The Definitive Vanagon Conversion CA Emissions Thread

[furrylittleotter]

The purpose of this thread is to educate those of us that have or are considering swapping in an alternative engine such as a Subaru, Ford, VW, GM or whatever else comes up and now need to comply with CALIFORNIA emissions regulations.

Most of this information is available various places on thesamba and the internet but it can be a bit daunting to track down actual facts.

That being said, I plead with you to not post: information from other states (please start your own thread), opinions (unless OTHER people may find them useful), or questions that you have not searched at least once for (like I said the information is already out there, I am just hoping to condense it here).

Hopefully the moderators will take part in keeping this thread cleaned up.

I have no desire to get involved in a discussion on to the merits of this conversion or that, either, just the facts concerning emissions in CA.

I also acknowledge that different people view emissions in different ways and that too is a topic I would love to avoid here as well, that being said, I do believe if you can pass CA emissions with an alternative engine you are in the top tier of low polluting Vanagons so this information will be useful to those of us in other states that consider minimal emissions in keeping with their personal goals.

I have noticed that a small fraction of the process lies in the details at times, that is to say some testers do not notice or require the same specs as others. if that is your experience, I would like to remind you that that person is supposed to be keeping exact standards so it serves no useful purpose to endanger his livelihood by mentioning them specifically here or elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you have noticed that your smog official is out of line in any way I suggest you mention that to the proper authorities, it is hard enough to comply with the regulations without dealing with a poorly educated official. In all interactions I encourage courtesy and honesty, what might get you through emissions one year may make a lasting impression on all vanagon conversions that official sees from then on.

Let me say to begin, I am no expert on this subject, I am hoping to compile what I have learned from experience and will accept factual correction graciously.

Here are some facts to begin;

Definitions

smog: : a fog made heavier and darker by smoke and chemical fumes; also : a photochemical haze caused by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on atmosphere polluted with hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen especially from automobile exhaust

Smog in California:Decades ago, California became known as the nation's "smog capital" because of the poor air quality in the Los Angeles basin area. Los Angeles County sits in a "bowl" topped by a layer of air that won't permit heavy particles to break up in the atmosphere.

In the early 1960s, people began to worry about the bad air outside. In 1963, California became the first state to institute emission controls on new vehicles sold in the state.

Since then, California has led the nation in concern for the environment and controlling vehicle emissions. The California Department of Motor Vehicles requires the owners of most cars to adhere to strict emissions regulations in order to register them.

Bureau of Automotive Repair "BAR"_these folks run the smog programs in CA
10949 North Mather Boulevard
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
(800) 952-5210
www.bar.ca.gov.

Bureau of Automotive Repair History & Overview

Automotive Repair Program

From its headquarters in Sacramento and through 12 field offices around California, the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) conducts consumer protection services related to automotive repair. BAR registers and regulates automotive repair dealers, accepts and resolves auto repair complaints from the public, investigates violations of the Automotive Repair Act and, when appropriate, refers cases to law enforcement authorities. BAR also administers a statewide licensing program of repair facilities and service technicians in lamp and brake inspection and repair. BAR licenses more than 34,000 auto repair dealers in California.

Smog Check Program

In 1982, California became the 20th state in the nation to adopt a vehicle inspection and maintenance (Smog Check) program. BAR is mandated by law to administer the Smog Check program. There have been a number of program changes over the years, but the goal of Smog Check remains the same: to reduce air pollution produced by motor vehicles. BAR licenses over 7,050 privately-owned Smog Check stations and more than 15,000 Smog Check technicians, thereby implementing the program through a decentralized system.

Consumer Complaints

Each year, BAR handles over 14,800 consumer complaints involving auto repair. BAR's complaint resolution efforts result in approximately $6.3 million being returned to consumers in the form of direct refunds, rework of the vehicle at no charge, or adjustments to the final bill.

California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV)_These folks issue your plates and require the smog certification.
What DMV Does

DMV registers vehicles in California and licenses their drivers. This amounts to about 33 million vehicles registered and approximately 23 million licensed drivers.

