Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 14:11:16 -0700
Reply-To: Craig Oda <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Craig Oda <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Do I need a HEATED O2 sensor?
In-Reply-To: <ccafde0904090911231838335c@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Ben,
thanks for the advice. The Test-Only center I went to charged $50 for
a pre-test. Is this what you are referring too? I'm sure other
places will perform the pre-test for a smaller fee. However, if I did
it at that particular center, I'll looking at $50 for the pre-test
plus $80 for the SMOG test. Is this about right?
Again, I don't have to worry about this until 2005. I'm just planning
for the future. I fear that my experience with the 2003 SMOG test may
have made me overly paranoid about the new test. Maybe it was the
SMOG tester's parting comment, "well, you finally passed... Enjoy it
while you can. we're testing NO next year and I don't think she'll
make it past that one." Such a lack of optimism for us vanagon
owners. Obviously, the guy is not a Westy man!
The last mechanic I took my vanagon too for fuel/air problems said he
had a Westy too long ago and was forced to sell it because he couldn't
get it to pass SMOG and finally had to get rid of it because it got
impounded because he had it parked out on the street for years. I'm
still looking for a better mechanic near in the Mountain View, Palo
Alto, Menlo Park area. In the meantime, I'm fixing the beast myself.
-- Craig
On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 11:23:34 -0700, BenT <syncro@gmail.com> wrote:
> Craig,
>
> I always pretest my rig before taking it to the smog check station.
> Fix all the bad things (cat every couple of years). Never failed yet.
>
> The placed I get my smog checks also re-certifies gross polluters. It
> ain't no big thang. You have to pay if you want to play.
>
> BenT
> http://members.aol.com/bentbtstr8/myhomepage/index.html
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 10:52:39 -0700, Craig Oda <craigoda@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I think Tom's vehicle failed the CA SMOG once. In CA, there is
> > usually one free retest. The cost of the test itself varies. This
> > year, costs went up to $70 to $80 at test-only centers. :-( That's a
> > lot of cash. Last year there was no dyno and no testing for NO
> > emissions. Times are tougher now, especially in metro areas like the
> > SF Bay area. I think that these older vehicles also fall under the
> > high-emitter profile set by CA DMV. Correct me if I'm wrong. I have
> > not taken my vehicle in for SMOG under the new laws.
> >
> > I agree about getting the catalytic converter as hot as possible.
> > With the cost of failing the retest (and having to pay another $70 for
> > another test), I think that buying a new cat is a good investment if
> > the current cat is over 10 years old. This assumes that the fuel-air
> > mixture can be adjusted properly.
> >
> > As far as the original question concerning a single-wire O2 sensor.
> > This is what I have on my '83 waterboxer. I don't think that heating
> > the sensor with the third wire would affect emissions since the O2
> > sensor is supposed to get to operating temp in under 2 minutes.
> >
> > Tom, good luck and let us know if you pass emissions. BTW, are you
> > taking the van to a test-only center? Was it designated a
> > gross-polluter after the initial testing, or did it just fall
> > marginally out of spec?
> >
> > Passing the new CA emissions tests is one of the biggest anxieties I
> > have about owning the Westy and keeping up with the repairs and
> > investments. The problem is that the emissions equipment are
> > unavailable to the home mechanic and many mechanic shops won't work on
> > vanagon emission problems or don't do good work. If my van fails in
> > 2005, I will probably seek out the help of BusLabs in Berkeley.
> > However, this means taking a half-day off from work and loss of some
> > pay. :-( Well, I don't have to worry about this for another
> > year.
>
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