just failed california smog test with "gross polluter" rating.

[wighty]

88 carby 5 spd and failed smog test for the first time. Guy told me that my carb is dumping too much fuel into the mix under load. Funny thing is is that it has been running great and I have it timed correctly as far as i know. ( timing is sitting right on the "T" mark. According to the manual that is where it should be, however maybe this is not the best timing??). I replaced the Cat with a new one 2 years back and just replaced the O2 sensor a couple of months ago. I am at a loss as to what I can do. Like I said it is running great with plenty of power and the idle is good as well......about 700 rpm base. What should i look at first? Is it time for a new carb? It isnt running like there is a carb problem....in fact it isnt running like there is any O2 or Cat problems either. I know California is a bitch when it comes to smog testing, but there has to be something i am missing here........any ideas?? I dont want to be a a Gross Polluter!!

[Rick the Quick]

Going by what you have told us "too much fuel into the mix under load" you have a mixture issue. Does your test results show the actual numbers measured for CO and HC? CO numbers are directly related to air/fuel ratio. Numbers higher then the standard indicate a rich mixture. HC (hydrocarbons) are unburnt fuel. HC readings that are above the standard are indicating unburnt fuel. Things to look for are ignition condition and mechanical condition. Things like bad plug wires or low compression will cause you to fail the HC part of the test. The car runs great because back in 1988 in order for it to be certified to pass the California emission test it was undoubtedly set up a bit on the lean side. If you are running slightly rich the car probably runs fine but also indicates a rebuild may be needed in the near future. As the carbs wear they tend to richen the mixture. The floats get heavier from absorption of chemicals in the fuel and the float needle and seats don't seal perfectly as they did when new. A carb rebuild and adjustment should get you through the test. One more thing to remember is that if you set your idle mixture too lean you will see the HC readings increase sometimes to where it passes the CO but fails the HC. Another way to help you through the test is to increase your idle speed to the highest allowed by the test. I have had cars fail the low speed part of the test idling at 700 rpm that passed just fine when the idle was increased to 1,000 rpm. Just my experience on running countless crappy cars through the county emissions testing here in New Mexico. California tests may differ somewhat. Most other vehicles on the road consume at least twice as much fuel as your Festiva. It is not a Gross Polluter by any stretch of the imagination. Good Luck and let us know the outcome..

[bravekozak]

I took my carbed Festiva in for a smog test. It failed with a sniffer up the tailpipe.
I made some changes to the fuel mix and it failed on the second free check.
After the third failure, I took it to another check station and it passed with flying colors.
Not all test equipment works properly. I recommend that you also get a second opinion. Good luck.

[firebush357]

I took my carbed Festiva in for a smog test. It failed with a sniffer up the tailpipe.
I made some changes to the fuel mix and it failed on the second free check.
After the third failure, I took it to another check station and it passed with flying colors.
Not all test equipment works properly. I recommend that you also get a second opinion. Good luck.

So are you saying the first place didn't work or the second?!?

Simple way to pass.... go to a place with a broken machine lol

[WmWatt]

Could you post the numbers? Here in Ontario we get a prinout with the actual and acceptable limits.

[bhazard]

What sucks is a Weber/escort swap would probably do your car wonders but I'm not sure the state of California would allow it.

[wighty]

here are my numbers.....
HC CO NO Test
Max-107...Me-361 Max0.64...Me 3.55 Max-906....Me-1157 15mph
89..........351 0.56........3.87 845.........1086 25mph
GP....328 2.41 2156
278 2.31 1068
GP=Gross Polluter
I have never rebuilt a carb before.......is it something I could do or should I leave it to the pros? I had never done a wheel bearing job or an axel job either, but I did both and with no problems.....I do, however, realize that a carb rebuild is a completely different animal. I am willing to try and am fairly mechanically minded, but am not stupid enough to ruin the job if its over my head......

[bravekozak]

wighty, I firmly believe that rebuilding a stock Festiva carb is a waste of money.

If you could get away with installing a rebuilt Escort carb with the Rocketman adapter, your computer will not be needed.

[Rick the Quick]

here are my numbers.....
HC CO NO Test
Max-107...Me-361 Max0.64...Me 3.55 Max-906....Me-1157 15mph
89..........351 0.56........3.87 845.........1086 25mph
GP....328 2.41 2156
278 2.31 1068
GP=Gross Polluter
I have never rebuilt a carb before.......is it something I could do or should I leave it to the pros? I had never done a wheel bearing job or an axel job either, but I did both and with no problems.....I do, however, realize that a carb rebuild is a completely different animal. I am willing to try and am fairly mechanically minded, but am not stupid enough to ruin the job if its over my head......

Rebuilding a carb is usually not difficult. Obtaining a good quality kit may be a challenge. I have run into problems rebuilding Solex carbs because the only kits I could find at the time were made in Taiwan and were garbage. Look on eBay and maybe you will find an original equipment NOS (new old stock) replacement carb.

[Rick the Quick]

wighty, I firmly believe that rebuilding a stock Festiva carb is a waste of money.

If you could get away with installing a rebuilt Escort carb with the Rocketman adapter, your computer will not be needed.

I have no doubts that an Escort or Weber will offer better performance however the emission police may frown upon them.

[WmWatt]

Reduce NO by cleaning the EGR valve. Easy to do. Instructions in Haynes manual or try search of this forum for EGR valve.
When was the carburetor cleaned with carburetor cleaner spray?
How many miles on carburetor?
When was air filtre last changed? (I just clean mine with a household vacuum cleaner.)

[wighty]

Thank you, Gentlemen, for your help and suggestions. Looks like I may be stuck with paying for a rebuild or getting extremely lucky and finding a used one. Cali is very strick and doesn't allow the swaps or adapters since they cant be in control that way. Anyone know if the Airtex/Wells rebuild kit is any good?

[Rick the Quick]

I have no experience with Airtex/Wells rebuild kits. The last I heard they were two distinctive companies. Airtex products are generally high quality while Wells are generally considered a budget brand that I have stayed away from on my vehicles. If you look on eBay I would imagine you will find genuine Ford carburetor parts or if you get really lucky you may eventually find a complete nos (new old stock) genuine Ford replacement carb. I imagine dealers most have stocked them in back in the day. Eventually dealers purge their old inventory and it is bought up by liquidators where it eventually ends up on eBay. I had an '88 LX with carb for about 5 years and it was the best functioning carb I ever had on an engine and BTW I have owned and driven more carbureted cars then fuel injected cars. Don't pay a shop to rebuild your carb. There is a good chance the guy that does the rebuild knows no more then you do about carburetors.

[bravekozak]

Could you post the numbers? Here in Ontario we get a prinout with the actual and acceptable limits.

Here are my numbers.
Ignore the first one. It was my 89.
Also notice that the name of the Ministry changed in 2015.
I have a 1.6 litre Mazda 323 engine.

[milehighbear]

When I take any of my vehicles for emission test I always spray bleach in the tailpipe and take a brush and clean it out so that old carbon deposits don't get read along with everything.