Other major DMV functions include:

Recording ownership (certificate of title) of the vehicles DMV registers
Maintaining driving records (accidents and convictions) of licensed drivers
Issuing identification cards for individuals
Registering and recording ownership of vessels
Licensing and regulating driving and traffic violator schools and their instructors
Licensing and regulating vehicle manufacturers, transporters, dealers, distributors, vehicle salespeople, and dismantlers
Administering the Financial Responsibility Law
Investigating consumer complaints
Maintaining records in accordance with the law
Collects approximately $6.5 billion in revenues annually

www.dmv.ca.gov

California Highway Patrol (CHP)_These folks will bust you for not having a valid CA plate. They are also the folks that do a few different kinds of inspections like seeing if you really did convert to diesel.

www.chp.ca.gov

The California Environmental Protection Agency AIR RESOURCES BOARD (ARB, aka "CARB") officially this is their mission: The California Air Resources Board is a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, an organization which reports directly to the Governor's Office in the Executive Branch of California State Government.

In actuality, they run numerous programs to attempt to reduce and otherwise control pollution. They make the laws, they issue the executive orders. They have 5 branches. The branch concerned with smog certificates is the ARB.

http://www.arb.ca.gov

All Vanagons must be tested for emissions with the following exemptions;

1. Syncros do not have to be dyno tested, they get by with a fast idle test because they do not have 4wd dynos. This also applies to vanagons that have been CONVERTED into syncros! (Some speculation here so bear with me) I do believe the process is to make an appointment at the DMV, go in,begin to register van(including paying, btw your time for the plate registration starts then so do not dilly dally), when they ask for emissions certificate tell them it has been converted to 4wd, they will refer you to a BAR (Bureau of Auto Repair) hotline which you call an make an appointment to see the BAR referee nearest you who will inspect the van, do the idle test, and I am not sure about this, but probably assign a BARcode sticker to the engine compartment.

2. Diesels are exempt. As far as I know vans that were gas and are converted to diesel are also exempted, the process is to make an appointment at the DMV, go in,begin to register van(including paying, btw your time for the plate registration starts then so do not dilly dally), when they ask for emissions certificate tell them it has been converted to diesel, they will refer you to the CHP who you will call and make an appointment to see them and either Ponch or John will look at your van and determine it is or is not in fact a diesel and give you a sticker or letter of exemption you will take back to DMV and finish your process there. (this is info I read online so please correct me if I am wrong)

3. Last I heard there are some remote counties that do not require emissions, they have an unbelievably nice population of hot rods and Vanagons, from what I hear.
This is what the DMV site says, and there is a link to enter your zip code to see if a smog certificate is required in your county:Which counties require a smog inspection for the registration renewal?

Counties that Require a Smog Inspection for Vehicle Registration Renewal
;

Alameda Butte Colusa Contra Costa Fresno
Glenn Kern Kings Los Angeles Madera
Marin Merced Monterey Napa Nevada
Orange Sacramento San Benito San Francisco San Joaquin
San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Santa Cruz
Shasta Solano Stanislaus Sutter Tehama
Tulare Ventura Yolo Yuba

There are six counties that require smog certifications within certain Zip Codes only. These counties are:

El Dorado, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Sonoma.

and the link I mentioned:

http://smogcheck.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Ziparea/ZipLookup.aspx


To my knowledge, that ends the short list of exemptions, for the rest of us poor souls, READ ON...

To my knowledge there are TWO basic ways one can obtain the required emissions certificate;

1. Utilize a kit that an executive order has been issued for such as the following;


http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-459-1.pdf
http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-573.pdf
http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-428-2.pdf
http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-459-1.pdf

OR:

2. Install an unmodified engine from another vehicle INCLUDING all of the related components such as, but not limted to the following; intake, including air cleaner, fuel injection, etc, exhaust, catalytic convertors, all emission control equipment, ecu, related check engine light and wiring, etc. fuel vapor system, etc. Mufflers are NOT required for emissions and the exhaust CAN be modified highly, in fact you can run the entire thing out of the front as many people have done. the van will be inspected by a BAR referee, smog tested at the level required of the DONOR vehicle and when it passes a BARcode sticker such as this:

will be issued with all the pertinent information, it will be attached wherever the ref chooses and then you may have the van tested wherever you want from then on at the levels applied to the donor vehicle.

