reading spark plugs

crash · Post by **crash** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:08 pm

well .. while it seems i'm getting everything accomplished that i set out to today (rare)... i'm 1/2 way through a plugs, wires, cap and rotor change.

the plugs are 'wet' slightly, oil fouled .. now i know that there is a little bit of blowby on startup with this 93 .. and from what i understand this is considered common. after initial cold start there is no smoke.

the plugs do smell like gas. could this be because the van has only been idled and not driven at temp for a couple of weeks? or does it sound like something more is contributing ?

perhaps bad spark (even though the van ran well)... the plugs, wires cap and rotor all appear to be pretty old that were in there.

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:45 am

btw.. finished the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. while at it i pulled the pcv valve.. i've never seen one so bad. when you shake them they are supposed to rattle with that little valve moving around inside. this one didn't rattle at all.... nada.. installed a new one. hopefully, this helps something.

those two front plugs on the drivers side were a PITA. not so much changing the plugs but getting the old wires off. no room to pull and yank!!!

seems i'm all good to go in for the emissions test and safety now. yay!

Rileysowner · Post by **Rileysowner** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:02 am

Keep us up to date on how the emissions test goes.

crash · Post by **crash** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:26 am

well Jim.. took the beast for a test yesterday. it failed on the first try.. by a long shot. see results below

@ 40km/h
HC ppm limit 52 / reading 169 - FAIL
CO% limit 0.29 / reading 0.47 - FAIL
NO ppm limit 0735 / reading 1004 - FAIL

@curb idle
HC ppm limit 200 / reading 183 - PASS
CO% limit 1 / reading 0.22 - PASS

so.. after debating about what i should do.. either resell the van non-tested and let someone else sped their hard earned money.... or .. dig deep and carry on to determine what the next step would be to pinpoint the problem... i went back to work and looked up a universal cat (just incase).. my price wasn't so bad (ya, i work at a parts store). while the guys did a pre and post test where i was getting the testing done.
i'd never heard of one before.. but, what a great idea. drill a small hole in front of the cat and take reading from each side. turns out my cat was "a big heavy brick along for the ride" doing virtually nothing at all.

we had a universal in stock.. so i ran it back over... they installed and did another test. those results below.

@ 40km/h
HC ppm limit 52 / reading 42 - PASS
CO% limit 0.29 / reading 0.01 - PASS
NO ppm limit 0735 / reading 60 - PASS

@curb idle
HC ppm limit 200 / reading 49 - PASS
CO% limit 1 / reading 0.04 - PASS

the hard (costly) part is done... now just to find the time to get it over for a safety (at another shop) and see if my mechanical skills are on par with what I recall as legal safety requirements.

one thing they did recommend was something called a fuel vac. apparently they disconnect the fuel lines and run a cleaner/conditioner through the fuel system (everything but the tank). it sounds like a flushing/purging of sorts. anyone ever had one.. or even heard of it? to me it sounds like an injector cleaning without removing the injectors. i was considering running some lucas fuel conditioner through the thing instead. :-k

(also ehck my ABS thread in the brakes section there is an update in there too)

Rob

astrozam · Post by **astrozam** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:53 am

Rob, the last emissions test I had ( last dec ) I failed the first test, then as part of the HAVE TO SPEND $500 scam, I had that fuel thing done, and had the o2 sensors replaced, they even changed the oil, but it stilled failed, I got a conditional pass ( which for some reason I'm thinking is only good for 1 yr )

Anyways, most guys on A.S said I should have gotten a new cat, guess what I'll be getting in the not too distant future

Rileysowner · Post by **Rileysowner** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:33 am

Zam -- lol. I guess the cat came back

So far up in our little town, we have not had any emissions testing. My '93 Sunrunner has never been tested and the Mazda and Safari were only tested when we purchased them. Here's to living in a small town. I'm sure drive clean will get here eventually, but I hope it will be a long time

SafariRob · Post by **SafariRob** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:29 am

[quote= I'm sure drive clean will get here eventually, but I hope it will be a long time

[/quote]

I may live in Ohio, but I certainly second that motion! =D>

SoCalli V8 · Post by **SoCalli V8** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:59 pm

Yup, give it time and all you guys will have to comply to our strict emission laws.....

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Chevy & GMC Vans

reading spark plugs

reading spark plugs

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