So I passed my smog test today. '89 with a 22RE. Passed as clean as can be.

Idle HC 4ppm CO 0%
2500rpm HC 4ppm CO 0%

Last year the same vaehicle, nothing changed, barely passed. Y'all gotta beware of the tech doing the testing. If they don't heat the cat up after it sits in their parking lot for an hour your chances of failing increase dramatically. It really is ridiculous to be at the whim of a non-give-a-damn tech that you are required to go to. Last year was a "STAR" station that I was required to go to, only one available in 50 miles.

I don't mind having to smog test my vehicles, every 2 years I get a clue as to how the thing is running. What I don't like about the program is how going from one station to another the results can vary wildly. They need to get a handle on it of eliminate it.

 

I was shown the same thing about 10 yrs ago.. the tech literally sat in the bay before starting the test for about 5 min in high idle (4k rpm) since I had been waiting in line just under an hour. That's why most places tell you to drive for 50-100 miles before bringing in to test. Glad you passed

 

I always take a highway drive before a smog test. One of the things that get nullified when you have a 9 O'clock appointment and they don't get to your vehicle until 10:30. One of the many gripes I have regarding the program, inconsistency. It hurts everybody involved. I know so many that could have passed first time around.

 

I remember smogging my first mini. Nobody in my town was even willing to smog it (later I found out that the battery/intake swap that the PO installed was illegal. The PO did happen to give me all the maintenance and smog paperwork over the past few years, so I found the shop that he got it smogged at, and headed their way. They were across the bay from me, but I figired that was the way to go.
When I showed up, the old man workong the joint said 'oh, I know this truck'. He then proceeded to pull out a huge fan, and instructed me to drive down to the auto parts shop down the street and buy 2 bottles of octane booster.
I did that, and brought it back. He put the fan in front of the truck's radiator, ran it for half an hour, poured in the octane booster, and boom, it passed smog.

 

Hmmmm, octane booster. Which one?

I'll throw in a couple gallons of E-85 for a fuel injected engine, Doesn't worl as well for a carby engine without some rejetting. I did get away with a couple of gallons of Isopropal Alcohol in my Celicas back in the day. I did have a spwcial set of jets though. The Iso Alcohol mix smoothed the lumpy idle. My Mazda loves the mix of about 30% Ethanol, even without a tune.

Not shure why they won't accept the AFM relocation, I get away with murder in my MR2 with the intake. Put the AFM right there on the throttle body with a silicone coupling and bolt on a SARD filter. Nothing C.A.R.B. approved there!

Currently I'm running an LC header and exhaust with cannister cat, and LC intake in my '89. CARB EO and all! To attempt to reduce intake temps I have some cheap heat blanket on the pipe and am in the process of adding a corrugated aluminum barrier with Basalt cloth backing. The routing of the intake in 22RE trucks is a big fail for Toyota! Running that intake duct along the upper radiator tank was not a good idea.

 

Glad you passed, when we had it here I used to do them during morning bookings, and with hard to pass cars we would use some Methyl Hydrate in the tank……of course there are different methods for different failures, but MH seems to run very clean.

 

A good HOT cat does wonders too.

Here, Mehyl Hydrate is Denatured Alcohol, basically straight Ethyl alcohol. Expensive at the Home Depot when it's available at the pump as E-85. For the price of a quart I can get 2 gallons of E-85.