Do you live in an area where you car has to meet inspection requirements? Normally your vehicle will also have to pass emissions requirements also. This article will help explain what emissions are and how to fix a possible problem your vehicle may have. The emissions test is normally done with a probe placed into the exhaust tailpipe. The emission sampler will sniff or sample the contents of the exhaust coming out of the tailpipe. Every road going vehicle produced, has certain clean requirements that it is required to reach. This requirement is specified by EPA to limit the amount of pollutants exiting the vehicle. Most samplers are five gas analyzers simply meaning they “see” or measure five types of gases. The five gases that will be measured are HC, NOX, O2, CO, and CO2. We will start with HC or hydrocarbons. HC’s are simply another term for unburned fuel that makes it through the engine and out the exhaust. HC’s cause smog and and are not good to breath. NOX means oxides of Nitrogen. NOX is a by product of highly heated and compressed air that has nitrogen in it.
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Testing trouble codes is easy. This is a basic how to, on checking trouble codes. All codes supplied here are for pre OBD-2 cars (1996), newer cars can be checked at autozone for free! First turn key forward but don’t start. If you know where the diagnostic plug is, you can use a paperclip to check the codes by jumping the top right (usually) two wires in the plug. GM-bottom of dash. Turn your ignition key forward, codes will flash on the check/ service engine soon light. The code will come up three times then alternate to the next error code, don’t worry about the first code 12. The car ignition is off = 12. A code of 13 will look like this 0 = flashes 0_000, 0_000, 0_000 (larger pause) then will alternate to the next code. Dodge, turn the ignition switch on and off twice, then turn forward (do not start engine) and keep it there. Check engine light will also be used for Dodge vehicles. Dodge codes work same as GM. Ford-under hood and find diagnostic plug labeled EEC Test. Use a jumper wire to connect the single external plug to jump to the main 6 prong plug. Look at the plug with the row of four at the bottom, next look at the next row of two on top.
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Setting the timing on a vehicle is a simple task. First you must know what the manufacturer’s spec is for the stock timing. This information is usually under the vehicle’s hood. Many vehicles have their ignition timing set somewhere between 6 and 12 degrees advanced. Advanced ignition means that the spark that occurs in the cylinder happens earlier before the piston reaches top dead center. After you know what the timing spec needs to be you will need a timing light. Connect the timing light up to the battery or power source that it uses first. Next connect the clamp over the number one spark plug wire, which obviously runs to the #1 cylinder. This should also be marked on your distributor. If your distributor has a vacuum line running to it, remove the vacuum line and plug it so that it doesn’t suck in air. If this line is not plugged, the timing reading can be incorrect as the timing may be advanced slightly. The next thing you will need to do will be to locate the timing mark usually high-lighted yellow on the end of the engine or dampener.
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The idle air control is used to adjust idle speed on electronic fuel injected cars. Back before electronic fuel injection was used, carburetors would use a screw to adjust the throttle plates. The more the throttle plates were open the more air and the higher the idle would go. Fuel injected cars use a throttle body to control the air coming into the engine. The idle air control allows air to enter the engine instead of holding the plates open.
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Oil pans seem like a simple engine piece that should require no thought. The truth is that the oil pan can be a very vital engine part. Different engine have different needs. If an engine is stroked the oil pan may need to be deeper than stock for rod clearance. If the new pan is deeper the oil pickup should be dropped the same amount of distance. Many other modified engines also use deeper pans that hold more oil. Larger pans mean more oil that will stay cooler and take longer to break down chemically.
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What happens when you need to have your engine rebuilt? Before deciding on a rebuilt engine you have to decide on ordering a rebuild kit or buying a crate engine. Both situations have benefits and you will have to decide on which way to go. First is you vehicle a daily driver? If so, your down time can be a large hassle. In this case you would probably be better off to go with the crate engine. Crate engine, simply implies the way the engine is shipped to you. A crate engine will be complete and ready to run, many times with a warranty included. Crate engines come in different power levels, especially v-8 engines. They can range from stock 350ci to 502ci monster sized engines. Many import tuners also upgrade to a JDM crate engine, for increased horsepower. (Full Article)
A spark plug is used in every type of gasoline engine. Many people change their own spark plugs. Spark plugs handle the ignition spark that combusts or ignites the engines fuel and moves the piston. Spark plugs have to endure very high temperatures from combustion. Spark plugs also have to handle the spark erosion from the ignition system. There are many popular brands of spark plugs like champion, ngk, bosch, denso and autolite. Spark plugs can be gapped widely to help burn the mixture in the cylinder, especially if the mixture is lean.
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