Maryland State Emissions test failure-any suggestions?

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 23:01:20 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:

>When you're a lazy, selfish, polluting asshole, you will (and should) get
>grief.

<snip>

>...because of selfish, lazy assholes like yourself who can't be bothered

<snip>

>That's your ignorant opinion. It is not correct.

<snip>

I apologize for trolling. Sometimes it's just too difficult to resist
doing it. Especially when the fishing is good...
--
Dan Drake

Simple. Re-register the car in another state, where they don't have
such stupid rules. Carry on driving as if nothing had happened.

old school bmw owner wrote:
> Michael Low wrote:
>
> > You should fix your oil problem first.
>
> Michael thanks. The answer is hard to accept, because I'm
thick-headed
> but after the denial stage, anger stage, compromise stage(I can't
> remember the forth one)

despair

Jim

"old school bmw owner" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 1986 BMW325e 178,000 miles:
> First test: FAILED NOx [actual=3.4829(gpm)cutpoint=2.8000(gpm)].
> So I changed oil and oil filter,spark plugs and air filter. Ran a full
> tank of gas with a bottle of Guaranteed to Pass and put a bottle of
> Heet in tank before retest with Chevron 87 octane gas. I ran the car
> for over 1/2 hour before retest to get it hot.
>

I just looked at my smog test results because I too failed my last smog
test. I also had very high NO numbers. The smog guy told me that my CAT was
on its last leg. He told me to drive around the block, including the freeway
from one exit to the next, then he put my car on the machine IMMEDIATLEY
upon my return while the CAT was still hot. My car passed easily on the
second test.

What happens is the car sits for a while in the parking lot waiting its turn
on the machine, and the CAT cools down. The first test they do is the Low
Speed test, and the NO numbers are high. Then the High Speed test heats the
CAT, and the NO numbers fall into line. I suspect, although I do not know
for sure, that if they did the high speed test first, the low speed test
would pass. In any case, it sounds like your CAT is getting old and does not
do its job anymore.

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 11:40:27 -0800, smile4camera wrote:

>
> old school bmw owner wrote:
>> Michael Low wrote:
>>
>> > You should fix your oil problem first.
>>
>> Michael thanks. The answer is hard to accept, because I'm
> thick-headed
>> but after the denial stage, anger stage, compromise stage(I can't
>> remember the forth one)
>
> despair
>
Nope, its acceptance.

--
The instructions said to use Windows 98 or better, so I installed RedHat.

wrote:
> old school bmw owner wrote:
>
>>Michael Low wrote:
>>
>>
>>>You should fix your oil problem first.
>>
>>Michael thanks. The answer is hard to accept, because I'm
>
> thick-headed
>
>>but after the denial stage, anger stage, compromise stage(I can't
>>remember the forth one)
>
>
> despair
>
> Jim
>
MOVE!

But he mentioned he had changed his CAT earlier this year so either his
CAT never worked properly or something killed it. If there's enough
oil to coat a spark plug, it will coat a CO2 sensor plus the poisoned
spark plug, oil leak and the screwed-up CO2 sensor will all conspire to
poison a CAT (soon or sooner).

Dan, get a life.


Michael

Dan Drake wrote:

> On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 20:01:36 -0500, "James C. Reeves"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>You are correct. The program is in place ONLY to satisfy the Feds so Maryland
>>can get it's share of Federal highway dollars. Clean air has absolutely
>>nothing to do with it...it fact probably does more harm than good having
>>10-million people go on 10 million unnecessary "trips" to the inspection
>>station and waiting in line an hour idling every two years (used to be every
>>year). Sure, THAT really helps keep the air clean...gees...who are they
>>kidding!
>
>
> I'm glad that someone else feels the same way as me about things like
> this!
>
> I have always done my own oil and filter changes. For many years now,
> my friends and neighbors have told me that I shouldn't tip the used
> oil down the drain at the front of my driveway.

You know, I'm among the first to call most "environmentalists" idiots...
but I do so because they're more interested in political clout than in
the environment. I happen to actually care about not screwing up the
water supply, and I'm here to say that your attitude is a bigger idiocy
than the rabid enviro-whackos that would rather wear fig leaf suits than
refine a drop of oil.

>
> Well, excuse me! *They* all go to garages and oil change places, and
> don't have to worry about where the old oil goes. I suspect that the
> garages probably tip it out at the back of the shop somewhere.

That's a nice way to go out of buisness and into prison. Garages do NOT
do that, at least not 99% of them.

> So, I
> get grief from them for pouring a half gallon of old oil down the
> drain every 2 or 3 months! I mean, where is their sense of
> proportion? How many people are there like me any more who do their
> own oil changes? Just a tiny fraction of all used engine oil goes
> down the drain, it's just a tiny amount, it really isn't enough to
> make a difference to anything or get excited about.

So do you know how many ACRES of water 1 cup of oil can coat?

The point is your "tiny fraction" doesn't HAVE to go down the drain at
all! Any auto parts store has a tank in back where you can take your old
oil to have it recycled. Free. Its actually useful stuff, there is a
whole infrastructure for collecting it, cleaning it, and using it. Get a
clue, man, and quit giving automobile hobbyists a bad name.

On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 12:22:55 -0600, Steve > wrote:

>Dan Drake wrote:

<snip, I'll be king and tag and release>

>The point is your "tiny fraction" doesn't HAVE to go down the drain at
>all! Any auto parts store has a tank in back where you can take your old
>oil to have it recycled. Free. Its actually useful stuff, there is a
>whole infrastructure for collecting it, cleaning it, and using it. Get a
>clue, man, and quit giving automobile hobbyists a bad name.

My guess is that after you responded to my post, you read the rest of
the thread and now realize what's going on.

Free clue to anyone who doesn't already know it: Read the whole
thread before allowing your knee to jerk.
--
Dan Drake