Now when I say "unmodified' the engine will obviously have to be close enough to stock that it will actually pass emissions, but no one will know if a different cam or pistons or whatever is in there, and an aftermarket oil pan or something like that will probably not cause a problem but an aftermarket air cleaner or intake tube almost certainly will, especially at the BAR ref, maybe not later on at a regular smog station in cowpoke county. I HAVE heard of silliness like 'UNTIDY WIRING IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT" being an issue, but in my experience I found the BAR ref. very helpful and extremely accommodating.

Of course I did go in there humbly and polite, not because I want to be servile and acting dumb, but because I honestly had NO IDEA what the actual requirements were, so of course I did not go in there and try and tell him what's what.

You can use aftermarket catalytic convertors on your van but they MUST be CA CARB compliant and have received an executive order allowing them to be used in place of the stock unit ON THE DONOR VEHICLE for example:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/afte...ch+for+EOs

I believe it is illegal to sell or install a Non-Carb approved catalytic convertor in the state so as long as you purchase from a reputable source this should not be an issue, but the catalytic convertor must be the required one for the DONOR vehicle, OR the one listed in the Executive order for each of the above engine conversion executive orders.

...to be continued

[sunkid]

THANK YOU for starting this thread!

Here are some relevant links I found:

California Air Resources Control Board (C.A.R.B.)

• Eurospec Sport Conversion Kit certification
  
• Tiico Conversion Kir certification
  
• Kennedy Engineered Products VW Engine Change Kit certification
  
• Eurospec 93 Eurovan Engine Conversion certification
  

Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR)

• Smog Check Reference Guide
  

From the above guide, the following quotes:

[bentetzner]

Hi Guys,
have not posted much lately. Wanted to get an opinion of the subaru conversion engine. Has anybody any knowledge of if they increase or decrease the value of the vehicle? I have a super clean 1980, but would naturally like a little more power.
Ben

[outwesty]

Great info. Just last week I was told that small towns in the Tahoe basin only smog every 20 years now. My population is 255 . I will follow up when I get confirmation

EDIT - just got off the phone with the smog station in Tahoe City, the only time you ever have to smog a gasoline powered vehicle is when changing ownership in most towns in the basin. You have to call and ask if your town is one of them.

Yes a diesel van is very easy to register. You just go to the DMV, tell them you swapped it to diesel and they come out and listen to it and sign off. They did make me show them the "complies to CA emissions" or similar sticker on the back of the license plate door which makes no sense but it made them happy.

[914 mike]

Just recently got my BAR sticker on my 84 suby conversion. When I first did the conversion 6 plus years ago, I simply went to my smog guy, showed him the CARB rules for the vanagon suby conversion and my Kennedy sticker. He took photo copies of the papers I showed him and he smogged it. Went to him 3x and then the last time I went to him, he wasn't there. He had sold the biz.
So, I tried to find a new smogger and no one would smog it without the BAR sticker.
I knew I DID NOT NEED A BAR STICKER to legally smog according to the CARB executive ruling and was TOLD THE SAME THING BY THE BAR OFFICIAL, but I didn't want the hassle with the smog stations, so I set out to get the BAR sticker.
The BAR guy in Fresno had never seen or passed a suby vanagon before so it was a new process to him. He got on line and did his research. He talked to other BAR guys in So-Cal and Nor-cal and first time through didn't pass me because when I originally did my conversion in 2007(?) the cat converter I got from KEP was fine. In 2008(?) they changed acceptable converters to a California model and I didn't have that one.....yet. So, I was doing another conversion at the time, had the correct converter for that one, and just swapped it on. Went down to the ref again....and failed again. This time due to the evap test. Gas tank needed a reseal. Had nothing to do with the conversion, but I couldn't proceed until I tackled this problem. So, out came the tank and in went all new seals.
Went back to the ref and third time was a charm. Passed smog and got my BAR sticker. Now I can go to any smog station, smile and point.
As for the value of a suby bus, if you look in the classifieds, I would say they have a very positive impact on value.....and the suby conversion has a very positive impact on the drivability of our vans.

YMMV
_________________
Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[zeohsix]

You need to add Stephans Autohaus 1.8T conversion. This is the only CARB certified OBD2 Vanagon engine swap besides the one that make the most sense.

[regis101]

Might as well say it. This thread needs to be sticky
_________________
Peace, Regis

[0cean]

Would engine fault codes cause you to fail at a smog station/ Bar in California? I thought that was the biggest problem with Larger Subaru engines conversions in CA.

