RE - EGR and Smog Legal

[BodyArt27@aol.com]

(I think this bounced - so let me try again - AOL bites!)

I feel your pain as I also have a 91 and can't get the car to pass. I
replaced the cat ($500 - ouch! - but the old random tech cat was completely
burned out), the EGR tube and the EGR. Still failed, but with a wad of
receipts Texas "exempted" me for a year on best effort (aka I spent a lot of
cash). It cleaned up emissions some mostly due to the cat, but it still feels
like wasted time and money when it adds nothing to the performance of the
car. It blew my car budget for a couple of months :(

I *think* next year I might swap the OEM muffler back on the car and try to
create more backpressure as some have suggested to get the EGR to cycle
because of the free flowing Courtesy Cat-back and headers. I don't think the
EGR is opening (or closing?) since after replacing it there were no changes
in the readings. That or see if I can figure out how to keep it open and then
test it.

Those that know the car can attest it is not a "beater," and even the
emission guys say cars that cars that come in smoking sometimes pass. It's a
sore subject for me because I wanted to do the right thing and make sure the
parts were up to snuff (so I wouldn't have problems in the future), and it
still failed.

The car on the trip down to Houston from Dallas for Texas Rally IX had a
two-way average of just over 30 mpg - so it can't be running too crappy
considering the mods. The car dyno'd that weekend within 2 hp from it's last
dyno some the 3 years ago so the engine doesn't appear to be going south.

shell - dallas, tx
91 SE-R
01 CLK55    Oo\=*=/oO   13.6 @ 106