Re: Got Spanked; Need Help (archive)

Hello everybody,
So I moved from Illinois to California and brought my trusty E21 along for the ride because I am not quite ready to part with it just yet. However, I am having some emission problems in this state and need some advice. Today I got a pre-test and failed miserably. First of all the test was aborted because the idle was too high (1230)and the timing is advanced. The timing is 38 degrees and is supposed to be 25 degrees. At 2500 rpms my hydrocarbons were 295, but they are supposed to be 150 max. Also, my CO percentage was 2.49 and is supposed to be 1.50 max. These numbers mean little to me except that I failed the test. If I correct the idle and the timing how mucgh of an appreciable difference could that possibly make. ANy suggestions and or advice would be greatly appreciated. I do not want to donate my car because of an emission test. Thank you in advance...

When I went to get my 81 320 inspected it failed misreably too. The CO and hydrocarbons were way above what they should have been. At the time I didnt know that my catalytic converter was bad so the mechanic there said he could get it to "pass" with a bit of tinkering and a slight hike in the fee. He got my CO down to almost nothing by adjusting the fuel mixture way lean and reduced the HD output by quite a bit but still not enough for it to pass. If your cat is good you shouldnt have a problem with that. Adjust the timing and *check* your mixture. When I got mine back it ran like crap and took a while to re-adjust it. I wouldnt do any more unneccisary tinkering than I had to. End of story, I got a ticker on my windshield and a new catalytic converter a few months later. good luck

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