Failed CA smog test MISERABLY! What are my options?

[jcanaya]

So I am in a bit of a difficult spot right now. I purchased a 1985 Vanagon in the beginning of February that was registered and had title in Washington. I now have title to the van, but had not registered it yet in CA because I didn't have time (very stupid on my part). I just went to get it smogged today and it failed miserably. The lady at the smog test station said it was one of the worst she had ever seen. She also said that it would be extremely expensive to fix.

In my excitement to buy my first Vanagon, I did several things wrong, but the main thing was to not get it smogged before I purchased it. I don't have the time, money, or expertise to get it to smog pass level. The title and registration are from Washington, and I am located in San Diego. Since I didn't register it within 20 days of coming to CA, if I were to register it in CA, I would have to pay an extremely high penalty (mistake number 2).

So my plea to the infinite wisdom of TheSamba forum is what do I do now? Put it up on craisglist for cheap? Put it up in the classified section on the forums? Do you think that potential buyers would even look at it because it failed the smog test so miserably? I'm not sure if the registration issues would make it more difficult as well, due to the out of state title and registration.

I am a bit distraught as I am writing this, as I purchased the van with my girlfriend so we could take a road trip across the United States after I sat for the California Bar Exam in July of this summer. While that dream won't come to fruition as soon as we hoped, my main concern now is to get the Vanagon in the hands of someone who can use it to its full potential.

Thanks for all your help.

-J
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My van's name is Megatron

[magician]

Before giving up, I recommend some simple actions that can (depending on the condition of the existing parts) yield good improvment in both mileage and emissions.

Install;
1) new rotor & cap in the distributor (my standard practice when buying used
2) new spark plugs
3) new airfilter

Another thing that is not as easy, would be to have the ignition timing checked.
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04 R32 | 85 Cabrio | 79 Rabbit | 91 T3 Carat Auto
'00 Jetta TDI (sold)| 91 Cabrio (sold) | 81 Rabbit diesel (sold)| 87 T3 GL (sold) | 91 T3 Carat 4sp (sold)

[pjrae]

to avoid the title transfer penalty you can write out a current bill of sale from you to your GF and she can take that and the original bill of sale and title in and transfer with no penalty (provided you trust her) and if you really want it in your name she can gift it back to you and you can transfer the title to your name with no sales tax, just the transfer fee. I've done this in WA and even with two transfer fees it's still way cheaper than the penalty!

there are many options for the smog, i'd recommend taking it to a shop and having them diagnose it before selling it off wholesale! could be a temp sensor running it rich and or o2 sensors and whatever, some of these parts are actually pretty cheap! get some local opinions rather than too many vicarious ones. good luck!

[funagon]

Don't panic. Especially because you don't know what the problem is yet. If I were a betting man I'd put my money on it being a bad oxygen sensor ("OXS" or "O2 sensor"), temperature II sensor ("temp 2 sensor" or "temp sensor"), or throttle position switch ("TPS"). Use the search feature on this site to search for those terms and do some reading. Those are components that you can test and replace on your own, if you're so inclined. Does the van drive well otherwise?
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1990 GL 7-passenger
2.2 liter WBX

[syncrodoka]

Drop the catalytic converter and look into on end. If you can see the ground it has been gutted. It should have a honeycomb pattern that you can still see through if it is in good shape. People ofter take a screwdriver to them if they are falling apart internally instead of replacing them.

[jcanaya]

Thanks for all the great replies. There is a local VW shop (Randy's Foreign Car Clinic) that has been reviewed pretty well. I'm going to take the car in tomorrow to see what their diagnosis is of the problem. I hope it's an easy to fix (cheap) problem.

The van has been running great over the few months that I've had it. I just warm it up in the morning before I head out and it runs smoothly.

I'm not very mechanically inclined, and one of the reasons why I wanted to get a Vanagon was to learn about cars and fix things up. It's just a bummer that this happened when I have no time to even attempt to learn to fix it.

And thanks for the moral support. It's been a disheartening day!
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My van's name is Megatron

[ianstone]

heed everyone's advice here.

it could just be the cat and/or oxy sensor.
oxy sensor is cheap - like 75 or so
cat is a bit more, in the 500 range


don't be so discouraged. this is all part of owning a 20+ year old vehicle.

CA smog is the toughest. When i first bought my van, i had trouble passing smog too. but it just needed a tuneup and was good to go. new plugs/wires/distributor are all helpful.

sounds like it just needs a little TLC

[funagon]

[gersopher]

Hey jcanaya,

I live in San Diego and would be happy to give you a twenty minute tour of your engine bay. Not that I am a professional mechanic, but if there is something obvious I can point it out.

(I bought mine in AZ and had to do the same thing)

If your interested,PM me and we can try to arrange a time.


