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FAILED Emissions!


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yo! i couldnt buy an ea81 t in my area. the one i had was gone to hell when i got it. but i would go thru the hassle of puttin one together(again).

 

check to see if the oxygen sensor is working. the california models have 3 wires, and the others have one wire.

 

you can get a generic bosch unit for way cheaper than an oe unit, and clamp the existing wire to the new o2 sensor.

 

get a volt/ohm meter. test the resistance values when cold and hot, and determine it works properly. do the same for other sensors as well.

 

the haynes book has a general reference for volts and resistance for trouble-shooting.

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yo i just thought of something. it sounds like a vacuum leak with the hight idle. i would speculate because i remember from my ea81t 5spd had an automatic. there is a small dooker straight behind the intake mounted by the bitch bar bracket. it (WENT) to the automatic, no now it needs plugged off. its real tiny, just plug it off

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Okay Matt let's take a look at a few things.

 

Your hydrocarbons are through the roof and your CO dose pass at idle. So here are my thoughts.

 

1. Check your spark plugs, High HC indicates too rich of a mixture, look at the condition of the plugs and are they NGK plugs. If they are not NGKs that could be your problem right there.

 

2. See if the ecu has any stored codes, I wouldn't be surprised to see and O2 sensor code.

 

3. Also where is your timing set, I belive it's 15degrees for a ea81t

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I got suckered into helping a guy at work getting his ford van to pass the test. His CO was 500% higher than the limit. Cranking the timing up 5 degrees past the limit and about 50% alcohol in the tank brought it well within limits. Your car is turbo, and might not like that much timing. But everyone likes alcohol:drunk: You might not want to leave it in there very long because it absorbs water like crazy, and helps things corrode. So drive it out when you pass:-)

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Matt, do yourself a favor and talk to Austin about the guy in South Seattle who will make your car pass emissions or not charge you a penny for the work. He will tell you if you need to change the air cleaner, plugs, correct the advance or anything else that YOU can do to get it ready for him to properly adjust. Do the right thing and make it pass legally and at the least cost to you.

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Matt

 

when you get tired of playing around with your car do your self a favor and go to the auto store and get your self G2P/Gaurantee 2 Pass they make it for both carb and fuel injected follow the instructions exactly as it tells you. its perfectly legal and they will give your money back if it does not pass It's about $8.00 what have you got to loose?

 

Hassey

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Hey matt My dad and I looked at yer test results, my dad says you have alot of hydro carbons, wich means you Either have A, bad spark plug, B. bad o2 sensor so the car is burning rich, or C. a bad catolitic converter, try looking at the plugs. Hope it helps, bottom line is, it's burning more gas than it should be burning. Fix that and it should pass:headbang:

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And stop whining! If you dont like the car, sell it. If you want a carb'd wagon to lift... buy one. Don't ruin a perfect EA81T Wagon.

I am not "Whining" maybe what to u sounds like whining is me asking for advice!? It seems like when ever I ask a ? I get shot down... And to the don't ruin the car, I think it would be pretty damn funny to beat this with a hammer and send pics! Maybe people would stop "Whining" about how mint it is, cause its NOT mint, it has rust and it obviously won't pass emissions. And to me not knowing how to work on a subaru, well I think i'm not doing so bad for this being my first car, first time i've worked on a car, and I am only 18! SOOO... Stop whining about how much u don't like me and get over it! I'm not really that mean of a guy, yes I can be annoying, I'm working on it. But asking for advice and getting yelled at for whining isn't helping me at all.

(And my soob was not nearly this "Mint" b4 I bought it! I*** Fixed it up. with the help of a few people with the tranny but thats it.)

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WOW I didn't see the 2nd page of posts... Thanks u (Helpful) people.:D I will try that guy that ed is talking about. Miles wrote-"there is a small dooker straight behind the intake mounted by the bitch bar bracket. it (WENT) to the automatic, no now it needs plugged off. its real tiny, just plug it off" DUDE!!! Ur right! I remember that! Is that a problem? I will check the plugs tomorrow... My ECU is throwing codes 11 & 12. And it starts to flash when I get on the boost.