[0cean]

[914 mike]

[nacradriver]

[TDI_VT]

[Jon_slider]

[ipslothman]

I'm looking into buying a van with a tiico conversion.
The owner says he hasn't been able to get it to pass smog (in our county you only need to smog for a sale). He said that a referee in Santa Rosa told him that the EO regarding the tiico engines has been revoked by the ARB. Can anyone confirm/deny this?


From reading around it looks like I should just be able to bring the EO to the smog station and show them that its correct and it *should* pass?

[syncrodoka]

It is still listed on the carb site towards the bottom. I would try to get definitive answers from them about it's status though.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/afte...ch+for+EOs

[crazyvwvanman]

What I heard back then was that the company that got the state to issue the EO back then for the TIICO conversion soon got in hot water with the state for supposedly using trickery to obtain it. When the state got wind of it the word went out to reject any attempts to use the EO after that. So I heard.

Mark

[termuehlen]

According to the Referee Program Fact Sheet (http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResources/02_SmogCheck/Referee_Centers-FS.pdf) "A Referee
inspection is required for all vehicles that have had an engine change." Even though a conversion may have an Executive Order number (i.e. Kennedy), the Fact sheet says it is still required to have a referee inspection (and I assume a BAR sticker).

[termuehlen]

I just received my BAR sticker today. It took me 7 visits! I believe that both the best and worst part of the process is that there is no limit to the number of visits it takes you to pass, and you can apparently go to as many ref sites as you want. This makes for a rather lengthy process. Most of my visits had to do with the evap system, much of which had nothing to do with the conversion, but was related to problems with the original evap system on the gas tank and the expansion tanks. I have a 1988 Westfalia with a small car OBD1 Subaru conversion. I asked the ref today whether a CARB executive order "engine change kit" installation such as the Kennedy system requires a BAR inspection and he said it did NOT. However, he said he is familiar with the Kennedy conversions because several have come to him after owners could not find a regular smog station to inspect them. So it looks as if the FAQ sheet is not totally accurate. Finally, if you are interested in seeing your (or anyone's) California vehicle emissions test history you can look it up here with the VIN number or License Plate number (http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Vehicle/PubTstQry.aspx).

[BlueGrasser]

[termuehlen]

The short answer is that I finally replaced the fuel expansion tank valves (located on top of each of the expansion tanks) and the associated grommets.

Typically, Vanagon's are given the N/A for the evap test because the pressure test is performed on the fuel system components in front of the charcoal canister. The charcoal canister has a vent line to allow hydrocarbons to be treated by the activated carbon and then pass "cleanly" into the atmosphere. If you have a VW canister, it is located in the wheel well with a hard plastic line running towards the front of the van and to the fuel tank (the canister vent line runs out of the bottom of the can into the frame rail on my van). According to the regulations, "Vehicles with fuel evap lines that are not accessible without requiring the vehicle to be partly dismantled to gain access" are allowed the N/A. Since the hard plastic line can not be clamped off easily to run the pressure test through the fuel filler, it is usually given the N/A. Unfortunately, my install uses the Subaru purge control valve to operate the evap line (not the mechanical VW evap control valve) and I installed a flexible vac hose between the charcoal can and the hard plastic line leading to the fuel tank. In my case, it was easy for the ref to clamp off the vac hose which isolates the carbon canister and all engine components from the evap test. So therefore I was not given the N/A, but was made to perform the test.

I installed a fuel reseal kit before I ever visited the BAR, so I thought I might be OK. But they put pressure on the system and it did not pass. In the 10 years that I have owned my van, I have installed three reseal kits. But I never looked at the top of the two expansion tanks. It turns out that the grommets on top were both in terrible condition. I think the expansion tank valves were likely in OK condition, but I ended up breaking them when I tried to remove the hard plastic lines connected to them. So I replaced both the valves and the grommets. I think it is worth a look at all of the fuel supply system components on page 20.27 of the Bentley Manual. If you check all of the rubber grommets and seals, you should be OK. I know it sounds like a pain, but having a working evap system has its benefits. For the first time in 10 years, I am able to fill my tank up all of the way and my vehicle has a more stable idle. I also am not worried about leaking fuel out of my system for at least a couple of years.