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'85 Weekender

'

[Mofus]

Hi jcanaya,

I was in a very similar position last year. I also live in San Diego. I replaced Temp II, O2 sensor, rotor, plugs, etc, etc, and it still failed. I took it to Randy's, spent $450 bucks for them to try to get it to pass smog. It never would. They just shrugged. Turned out to have low compression in two cylinders, which they said might, or might not be the source of my smog issues. No way to know without a rebuild. Maybe a leakdown test will give you some good info.

I couldn't register the van in my name until it passed smog. My 5-year plan was to do a Subaru swap, which I ended up doing so I could pass smog and register the van.

Good Luck and let us know what happened.
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'87 Syncro passenger w/ 2.2L Subaru
'10 Passat Wagon (keeps Mrs. Mofus away from my van)

[snowjobb]

I bought one from Washington as well. I replaced the cat converter and muffler because the one I bought was rusted out. I found the cat converter from a place in Escondido, it was a salvage yard but they had a new cat in stock. I think I paid about $ 130.

I didn't even change the O2 sensor when i changed out the cat converter(i guess I got lucky). I also had to change the fuel tank seals because they were leaking and would not pressurize.

Anyways I searched the posts for smog and learned that you need to really warm the van up. I drove around for about 30 minutes on side streets and made sure the temperature was up. Just barely passed.

If you need any help or have questions. Let me know.

[snowjobb]

One last thing, I didn't register my van for about two months. I think I put the sell date as July and the transfer/shipping date as August. They really don't know when you bring it into the state. I was only charged registration fee's and transfer. They back dated the registration to the date of sell.

[tschroeder0]

I had a reeeaaaaaal bad smog test here in CO last year and felt like you did/do...

As stated new cap,rotor plugs wires 02 sensor air filter and cat. Do it all, it all most likely need to be done. Run premium the day of get it really hot prior to test.

Maybe someone else can chime in, I didn't have to do this but I wondered at some point if it would ever be needed to run 2 cats in tandem or if someone know of a larger one that would work? Just a thought.

Anyway, I passed mine right after i replaced the cat.

Of course the other thing if you don't already know is ALL TOGETHER NOW: REPLACE YOUR FULE LINES!!!, NO CROSS COUNTRY TRIP UNTIL THEN!! A BURNT UP VAN WON'T PASS EMISSIONS EITHER!

Good Luck, spend a little $ up front and things will go fine, welcome to the club. Todd

[r39o]

Hey neighbor!

Maybe I can help. Let's contact each other. OK? Email me and I will do the same.

BTDT. So perhaps I can help.

I live near SDSU and my office is in Kearny Mesa.

PS: PM sent, I see no email address. Mine does not show either....strange.

-Walt
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[shenan-agon]

Don't panic yet!

New Cat: 100 bucks
New O2 Sensor: 30 bucks
New Temp2 Sensor: 20 bucks

All at Bus Depot. Probably worth throwing all 3 on there and trying smog again.

[jcanaya]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies everyone! This is why the samba is so great.

r39o and gersopher - PMs sent, thanks for the support.

I didn't get a chance to take the van in today to the mechanic. Hopefully I will be able to meet up with some of the San Diego forum members this weekend and figure out a solution.

As far as the suggestions that people have been posting, what type of time, tools, and skills are required for things like the cat, 02 sensor, and Temp2 sensor? As I have very little of all three, I don't know if it will make more sense for me to take it to a shop or try to do it myself.

Part of the added stress is that the van is now the sole mode of transportation for my girlfriend and me. One option we are thinking about is selling the van and use the proceeds towards a new car. Does anyone know how willing buyers are to take on a Vanagon that won't pass smog? Everything else has been running great on it, and I hate to part with it, but with time and money being precious, investing a lot of money into the Vanagon might not be the best thing for me.

Sorry for the rambling.

Thanks so much again for all the advice. I have my night cut out for me searching through the forum

Much Aloha,
Josh
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My van's name is Megatron

[syncrodoka]

You could sell it, but in CA the seller is responsible for having a clean smog cert. So you have to fix it or sell it to a junk yard for cheap. Cat, 02 sensor and Temp2 sensor are all easily changed in a afternoon with just a few tools. I would hook up with one of the members of this board and get a plan of attack before even considering hiring a professional. A bently manual and a multimeter can diagnose the o2 and temp2 while the cat can usually be visually inspected before replacing anything. Good luck.

[j_dirge]

[r39o]

Just how bad were the emissions values? You should have gotten a printout. There is a thread with values posted. I have a folder with my old printouts, too.

You should get your registration to the point you can get a pink sticker in the window so you can drive it. Don't forget insurance. Then you have a few months to deal with it.

FYI: There ARE other GOOD (likely less expensive) places in town that can deal with your van. Your situation is NOT unique.

PS: Got your pm, you should have my email response.

-Walt
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[?Waldo?]