99 fails California smog test

[Alphabet]

I'm sure this has been addressed before but hopefully i can get some answers without going through the stealership

I just took my '99 3.4 4wd in for a smog check here in California and I failed only the No part of the test .
With all the other levels low could this be more a upstream O2 sensor that's bad or a bad cat ? I don't believe there's a EGR valve for my year.

Thanks

 

[BrianSD_42]

You are in the OC right?

I'd check out YotaMasters in Corona.

Sorry I don't have a specific answer. How old are the O2 sensors? Spark Plugs?

 

[snow junky]

Could be Egr if you have one Or cat. Most likely your cats bad

 

[TheDurk]

No EGR on '99 or any OBDII 5VZ-FE which means any 3G V6 4Runner. When it's there, it connects to those little dead end tubes on the top of the throttle body--now you know what they're for!

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/89528-1998-3-4-fail-smog-high-nox-ways-fixing.html

This post, and the thread it's in, are also instructive:

http://www.yotatech.com/f2/failed-smog-check-106293/index3.html#post50709175

Clean MAF, because it's cheap and probably needs it, and change front A/F sensor if it has 70k+, because it's due soon anyway, and go from there.

 

[Alphabet]

You are in the OC right?

I'd check out YotaMasters in Corona.

Sorry I don't have a specific answer. How old are the O2 sensors? Spark Plugs?

I just bought the truck not long ago but the O2 sensors look original and the plugs were just changed with OEM dual electrode type.

I'll look those guys up. I'm not far from corona.

Thanks

 

[Alphabet]

No EGR on '99 or any OBDII 5VZ-FE which means any 3G V6 4Runner. When it's there, it connects to those little dead end tubes on the top of the throttle body--now you know what they're for!

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/89528-1998-3-4-fail-smog-high-nox-ways-fixing.html

This post, and the thread it's in, are also instructive:

Failed Smog Check - Page 3 - YotaTech Forums

Clean MAF, because it's cheap and probably needs it, and change front A/F

sensor if it has 70k+, because it's due soon anyway, and go from there.

Thanks ,

I cleaned the MAF sometime back thinking my mileage and power would improve but I'll give it another cleaning. What's the front A/F ? I'm guessing the o2 sensor BEFORE the Cat ? The truck has 155,000 and all the sensors look Original.
Thanks for the link also.

 

[gjfmvallan]

I'd check out YotaMasters in Corona.

 

[TheDurk]

Thanks ,

I cleaned the MAF sometime back thinking my mileage and power would improve but I'll give it another cleaning. What's the front A/F ? I'm guessing the o2 sensor BEFORE the Cat ? The truck has 155,000 and all the sensors look Original.
Thanks for the link also.

I'm assuming your '99 truck was from Cali. therefore the front sensor (before the cat) is actually a wideband air/fuel ratio sensor.(This is on 4Runners, not sure about Tacos--you don't say which you have.) Lucky you, those are more expensive. Best thing is do it yourself, get the OEM Denso partnumber at Oxygen / AFR Sensors - Underdog Racing Development and then buy it on Amazom or Rockauto or wherever is cheaper. At 155k, that sensor owes you nothing. Might improve mpg to get a new one.

 

[2014 Warthog]

I'm sure this has been addressed before but hopefully i can get some answers without going through the stealership

I just took my '99 3.4 4wd in for a smog check here in California and I failed only the No part of the test .
With all the other levels low could this be more a upstream O2 sensor that's bad or a bad cat ? I don't believe there's a EGR valve for my year.

Thanks

Ok well before doing anything else that costs money.

Was the engine/exhaust hot when you brought it in?

Cats don't work until they are really good and hot, meaning you should go drive on the freeway for 5-10 minutes at least before pulling into the check station and hope there is no line. It can make a huge difference from if you just started it up one morning and drove a couple blocks then had it sit there for 30 minutes waiting to be checked.

My old 86 truck with 240k on it still passes smog every other year using this "trick".

 

[Alphabet]

I have the 99 4runner sr5 4wd 3.4

Oddly I ran a oB2 scan on it and it never threw a code.
I looked up the part number Denso #234-9002 and it's going for 103.50 on Amazon Prime which is the best price I've seen for Denso.

I'm even more puzzled that no codes came up. The check engine light continues to be off ,the bulb does work tho.

 

[snow junky]

Make sure the new cat is specifically california legal

 

[TheDurk]

I have the 99 4runner sr5 4wd 3.4

Oddly I ran a oB2 scan on it and it never threw a code.
I looked up the part number Denso #234-9002 and it's going for 103.50 on Amazon Prime which is the best price I've seen for Denso.

I'm even more puzzled that no codes came up. The check engine light continues to be off ,the bulb does work tho.

The ECM will flag a sensor for out-of range or open or shorted, but not if its performance is degraded but within limits. It just has no way of fine calibrating most sensors, so codes don't always get set..

 

[BrianSD_42]

Make sure the new cat is specifically california legal

@ snow junky

Sorry bud but this is a myth. Every car is specifically California legal.

There is no such thing as a non CA legal Toyota that was originally sold ANYWHERE in the United States.

Once a non-CA emissions vehicle is moved into the state or sold to another owner it is considered legal.

That law only applies to NEW car sales from Dealerships. After that point the car is legal to be resold or moved into CA and legally smogged.

I know; I've owned and sold several.

 

[TheDurk]

@ snow junky

Sorry bud but this is a myth. Every car is specifically California legal.

