failed AirCare?

monsterdonkey · Post by **monsterdonkey** » Sun Apr 15, 2001 1:43 pm

Here in BC we have this emission testing deal you have to go through every year for 24 bucks. I usually pass just by virtue of having clean gas in the tank and an engine that seems to run steady. Last year my '72 bus passed with moderate results but this year we failed. The burn is that all of the numbers were lower except the CO2 emissions at idle which were high off the chart somehow. Here's what is different since last year: I replaced the points with the Pertronix Ignitor majiggy and then set the timing myself. I don't have a tach so I just kind of guessed at the rpms and set the distributor where I thought the engine sounded best(with a light). The timing marks ended up way off of where the manual states but I guessed that was a condition of the electronic ignition thing vs. points.
I also forgot to put in a clean air filter.
Also the guy who was testing didn't make sure it was properly idling before testing it. He did the wheel spinning test(god, what a terrible test guy.. it seemed it was his first time in a standard. Lurch lurch)and then jumped out to do the idle test but he didn't get the engine idling. He left it gasping a bit by dumping the revs way down in a kind of abrupt way.

Okay so, did the engine fail because:

1. timing may be off? I think it may idle a bit slow even when it's not being brutalized by some dour teenager.

2. old air filter? It's been about ten/twelve months since the last one.

3. tester failed to understand the special behaviour of my bus and let it lug on the test stand?

Okay magical gurus. Go!
ps. where's a good place to get a tach dwell meter that won't broke me?
thanks
rm

[This message has been edited by monsterdonkey (edited 04-15-2001).]

mikeb · Post by **mikeb** » Mon Apr 16, 2001 10:52 am

Lean it out, ditch the air cleaner, cross fingers.

Sorry, I know this isn't going to be a lot of help, but the clogged air cleaner isn't helping matters at all. Is it a visual test first? If they let you slide on it, just remove the thing entirely (for the test only) and then get a clean one to install.

Cpt Zoomy · Post by **Cpt Zoomy** » Mon Apr 16, 2001 11:57 am

Heya, give a guy named duane a call, he's in langley... he can make ANYTHING go through aircare/moneygrabbygovernment
Ph # is 533-4781...tell him james sent ya.

------------------
1/4 in 11's .... no problem.
http://www.strictlygerman.atfreeweb.com

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Mon Apr 16, 2001 8:09 pm

Check your sheet again, AC doesn't print out the CO2. You must be reading the CO. What are all the numbers, including the 2500 rpm stuff?
You don't need a dwell meter anymore with the pertronix. Just a tach and a timing gun. Set the timing exactly as if you had points, just what the book says. You must use a timing light, without it you are just guessing at $24 a hit. The fact that it was unstable at idle says something is wrong. You could remove the aircleaner element and they will never know, but your 1 year old filter should be clean enough to not affect things.
Make sure your valves are properly set.
If you think they are incompetent at driving your van, insist you drive it yourself. I've been denied only twice since they started. If the guy says no, demand to see the manager. Your problem isn't the guy lugging it on the dyno, the test speed is fixed, and in second gear. If the guy did it in third, then he screwed up, because AirCare dictates second gear regardless of vehicle or rpms. I have seen the test guy shift my car into third on the dyno. He was lucky it passed easily, because if it failed I would have raised hell.
Is it just the CO that's high? If so, after you fix the timing stuff, adjust the carb according to the manual.