Switching California emissions to Canadian

[marlinh]

I am just wondering if there is anyone out there who may have removed the emissions, etc from a California car. My project car is getting a new engine with a simplified emissions (Canada) system and I would like to know if there is something else that needs to be done other than disconnecting everything. I want to get rid of the canister purge as well and put in a simple one. Do you think there will be any hidden problems if I do this? Just asking for some input from all the pros.

[Petros]

you can swap over all of the emissions and intake/exhaust manifolds/carb/etc from the old engine should not be an issue. I would not whole sale remove everything, many of the systems help drivablity, cold weather driving and improve economy, I would not want to remove any of those if they still worked.

[marlinh]

I guess I wasn't that clear. I will be installing all the Canadian emissions, which is so simple. I am worried about all the connectors that will be disconnected. Do these California cars have a computer or something that controls them? Will it affect the solenoids on the carb for example?

[dlb]

the ECU in automatics, federal, and CA tercs is above the glove box. just remove it and the black plastic duct piece and you'll see it. i'm not sure if the ECU controls the fuel cut solenoids though. it seems like it would not because the canadian manual trans emissions have fuel cut solenoids but don't have an ECU.

i totally agree that the canadian manual trans emissions are the best. so beautifully simple. no lousy o2 sensors or EBCV's to troubleshoot. i have had no luck checking either of those things using the FSM tests.

[marlinh]

That sounds great dlb. I saw some crazy box behind the glove box. I will definitely unplug it. Thanks for the info.

[rer233]

Based on my experiences with the fed emissions, if you unplug the ecu the car won't idle (it'l run tho.)

[Ace]

The Factory Service Manual for my 1983 Tercel clearly shows all the components and connections for USA and Canadian setups. The FSM for your year would be a good reference to study before you attempt a change-over. I have kept my car all original except for disconnecting a plugged carbon canister.

[dlb]

The Factory Service Manual for my 1983 Tercel clearly shows all the components and connections for USA and Canadian setups. The FSM for your year would be a good reference to study before you attempt a change-over. I have kept my car all original except for disconnecting a plugged carbon canister.

plugged carbon canisters are easy enough to unplug. i've restored even the most stuck ones, using a lot of carb cleaner, soaking, and compressed air. when i put a weber on my first terc, i removed the carbon can and let the vapor line from the gas tank vent to the atmosphere. i could always smell gas near the car and other people could too. i finally tried putting the carbon can back in and the gas smell disappeared, so i'm a big fan of them.

[Ace]

plugged carbon canisters are easy enough to unplug. i've restored even the most stuck ones, using a lot of carb cleaner, soaking, and compressed air. when i put a weber on my first terc, i removed the carbon can and let the vapor line from the gas tank vent to the atmosphere. i could always smell gas near the car and other people could too. i finally tried putting the carbon can back in and the gas smell disappeared, so i'm a big fan of them.

It took me 3 - 4 years to figure out that I had a plugged carbon canister. Apparently it was allowing pressure build-up in the fuel system that caused strong gas smells around the car. Eventually it caused significant fuel leakage in a hard-to-see location. If I get ambitious I'll try cleaning the canister, but for now the fuel tank is just vented through a filter. Minimal gas smell compared to before. Car seems to start easier, too.

Sorry, slight digression from the original subject. As long as the original systems are working correctly I think it's best to keep things original, but with my Tercel now being 30 years old I may take some shortcuts on repairs. For example, I got tired of the Midas muffler racket and replaced the short-lived muffler with a straight pipe and stuck some hardware cloth up there. It's not overly noisy.

[marlinh]

Hey dlb, how did you unstick the carbon canister? I have one that I need to blow compressed air through every couple of months to free it up. I've been hesitant to spray anything inside. You can hear the valve clicking inside again after it's free.

[dlb]

i sprayed carb cleaner into the ports, let it sit for an hour or so, blew it out with compressed air, and repeated until it came unstuck. the worst one took a few days of this but it's been good since. it's been a few years now.

[marlinh]

Thanks, I'll try it.