take will be for that year carbed vehicle, not a mid 90's EJ which even high mileage runs cleaner. You should have no problems passing. IF it doesn't pass, the will do a visual inspection, find it is not stock, consider it to be 'tampered' and fail it until you return it to stock. Colorado was very rectal about this when I lived there. I personally wouldn't worry about it. You'll be fine unless you're only running on 3 cylinders or your CAT is missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 My 83 with stock looking 2.2 swap passes. The 87 model year thing doesn't help you anymore like it did when skishop lived here. Now its 1981 and older are grandfathered. I should have gotten collector plates when I could but the window of opportunity wasn't ideal timing. It must have a cat, the gas cap can't leak, and it will have to be tested on the rollers the first time you test it. After that roadside is usually good. If it looks like you rigged a bunch of things, hoses not plugged in, charcoal canister blocked off, egr plate blocked off, etc, you will probably fail visual. Ill help you get thru it if you end up out here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subynut Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Sounds like I will need to install an airbox (right now I have a cone air filter on the end of the MAF with the rest of the intake still there) and either make the EJ25D's EGR operational on the EJ22 harness or at least, make it "look" functional. It does have a cat (not sure if it's doing anything anymore, but it's there) and I'm sure the gas cap needs to be replaced - last I looked at it, the o-ring is cracking. The carbon canister is mostly hooked up, haven't finished that part yet, but it's almost finished. I used one from a carbureted engine, so, the port for the bowl vent is capped, but the other three I will have plumbed in and operational. I'll post some pics of the engine bay later this evening. Thanks for the info guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedwagon Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) My 83 with stock looking 2.2 swap passes. Do they ever question it? First time I had the Brat tested, they failed me for lack of an air pump. I basically told them they were stupid, as it never came with one. I had to go to the tech place next door, to get a waiver(that said it had pulse type air injection) for them being stupid. I will say, that if your cat if failing, E85 can do wonders to make you pass. Edited March 25, 2011 by Speedwagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subynut Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Interseting that E85 would help pass emissions, higher alcohol content burns cleaner? Hmmmm... Anyway, here's what it looks like under the hood: I have the cone air filter on there temporarily till I can get an EJ25 air box - sillly to drive 90 miles to a junkyard just for an airbox. Need to get cooler air - we've had a few days in the 80's this past week and I definitely felt the lack of power with the hotter air. I want to get an air temp gauge just to see the difference pulling air from the fender makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedwagon Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Interseting that E85 would help pass emissions, higher alcohol content burns cleaner? Hmmmm... I've gotten a few vehicles to pass by doing a 50/50 mix for one tank. By the nature of the way alcohol burns, it doesn't throw as many pollutants(that are tested for) out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 As far as I've been told (by Boulder County DMV) emissions are required on anything newer than 1975 now (which is annoying since I have two 1976 ones). You can only get the classic plates on 1975 and older -- but no more e-test on those when the are sold, like before. I've never had issues with the older subarus passing -- only newer (90's) ones (standards are stricter, and if the cat starts goes bad, they get enough out of whack it seems). With an EJ22 it should run alot cleaner than the original engine, so I suspect it shouldn't be a problem. The techs there are usually morons who have no idea what they are looking at. They never seem to on my cars.... I doubt they would catch that it was a different engine. They're not allowed to fail it for a check engine light on any more, so I suspect that if it passed the test, they'd be okay with it, no matter what they found under the hood. I have seen them look underneath with mirrors (to make sure the cat is still there?) though... My '72 had the air injection system removed, but they never got past the loose ignition switch to get to testing the actual truck... then the rules changed to not require the e-test so I don't know if that would have been an issue or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 What area of CO are you thinking about moving to? Like stated above, Denver area is the only really stringent place for emissions laws. If you drive there form the rockies side, you'd see why. SMOGGGGGG. Just a pointer on the intake air temp: if you have an Android phone there is an app called Torque! which can monitor all the engine sensors via bluetooth OBDII sender. I just bought one for $17 shipped on ebay and can't wait to analyze my EJ25D. - it also does logging. Just about anywhere in the mountains or on the westslope there are no emissions laws. People there are more friendly, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Just about anywhere in the mountains or on the westslope there are no emissions laws. People there are more friendly, too. Just don't try to hitch a ride from Durango to Bayfield.... I got passed by about 200 cars one morning trying to get a ride back to my subaru that had died the afternoon before (timing belt....) before over in Bayfield Larimer county just added e-tests there... but kanurys is right, it's mostly counties in the Denver metro area, or with a portion of the county in the metro area, like boulder and larimer, that require the etests. Certainly not statewide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Just don't try to hitch a ride from Durango to Bayfield.... I got passed by about 200 cars one morning trying to get a ride back to my subaru that had died the afternoon before (timing belt....) before over in Bayfield Larimer county just added e-tests there... but kanurys is right, it's mostly counties in the Denver metro area, or with a portion of the county in the metro area, like boulder and larimer, that require the etests. Certainly not statewide. Man that sucks. That stretch of 160 is nasty. Another thing to consider about CO is that your car will run differently with the thinner air. You'll notice a little less power, naturally, as the ecu compensates. SOA suggests that you run 87 octane or higher gas above 5000 feet elevation. I usually have a blend of regular and plus in my tank since we're cruising around at 6700+ and rarely go lower in Durango. It seems to make the car more happy - i.e. run more clean and with more power. When the knock sensor detects pre-detonation (which is reduced with higher octane gas) the ecu retards timing until the knock goes away. If it's not sensing correctly, it can drastically effect emissions. I had a knock sensor circuit failure code come up on the EJ25. I pulled the sensor, cleaned it's metal surfaces thoroughly and reinstalled. I could hear the improvement in engine performance and started getting a few mpg higher. Where are you moving from, subynut? Nice battery tie down. That's exactly what I have on my lifted 87 GL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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