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dam yo !

never have I seen so manny opinions about how to pass smog.

for real the only thing that really says anything is the test results.

I wont B.S. you. I have a smog licence here in CA where I am sure the requirements are much stricter.

A few people have noticed the high HC and had a few guesses.

high HC is unburned fuel. high CO is a rich mixture.

MISFIRE is the number one cause of high HC.

you say car runs like crap. right? is it at idle only or all the time?

have you done a cyl. ballance test or a compression test?

If you dont want to deal with figuring out whats really wrong I strongly sugest taking it to someone who knows thier stuff and has the propper diagnostic tools. dont just shot gun parts and snake oil at it. a misfire should be easy for a professional to find.

hope your cats are still alive. good luck.

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yes, the vacuume leak caused by that little dealy-bob not being plugged up will cause the idle to change enough to make it not pass emissions.... i should know, i barely passed because of that same problem-

my wagon with the weber...

once i found that same hole, i plugged it up, and it idled soo smooth and low, now it can smoothly run at about 300rpms and not die!! (i am the master weber adjuster now! :cool: )

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ok I looked at your test results again and I seriously am really saying not a vac. leak

if you want to check for the mystery vac. leak. get a can of carb spray/ brakeclean ect. and give it a few squirts in the intake while it is idling. if the idle smooths out for a second then yes you have a leak. take same can and squirt near throttle body, vac. lins ect.

 

you do have a fire ext. handy correct?

 

so if all that proves that there is no rpm rise while adding a outside fuel source then do a ghetto cyl. ballance test.

 

step one - get some vac. line and cut 4 inch long pieces.

take peices and put them between the plug wires and the cap. do not let them touch anything else!

step two - start the motor and using a grounded test light. touch the test light probe to the vac. lines one by one. listen to the rpm.

it should drop evinly on each cyl. if not the cyl. that does not drop rpm. is your misfire. check/change plug wires and plugs.

compression? no pressure, no bang.

these are real tests no B.S. there are better ways to check for these problems but it requires the right equipment and understanding.

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I went outside, plugged the vacuum leak problem. And it did seem to run a tad better. Too bad I tinkered with the idle adjustment, now Austins tells me thats not to be messed with...:-\ I don't see how it has to be EXACTLY perfect. But I will try to check some of the stuff U guys said tomorrow... Like air cleaner, plugs vacuum leaks, and so on...

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I'm with rallyruss--"take it to someone who knows what he's doing." Take it to the guy in South Seattle (call me and I'll give you directions--or ask Austin); he'll charge you $39.95 plus tax IF you pass; if not, there's no charge. How can you lose? He's state certified (he has to be to be legally in business) and carries complete "sniffer" equipment in his portable van. If he can't get the emissions down, he will tell you EXACTLY what is wrong without any guessing and you can decide where to go from there. Remember if you fail emissions testing again, every test after that will cost you another $15 (no more freebies after two failures). Matt, you're a bright kid and I know cost is an issue, but do the right thing!

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Interesting, the new vendor for emissions claims that all tests after the second one are charged the $15. I could have been told bogus info by the guy at the Redmond station. I'll check it out--actually, Matt, why don't you check it out for us.

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Yes... My air filter was just black, and when I dropped it it left a rectangular powdering of dirt on the ground! I couldn't even see threw it. So I got a new one popped it in, and the car idles sooo much better. It also feels peppyer and its getting more boost. I also plugged the vacuum leak and and checked the NGK plugs.

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From Caleb on the 16th -

 

Unless there is some obvious noticeable problem, smoke or smell, do the normal maintenance(oil, filter, air filter, plugs wires) take it out on the freeway.. make sure the car is nice and warm and you have run it hard enough to warm the cats up and blow out ant crap settled in the exhaust.. then take it through and see what happens.. no sense trying to fix it if you don't know if its broken

 

The reason people are down on you is because you didnt follow directions. You asked for help and the ones that have gone thru the emissions BS told you what was needed. The ones that passed without touching the engines were very lucky. Personally, I think you should sell the car, the EA81T is to complicated .

Rob

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