Hey all, my burb failed emissions. I put a new free flow exhaust on and removed the kitty. It got a 56 particulates and the limit is 40. I was thinking I could change the air filter and try it again. Any other ideas?

There are some free flow cats on the market. Might want to look at those.

Thanks Terrain Twister. Anybody from Washington State with simular experience? What about unplugging the wastegate controller? Would that make it better or worse?

change the oil,fuel filter,spark plugs (just kidding)
make sure youre truck is up to operating temp before going.When i had my mustang the engine was so hotrodded that it couldnt pass on dream..I would find the most run down inspection station let the guy run the test and when he told me it failed ask him how much would it cost to make it pass.Usually about $50..You shouldnt have to do that with a diesel,but just in case..

I would try changing the oil and stuff before anything else.Im not really sure what kind of testing they do where you live since in tx there is no testing on diesels,only a saftey inspection.I run straight pipe,no cat,no muff.jut for fun once i had a guy test my emmisions ad they were all within limits.

If you ever read anything about vegtable oils as alternative fuel you'd know that they lower particulates and every other toxic emmision except NOx gases. Pour a gallon of corn oil in the tank before you try again.


And since they're looking for soot particles that are mostly formed by incompletely burned fuel, advancing the timing couldn't hurt. Advanced fuel has more time to burn.

Is there excessive black smoke? any white smoke? how old are the injectors? Fuel Conditioner w/Cetane improver will help. Filters definitely should be changed if they are questionable. If your timing chain is worn, your valve timing will be late and reduce engines breatheability too.

Put card board in front of the radiator to keep the temp around 200 or so. How do they test it?

Thank QM,

So I think what I am going to do is, change oil and filters. Fill up with bio-diesel, and maybe unplug the temp sensor on the water crossover to advance the timing all the way.

Thanks Everyone,

Injectors are brand new. Timing chain is original and probably a little worn. Washington State probably has the most retarded test on the planet it is called a snap test, and I want to strangle the technician every time they perform the test. Basically they rev your engine to the red line, (this is not an exaggeration) and then they let off the gas and take a particulate measurement. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This in absolutely no way is a real world measure of how your diesel engine is operating.

oh...and to answer Texas Diesel Guy, there is absolutely no smoke what so ever. In fact, the tech at the emissions place, said this was one of the smoothests diesels he has ever tested, and he was shocked that it didn't pass. I am thinking I may have just gotten some really dirty gas. Change the oil and filters, fill it with bio-diesel, maybe advance the timing and I think I should be set.

when my county starts doin emissions testing, im movin

Thanks Everyone,

Injectors are brand new. Timing chain is original and probably a little worn. Washington State probably has the most retarded test on the planet it is called a snap test, and I want to strangle the technician every time they perform the test. Basically they rev your engine to the red line, (this is not an exaggeration) and then they let off the gas and take a particulate measurement. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This in absolutely no way is a real world measure of how your diesel engine is operating.

oh...and to answer Texas Diesel Guy, there is absolutely no smoke what so ever. In fact, the tech at the emissions place, said this was one of the smoothests diesels he has ever tested, and he was shocked that it didn't pass. I am thinking I may have just gotten some really dirty gas. Change the oil and filters, fill it with bio-diesel, maybe advance the timing and I think I should be set.
AND DON'T Forget to slip the guy Fifty bucks or so. LOL just kidding, sort of.

The card board in front of the radiator was a good one too. Anything to make it run hotter during the test, hence adding the max amout of cetane improvers and bio fuel. Since their reving it and letting it settle to test it and you have an egr, it seems like rigging the egr not to open would help too. You could even spring you wg to give it more O2 when they rev it.

Actually, my Burb is a 2500 so I do not have an EGR thank God. Do you think disconnecting the temp sensor on the crossover just for the test would cause any permanent damage? I know it will set the IP to full advance, but what will that do when the engine is revved to redline?

it will command more fuel too, that will make more smoke/soot.

when my county starts doin emissions testing, im movin
Cuyahoga requires testing.

There was a petition to stop the EPA from requiring emission testing in Ohio. Over 250,000 people signed it and presented it to George Voinovich, who was Governor from 91 to 96. He IGNORED the petition. Now, that is a pretty powerful statement to just ignore 250,000 voters like that.

The only way to test the diesel is the snap test. We also do this in the peoples republic of massachusetts too. Only the heavy duty diesels for now though. I've been lucky the last few years that the machine doesen"t even know it's a diesel.
To lower the emissions you have to adjust the fuel timing. Now you need a real good scanner.

Wonder if you pulled the boost sensor out of the intake and the computer would read low boost and cut the fuel back on acceleration? I'd leave the temp sensor alone. Run full vac to the wastegate and it won't open and no spring would be showing. Use a real thick mat under the accelerator pedal to limit it's travel would help a bunch. Put 3500 label on the truck , maybe it's less stringent.