delete

 

You should have failed smog because of the PCV valve alone. Hook that thing back up. Did the guy even check the timing or did he just put 16 BTDC?

It looks like you are running a little rich and maybe the timing is advanced too much. Also that cat looks pretty worn out. There shouldn't be any left over O2 with the emissions that bad. When was the last time the car had a tune up?

 

Obviosly that smog tech didnt do a visual too well. Inspect all the hoses and lines, and make sure when you go back, run your car for about 15 mins and keep it on up until he smogs it. That should help you a lil.

Also check your oil level. But it could be cuz that pcv wasnt hooked up that made it flash.

 

funny thing is yeah i just had a tune up, took it to raceline usa and the guy did the worst hack job ever. i took the motor apart but did it by the book, having used a cardboard diagram and putting all the cam caps and head bolts etc in order on the cardboard so they went back in their original place, i cleaned everything by hand, and obviously the car is old so some hoses broke, the breather chamber hose included and he wanted my car out of his shop so he just put it together to get it running as fast as he could and didnt get new hoses as he said he would i am finding out now, sucks cuz i paid him alot,, he put in new axles that i didnt need, just too many things that he screwed up, i dont know if the smog guy checked the timing but i have a gun ill do that today, and with the pcv valve the car was idling too high and the smog tech said he couldnt run it because of that so i stuck a screw in the hole and the idle went down but that is around the time when the oil light started to come on, problem with hooking that breather chamber hose up is i cant see anything from up top and my hands arms forearms are kinda big for those small spaces around the intake mani but ill get a new longer hose and try to get it from the bottom, also, can i register it as non op and get the title for now until it passes? then re-register as operational? thanks again for all the input

 

Wow, I cant believe what I am reading. That is pretty unreal. I would stay away from big name shops like that, it sounds like they don't care about their customers. That stuff would never fly at my shop, and we are just a hole in the wall independent. It kind of makes me angry to read it. People like that are charging an arm and a leg for shitty service, yet we get paid in bread trying to help people out by doing a great job. Almost all of our customers are regulars. One guy drives down from Washington just for an oil change on his Porsche! Now that is customer service.

Anyways, back to the task at hand. You can still register/renew registration without smog; when you go in tell them the car didn't pass/isn't running and they will give you a red tag to hang in the window. It usually buys you a month or two. If it still wont pass, you can keep renewing the window tag. Its kind of a pain but it will buy you time.

As with the car, I would make sure everything is hooked up properly and timing is set correctly. Make sure the oil is good/full, the air filter is clean, the gas is fresh and the spark plug gap is correct. Also, consider replacing the cat, its on its last legs. That alone would probably make you pass but it wouldn't be fixing the problem. I think the problem is going to be around the PCV valve. I could go on for days trying to e-diagnose this car, but the VIR only gives me so much info.

 

here is a link to the full story, he tried to make it better but the more i look at my car and the more i find is wrong(like the breather box, which i looked today and he didnt hookup either of the two hoses, not the one from the box to the block, or the one from the box to the int manifold, i would tell you guys what i paid him but you would have stroke, i was over doing it myself for time reasons and he charged me more as the job went on) the less i want to take it back to him cuz he might mess it up worse, and he told me that not having that hose hooked up is fine and that it would pass visual lol. so heres the link....

https://honda-tech.com/forums/transmission-drivetrain-127/too-many-reasons-y-you-should-never-take-your-car-raceline-2902828/

 

Why dont you Ask him for a partial refund? And if not threaten to take him to civil court for the full amount and for the time and effort you had to put into the car yourself after it was all supposed to be fixed. Also report to the BBB.

 

good point, i was trying to let him fix what he messed up but now the more i look the more it looks like i need to pull the motor out and have it done from scratch

 

And im pretty sure shops are supposed to call and let you know If they are replacing any other parts than what they were supposed to in the first place. Another wrong on their side.

 

worst part is, had i been thinking straight i couldve got a b20 for $500 and put it in myself, but like i said i wanted this thing fixed and didnt have the time, i just emailed him about a refund cuz at this point i dont want him to touch it again, and i asked for a fair refund, not the whole thing, im eating the parts cost and paying him some for his time, lets see if hes a good person or not.

 

Ya, im pretty sure everyone tend to make mistakes like that at least once. I know exactly how you feel.
And hopefully he is a decent individual and gives you a fair amount.
Best of luck for you.

As for smog, have you considered an under the table smog check? It may be a lil more (100-150) but if you do it, you wont have to worry about smog for another two years i believe. (correct me if im wrong)

 

if it was $100-$150 i would do it today, best price i can find is $225, and u are correct it lasts 24 months

 

PM'd

 

i heard if i retard the timing it will help pass smog, which way do i move the dizzy to retard it? if im standing over the motor with my knees touching the bumper and my left hand on the dizzy do i push it towards the back of the car or pull it towards me(same as pulling it towards the ex cam)

 

If ur in front of the car, you pull the dizzy towards you to retard the timing.
So if your at the side, counter clockwise to advance, and clockwise to retard it.

 

thanks man, do u know if retarding helps with smog? could be a rumor lol

 

I have no idea.
But i think a degree or two couldnt hurt, and i doubt the smog tech will notice since he didnt even notice an unplugged pcv.

 

$225 is cheap...i charge a lot more

 

Dam the highest ive seen em was 150... Im afraid to know what u charge lol.

Edit: Edit ur post man, olddohc made a good point

 

i wouldnt go around posting that, you never know what cops check this site out or green peacers for that matter, cali is very liberal and tree huggerish, i mean some people oppose the big fans in palm springs cuz they kill some $hitty a$$ birds that are dumb enough to fly into the blades. I mean really you want to save a specie that just $hits all over and fly into fan blades that are 30 feet long that if you can see you sure can hear them. and yeah the tech can barely speak english so i dont think he cared about the pcv. here is 1 cop on the site

https://honda-tech.com/forums/general-discussion-debate-40/long-beach-pd-seeking-victims-%2Aplease-look%2A-2910337/

 

Ok cool man i edited it, thanks for the info!
I wouldnt tell any1 locations i just trusted u and wanted to help out.
But ya just retard it a couple degrees and see how it works out.

 

im not worried....there isnt much the cops can do. the chp on the other hand will be the ones who showup at the smog shop if a questionable smog comes across the phone line. the smog machines are all direct connected phone lines but the people on the other side monitoring are few and the amount of smogs going through on a daily are vast.