2 normal spark plugs and 2 carbon fouled

[Petros]

running too rich can wash the cylinders of their sealing oil coating, and can cause blue smoke. IT could be the valve stem seals too, but if it is not burning oil when the test is run it will not affect it (so have it tested after it is warmed up!).

But you must first fix what you know is bad, and sounds like it is certainly the AAP. Likely this does not even have to be functional to pass the test, but if you disconnect it make sure you disable it in a way that will still pass a visual inspection. It might just pass after you cap off the AAP. Though you should follow up on the other issues raised above.

Good luck.

[dlb]

my engine temp is usually about 1/3 as well but will warm up further on stop-go city driving. if that's the case with yours as well, i don't think you have a problem there. if that's the hottest you can get it, and/or if the heater only blows luke warm air, then i would change the thermostat. don't get the cheap brand tho, others have reported them not lasting long.

[4wdchico]

What i would do:

Check fuel level in sight glass with car level and running.

Fix the AAP issue or cap/plug it off for diagnostic purposes. Then do a Seafoam combustion chamber cleaning.

Change oil & filter. Use a gas/diesel engine rated 15-40 wt oil to better clean out engine internals.

Put fresh plugs in.

After the above, warm the car up with a good test drive. Park it and let it idle, if it smokes more bluish white smoke the longer it sits and idles, it needs it's valve stem seals replaced. Very easy to do.

[dlb]

good advice from 4WDC. instead of seafoam you could steam clean the combustion chambers by slowly pouring water down the carb while it's running. some members on the board have found this works just as well as seafoam and is obv cheaper. do a search to find takza's directions on how to do it if interested.

[4wdchico]

good advice from 4WDC. instead of seafoam you could steam clean the combustion chambers by slowly pouring water down the carb while it's running. some members on the board have found this works just as well as seafoam and is obv cheaper. do a search to find takza's directions on how to do it if interested.

I prefer the water treatment myself for routine maintenance but suggested the Seafoam route because the solvents may be of more help in cleaning up an engine that has been running way rich for a while.

[Tercel__jon]

Mine only occasionally gets up to halfway. Usually at 1/3. We dont have emissions here... but I do know that on a cold start sometimes it will run on only 2 or 3 cylinders. Rev it up to 4k and it clears up by shooting a bunch of smoke out of the exhaust. Changing the sparkplugs, cap rotor and wires didnt help. It didnt do it after I broke the tvsv... but it does again after I added the new one...

Maybe my symptoms will help you out.

[rer233]

definitely aap diaph as other list members have posted.

[john]

Thank you again for more excellent ideas.

I swung by the junk yard yesterday and found an '84 tercel with 64,674 miles on it. I could not believe it either, until I noticed that the interior of the car looked to be in very good shape. Perhaps only driven to church on Sundays? I pulled the plugs. All were golden brown. A sticker showed that the timing belt was replaced in april of '98 at approx. 40,000 mi. I could hardly sleep last night. Yep, I went back and pulled the engine this morning.

After looking through the excellent info that I have gotten from tercel4wd.com members, I am convinced that my current engine Needs AAP valve membrane, valve stem seals (never tried to replace those before), and clean the #1 cylinder. Emission check followed by cat replacement.

Thinking I will probably put this "new" engine in instead. Will mull it over for a few days and perhaps do something this weekend. Need to let my 52 year old body recover anyway. A lot of work, but I like my old toy.

Am glad I found this forum. Have learned a lot.
john

[ARCHINSTL]

Wow, did you luck out!
I'd talk to that junk yard manager to be sure he lets you know before it is crushed; many parts of the sedan are common to the Wagon.
Tom M.

[Petros]

consider you do not know the condition of that engine, it could have been trashed in the first 10,000 miles (probably not). You need to make sure you know why the current engine does not pass because you might hook up the same malfunctioning component on the "new" engine. It is far easier to replace seals, or even pour a couple of cans of "Restore" into the crankcase, and fix the AAP, and make your current engine pass than swapping out the whole engine. You do not know if you will have a problem with the new engine or not.

[dlb]

i agree with petros. no harm in having a spare engine but since you have a good idea of what's going on with your current ride, i would fix that. way less work than doing an engine swap.

[4wdchico]

i guess that I should mention that there is a THIRD component in CA, besides visual inspection and the tail pipe sniff test, and that would be the visible smoke rule. Any visible smoke emitted during any part of the smog inspection is an automatic failure.

[john]

Well I took member's advice and today I began repairs on my old engine. I replaced the AAP membrane on my old carb. I used the one which came from my junkyard engine. I also cleaned out the EGR valve. I put my carb back on and turned on the ignition. No more smoke on start up! All of the smoke and fouling of the #1 plug must have been from the faulty AAp valve dumping lots of extra fuel into the manifold. Sometime next week I will get a pre-smog test, and if I am close to passing I will get a new cat. Glad that it was suggested that I fix my old engine instead of replacing it.

Thanks again to all!
john

[john]

Had the pre-smog test this morning. Emissions are mostly better.

Max allowed: HC 137 / CO .76 / NO 1078

Today's test: HC 353 / CO 3.7 / NO 1344

Previous test
on Oct. 20th: HC 18032 / CO 6.1 / NO 860

MY HC and CO dropped a lot. NO went up.
I will not be able to get to the exhaust shop for a new cat for a few days. Hoping that will bring me into compliance, but not sure if it will be enough.

[4wdchico]

You need to get it closer to compliance before putting a new cat on as it is still running rich & that will destroy a new cat. What about all the other gas numbers? They are provided by the test system to help with diagnostics.

A good running engine will have low o2 & CO and high CO2.