WOOO HOOO! Made it through Houston inspection/emission test!

[mckpaul]

Well, after almost two years of playing with it, rebuilding the motor and carb, replacing the transmission, and restoring all the emission system for Houston inspection, it's finally roadworthy and legal. It passed the emission test and inspection with flying colors, and I had all the signatures needed and in the right places (which is a good thing since I don't know if I could find the guy I bought it from if I had to) so the title is finally transferred. I can finally drive this thing where ever and when ever I want, well, legally anyway. Drove it from Houston to San Antonio over the weekend to get some doors from Dott here on the board. Heck of a nice guy by the way, and the first from the board that I've met in person. Anyway, motor runs great, tranny seems to be OK, needs a little tweak, got a couple of questions about it posted under Engine and Drivetrain, but otherwise, happy to be on the road with it. It still isn't the prettiest truck out there, actually a long way from it, but now I can start looking into improving that.

So a big THANKS to all for the help I've received from several people here on the board off and on for the last couple of years!

[Slonaker]

I fear the day that San Antonio goes to emission testing. My truck is about 1/2 intact as far as that stuff goes, and I can't decide whether to remove the rest or try to get it all working.

The city and state keep making announcements that we will have testing soon, then they announce that it won't ever be necessary. Afew months later they announce that it is coming again. I wish they would make up their minds...

We have had no emission testing for so long that few older cars have any of that stuff left on them. A lot of people will fail if they start testing. It will be a mess.

Slonaker

[PHOENIX]

You dont have to rub it in
j/k any chance you can post the emisisons test results and allowable results (HC, CO and NOX)?
I am interested in seeing the different requirements from state to state as far as our trucks go.

BTW I hate emissions

[Jonboy]

If the day comes you do get the testing, you can get a deferrment for a year by showing you have made at least $250 in repairs and it still will not pass. I think you have to take it to a state trooper station, though.

[mckpaul]

Hey Eddie - I'll bring the emission report to work with me tomorrow and post the results. On mine, everything is bone stock, everything shown on the vacuum diagram is there. I bought a complete used exhaust system from a guy on the board here in Houston that came off a 92, but the cat was too big, ended up buying a new generic replacement cat from Autozone. Still used the Flowmaster muffler though.

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

If the day comes you do get the testing, you can get a deferrment for a year by showing you have made at least $250 in repairs and it still will not pass. I think you have to take it to a state trooper station, though.

That's good to know...thanks.

Slonaker

[plumbcut]

you'll get used to the whole emissions thing.. california has its system down pretty good. Yes they are very very serious about it and strict, but by no means is it impossible to get an older vehicle to pass... It doesnt have to be running like it just came off the showroom floor to pass. Sniffer wise, the numbers for older vehicles are pretty lenient.. and in most cases if your truck is somewhat maintained, and all original systems are at least complete, you're fine....

Id smog a 73-91 truck ANY day before having to

A) smog a 92-98 vehicle
B) deal with a vehicle inspection (horn tires brakes lights roadtest seatbelts etc.)



I do agree though, if they implement strict rules in the future, theres going to be a huge mess getting all these old vehicles up to standards...

pc

[mckpaul]

Brought the emission report to work, but...
Since I had to provide the original emission report to transfer the title, they had to keep it. I asked for a copy, which she made for me. Didn't look that close at it that day. All the numbers are there but the far left edge of the page is faded out, so I can't read what polutant the numbers are for. It fades back in where the units are in ( ) like (PPM) and (%). Can barely make out a small x right before the (ppm) on one of them.

There's 6 possible test, only three of the six show results. They tested at high speed and low speed for those three items.

The first one was high speed
???(PPM) Standard 170 My reading 88 PASS
???(%) Standard 2.11 My reading 0.03 PASS
??x(ppm) Standard 2320 My reading 117 PASS

The second one was low speed
???(PPM) Standard 174 My reading 96 PASS
???(%) Standard 1.56 My reading 0.03 PASS
??x(ppm) Standard 2490 My reading 143 PASS

Hopefully there's enough there for you to make sense of. Wish I had been paying closer attention that day, but I was so happy it passed and that I was able to finally get the title in my name that I was close to dancing naked down the hall in the courthouse. (And that would have been ugly...)

On one of the possible six test you can barely make out a 2 right before the (%), I'm guessing this one is CO2 but they didn't show results for that one. It's right below the one listed above that's measured in (%), so maybe the one in the middle listed above it CO.

[Greenlee]

I'm in Houston too. My 88' GMC with 222,000 miles on it would not pass. I'm glad that I now have a 76' which is apparently exempt as they didn't put it on the sniffer this year. The previous owner told me that they did test it when he last had it inspected. I think once it is over 25 years old here its exempt.

[PHOENIX]

What is the difference between PPM (part per million?) and grams/mile?
Are these even the same tests?
It seems like most states are testing PPM.