Recently, a ladyfriend who owns a Ford V-8 product went in for a through Smog Nazi Check II and failed miserably. The reasons may shock you.
HC was way up there, at least 100 ppm beyond nominal. CO and NoX numbers supported a fuel system problem as well. Everything else (visual and physical check of all engine and fuel system components) was fine.
How could this be? This is a nearly-new, 1000 mile old rebuilt 5.0 directly from Ford that was installed by Ford's own techs, and it runs great except that it is a bit cold-blooded in the morning.
After finding a 'Gold Seal' shop, we finally get answers. (Gold Seal here in CA is the best of the best: they are licensed to do checks and service both, not just smog checks, and they are heavily regulated and watched closely.)
The answers:
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- The shop who smogged it first were dumbasses and thieves. They did not operationally check various engine control components, and missed a very important clue in this mystery. All they did was run it up on the dyno and sniff the pipes, nothing more.
- The Gold Seal shop found one leaking injector, something the engine tech at the Dealership missed when installing the new engine. (You would think...)
- He also tested the Stant locking gas caps and found that neither worked properly. In his own words, "I've never seen a locking aftermarket gas cap that will pass a vacuum/pressure/seal check, and most shops don't bother to check them." Apparently, the first shop did not, helping the vehicle fail the test.
- The reason according to shop #2 for this is that they want you to come back for another retest after someone else does the repairs. Often, they will offer a discount as well. Sneaky yet profitable.
Shop #2 retested free after ONLY changing out the fuel caps with Stant non-locking units. It passed, though barely. After replacing injector #2, it passed again just fine.
His advice: Use a non-locking cap when you get a smog check. Be aware that some fuel systems behave badly when aftermarket locking caps are used, and poor fuel mileage and excessive emissions will be the result.
Her engine runs like a fine swiss watch now. Her fuel mileage went from 14 to
21 mpg with only those two changes. Amazing.The Beater must be smogged in a couple of months, so I installed a non-locking cap on that as well. It actually runs much better now! My mileage has also increased from 29 to 33 mpg at last check. I would have never thought that such a small change would have such a profound impact on both performance and fuel mileage.
Food for thought. At $2.25/gal for regular around here, this deserves a LOT of thought. I've never installed a locking cap on Charlene, and after learning of this, I may instead put in a cabinet lock on the fuel door instead, if I feel it absolutely necessary to secure it.
-JD