1996 850 smog failure high NOx

[drsugg]

So I see they have you chasing your tail in circles. I HATE test only stations. Get you in the door with some low-ball price, test you, fail you, send you on your way. Now you have guys betting you they know how to fix your car. Sad, very sad. I always, I mean ALWAYS, smog your car at the same place that is going to repair it. I've seen this run-around to many times in Calif. You have lost a little money already, don't compound the problem. Find a shop that knows Volvo and can smog it too.Let them find the problem, fix it, smog it. The way you are going about this is going to end up costing you more money than you expect. If the cat is defective, replace it,(at the smog shop), sue the original shop for defective part in small claims, and get on with it. No, fuel filter is a stretch.

[tomstir]

drsugg---Yea this is getting frustrating....I kinda felt that the shops that could fix/repair for smog could always find a problem that would require them to fix....where the test only wasn't going to scam you.....since they couldn't fix it.....I guess I always thought I could fix whatever was the problem and since there wasn't any cel and the car was running great there wouldn't be any problem....this is the newest car I have ever owned....I have plenty of learning to do.....

Round and round!!! I have always gone to the same test only for the last 6 years.....of course all but one car passed.....the one that didn't needed a cat..so I went to the muffler shop (same place as this time) got a cat and passed. Maybe I have been lucky in the past.....drama continues....

short version.....got new cat installed....

long version.....

Went back to the muffler shop. Manager Jeff says we'll get right on it...claims owner Mike never left him a note to order the cat I need in the first place. Installer cuts new/old cat off and grabs new one out of the box.... and it looks way different than the one they just cut off.....I go inside ...Mike has just arrived.... and I mention that he forgot to leave a note for Jeff to order new cat...he blames Jeff on screwing up...he said/he said. So I bring up the different size/looking cat that they are just putting on and he says....yea..I think someone missmarked the one that was installed Saturday....there shouldn't be any real difference though.....but this is for sure the one you need part #c46006 the one we put in on Saturday was c38006.....WTF...not even admitting to their screwup!!!

Car feels slower....revs slower too......OK in lower rpm but seems very sluggish to rev from 2-3k....with old incorrect (I'm assuming) high flow generic performance cat the car seemed more effortless in moving....maybe that's better for smog.


I will try to smog tomorrow.....I forgot to mention that I put in some Seafoam on Sunday afternoon...couldn't hurt.

tomstir

[Ozark Lee]

What a mess.

I am so thankful that we don't smog test or do "safety inspections" here any more. It was nothing more that the mechanic's bill of rights to steal money when we did have it 20 years ago. Particularly with the elderly that don't really know any better and get scared when they fail a "safety inspection".

We had it (Kansas) for about 4 years and then it all got overturned in the state legislature. Thus far it has not yet reared its ugly head again.

...Lee

[Brucebo]

So I see they have you chasing your tail in circles. I HATE test only stations. Get you in the door with some low-ball price, test you, fail you, send you on your way. Now you have guys betting you they know how to fix your car. Sad, very sad. I always, I mean ALWAYS, smog your car at the same place that is going to repair it.

Can't do. California requires many vehicles (usually those over 10 years old) to be smog'ed at a "test only" station (unless it's 1975 or older, then you're "smog free"). True for my '89 Jeep Cherokee, and true for my wife's '96 850. There's a whole political gestault of getting "older cars" off the road and scrapped. You know, "global warming" and all that (this IS California after all), but somehow methinks it's really an indirect subsidy to the vehicle manufacturers. That's what all these "charity" ads about donating your vehicle are about. They get some sort of reward or subsidy from the government for each car they scrap.

-Bruce

[tomstir]

PASSED!!!! 15/25mph---16/13ppm!!!! Far cry from what it was.....I guess the new/correct/proper cat was the answer. Thanks for the help and suggestions....maybe one day I can return the favor.

The new cat seems a bit louder and car feels a bit smoother that when it was first installed...maybe it needs a few miles to "break in".

tomstir