There is no such thing as a non CA legal Toyota that was originally sold ANYWHERE in the United States.

Once a non-CA emissions vehicle is moved into the state or sold to another owner it is considered legal.

That law only applies to NEW car sales from Dealerships. After that point the car is legal to be resold or moved into CA and legally smogged.

I know; I've owned and sold several.

I think you missed his point. There are after-market parts for CA-emissions cars that are CARB-approved for use in CA, and parts that are only legal in the other 49 states. CARB can ding you for an installed part without a CARB approval number on it. He was talking about parts, not vehicles.

But I don't think this applies if it was not CA-spec to begin with. But it definitely applies if it was born CA-spec, regardless of what state it came from. You haven't said if your '99 was born CA-spec or not, as far as I can tell.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I guess I did miss the point. I've seen several people post that some cars are illegal to register in CA due to the smog laws. That is the myth and what I thought was being said.

So he's saying that if you do replace the CAT (because it was bad) that you need to make sure the new one is CA legal because not all aftermarket CATs are CA legal.

 

[Alphabet]

I think you missed his point. There are after-market parts for CA-emissions cars that are CARB-approved for use in CA, and parts that are only legal in the other 49 states. CARB can ding you for an installed part without a CARB approval number on it. He was talking about parts, not vehicles.

But I don't think this applies if it was not CA-spec to begin with. But it definitely applies if it was born CA-spec, regardless of what state it came from. You haven't said if your '99 was born CA-spec or not, as far as I can tell.

I bought the truck not long ago and don't remember what the car fax said about the state of origin but I do know it was registered in Colorado than transferred to California and since it has California plates currently I know it had to pass smog to receive the Cali registration.

I did drop it off at a local mechanic today for a small diagnostic fee. I'm more curious at this point to see if he can find something I missed. Next stop if unresolved is Yotamasters or just buy a pre cat o2 sensor since it looks original at 155,000.


Thank you all for all the info ,I continue to learn something new every time I log on.

 

[TheDurk]

I bought the truck not long ago and don't remember what the car fax said about the state of origin but I do know it was registered in Colorado than transferred to California and since it has California plates currently I know it had to pass smog to receive the Cali registration.

I did drop it off at a local mechanic today for a small diagnostic fee. I'm more curious at this point to see if he can find something I missed. Next stop if unresolved is Yotamasters or just buy a pre cat o2 sensor since it looks original at 155,000.


Thank you all for all the info ,I continue to learn something new every time I log on.

That doesn't tell you if it was CA-spec or not. '99 CA-spec 4Runners were sold all over the country. I bought mine new in NJ in '99 and it is CA-spec.

Either get underneath and count cats (CA has 2 cats) or check your emissions label under the hood, top left corner.

CA says something like SFI,A/F S, TWC(2), HO2S
Fed says something like SFI, HO2S(2), TWC

Disregard rest of label--it will just confuse you.

CA-spec have wideband Air/Fuel ratio sensors for a pre-cat sensor which are totally different than normal O2's (and more expensive.)

CA (and any other state) will smog it according to the spec it was built to.

 

[Alphabet]

That doesn't tell you if it was CA-spec or not. '99 CA-spec 4Runners were sold all over the country. I bought mine new in NJ in '99 and it is CA-spec.

Either get underneath and count cats (CA has 2 cats) or check your emissions label under the hood, top left corner.

CA says something like SFI,A/F S, TWC(2), HO2S
Fed says something like SFI, HO2S(2), TWC

Disregard rest of label--it will just confuse you.

CA-spec have wideband Air/Fuel ratio sensors for a pre-cat sensor which are totally different than normal O2's (and more expensive.)

CA (and any other state) will smog it according to the spec it was built to.

I know it does have a single cat. I'll check the label when I can. If it is a non CA spec runner than what are my options ? Do they have to run the smog test according to the label and if is not CA spec than how did it get smogged and registered here ? Do I need to convert it to CA spec and add another cat ?

This looks like it's gonna be an involved process.

Thanks for the continued advice.

 

[BrianSD_42]

it is a non CA spec runner than what are my options ? Do they have to run the smog test according to the label and if is not CA spec than how did it get smogged and registered here ? Do I need to convert it to CA spec and add another cat ?

Dude I think TheDurk is trying to tell you (my guess) how to check in case you need to replace a part, so that you order the right part. And even further, if you go aftermarket (ie non-Toyota OEM) then make sure it is CA emissions legal. This should be posted online.

This is why I posted above. You don't need to change ANY working parts out to smog the car in California. Every properly working USA car with original emissions parts, is CA smog legal. Get it? I'm not sure how to make it more plain.

The DMV and Smog techs are aware there are multiple types (CA emissions & non-CA emmissions) and they test and certify both types without issue.

If you need to replace a BROKEN part to pass smog, fine. This is not unusual. Just get the right part. TheDurk's links are an excellent source.

 

[snow junky]

@ snow junky

Sorry bud but this is a myth. Every car is specifically California legal.

There is no such thing as a non CA legal Toyota that was originally sold ANYWHERE in the United States.

Once a non-CA emissions vehicle is moved into the state or sold to another owner it is considered legal.

That law only applies to NEW car sales from Dealerships. After that point the car is legal to be resold or moved into CA and legally smogged.

I know; I've owned and sold several.

yes thats why i said "new" cat,, all oem cats are ca legal even, some aftermarket cats are 49 state legal tho, smog techs will check for correct markings on new shinny cats