Just failed emissions twice

[Gary Palmer]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Any ideas were this sucker is hiding on the engine? All I see is intake manifold.

JanGeo: I don't actually have one, so I don't have any idea where it might be located. From what Dirtyoldtown described it may be a issue with the passage itself and pulling the intake manifold to get at it, may be the only way to really clean it out. I wonder if you can locate the egr valve, if you sprayed some seafoam into it, if it might unclog the carbon enough to let it get blown out?

[DirtyOldTown]

I don't think SeaFoam would hurt, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work in this case. The passage is about as big around as a pencil and maybe two inches long; it gets packed entirely full of carbon. I think the best bet would be to use a pick on the carbon then use some SeaFoam just to clean up everything else.

[JanGeo]

I'll give it a shot of foam next chance I get - oil gets changed pretty regular for a woman driver - not sure what they put in it though - she just pays and pays and thinks that is how the world works. She may end up trading it in although she can't afford any more debt right now. Needless to say she is tough on cars yet claims to be a good driver - it's not even paid for yet and she wants to trade it in. Will search the web for Tech Info on the engine.

[krousdb]

Made some progress on the VX yesterday and today. I replaced the drivers side axle seal and the rear shoes and drums. Got my ebay compression tester today and got 175, 180, 170 and 175. That compares to 184 new and 135 min. I think the rings and valves are ok. No oil leaks now either. The last thing is the emissions.

When I first checked the plugs I noticed that all 4 had soot on 1/2 of the insulator, while the other side was white. Then I put in a spare set left over from the Del Sol. After several hundred miles, plug 1, 2 and three have no soot on the insulator, while plug 4 has the 1/2 soot 1/2 white syndrome.

Any ideas? It seems like there has been some improvement on all but #4. Im wondering if I have a clogged injector? I ran a tank of seafoam on the way home form chicago. Perhaps another? Any other things it could be?

[JanGeo]

Now you need the thing I bought a long time ago when I first got my Moto Morini - a Clear Spark plug adapter that lets you see the combustion color. You would be able to see if it was burning rich or burning oil - not used when the engine is very hot or under load, just idle and a little reving or else it blows out.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by krousdb

got 175, 180, 170 and 175. That compares to 184 new and 135 min.

Nice. That seems healthy. Do you have specs for acceptable variation between hi-lo cyls as well?

Any ideas? It seems like there has been some improvement on all but #4. Im wondering if I have a clogged injector?

Wouldn't that cause it to run lean?

What about plug wires and/or dist. cap (sorry, don't recall if you did those yet)? If that cylinder is missing at all, that could explain the elevated unburned HC & the soot on the plug.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Nice. That seems healthy. Do you have specs for acceptable variation between hi-lo cyls as well?


Wouldn't that cause it to run lean?

What about plug wires and/or dist. cap (sorry, don't recall if you did those yet)? If that cylinder is missing at all, that could explain the elevated unburned HC & the soot on the plug.

I think anything within +/- 10 is within acceptable variance.

You're right about the spark plug wires and distributor cap. I might replace those on my wife's car too just for the hell of it.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Wouldn't that cause it to run lean?

I was thinking that it may cause an uneven spray pattern, rich on one side and lean on another.

I just bought the proper heat range plugs and a new set of wires. Also dumped a bottle of Lucas in the tank. But before I went home I woent for a highway drive to get a baseline for highway FE before adding the belly pan. I made a 51 km round trip at 55 MPH, DWL down to 50 up hill and up to 60 on the downhills. I did not CODfish, just had the injector shutoff downhill.

66.4 MPG (Assuming the MID is calibrated correctly)

That beats the Del Sol by about 4 MPG and I was CODfishing in the Del Sol and also had the belly pan on. I'm hoping for 67ish with the pan. Maybe better if I can fix the HC issue.

I think I will put in my new plugs and wires now.

[krousdb]

In addition to adding the Lucas upper cyinder lube, injector cleaner, after my highway run, I decided to test out the VTEC. Previously I assumed that when lean burn kicks out, that VTEC kicks in. Well noooo! There are three distinct modes in the VX. Lean burn is in effect when the engine is warm, the O2 is warm and the pulse width is 6.3 or lower. The second mode is non VTEC, non lean burn which is in effect when the pulse width is above 6.3. It peaks with a pulse width of 9.5. This mode is in effect until between 2500 and 3000 RPM. That is when VTEC kicks in. At full throttle above say 2700 rpm, the pulse width maxes out at 11.5-12. Holy hell does this thing pull hard (relatively speaking). It will leave the Del Sol in the dust! It is also amazing how much fuel one can burn in VTEC full throttle. For sure I cleared out the cobwebs.

That being said, I just finished installing my NGK V-Power plugs (proiper heat range) and the new plug wires. Two details of note. That 4th plug that had the 1/2 white and 1/2 black insulator... Well the black had started to turn to brown and was noticeably less sooty. Secondly, the old wires measured between 5 and 8 kOhms, shortest to longest. The new ones measures 8-10 kOhms, shortest to longest. After installation, it seems to idle smoother. But that might just be my wishful thinking.

I'm wondering about the improvement shown on plug #4. It might have been the Lucas upper cyl lub/ injector cleaner doing its job. Or it could have been the cobweb clearing VTEC run. Whatever it was, hopefully #4 will look normal after a few hundred more miles.

[krousdb]

My preowned catalytic converter is on it's way. Soon I will be emissions testing again.....
One thing i have noticed with the VX is that compared to the Del Sol, it is difficult not to get good FE. But on the other hand, extreme FE techniques like FAS don't show much improvement over just leaving the ICE on in Lean burn mode. The result is that both the VX and the Del Sol have very similar extreme FE potential, but you just don't have to try as hard with the VX. The VX pulls away at highway speeds however, not to mention the fact that there is seating for five.
Or maybe I haven't cracked the VX code yet......