chevilex
Newbie
Just bought this truck from a curious, inventive fellow. He built his own carburetor out of mason jars for a home-brew small house generator.... On the truck, some things he's done well, and others have been questionable. So I say "stock" because I'm not entirely sure what he's done to it. For example, it's got catch cans and an oil cap breather, neither of which, from what I gather, is probably doing much. And it appears that he removed the fuel vapor canister.
I'm in California and he insisted on running the truck without a catalytic converter, skirting smog laws via registration loopholes. I'm trying to go legal. He handed me a brand new cat, but of course, it's not California legal so I have to get a new one anyway.
The truck runs fine. I can't tell if it accelerates well as I've never driven anything like it. But it starts relatively easily, idles just fine, doesn't hesitate, gets to 80 mph, etc. I've driven it some 250 miles. The check engine light comes on when I turn the key, so I know it works; it stays off while the truck is running. Just really smells like gas, all the time. Smog check passes everything except that it's got about 3X the legal limit of unburned gas in the exhaust.
The mechanic says he can do a "tune up" - he ran a compression test and it's all fine; he's suggesting new plugs, wires, and distributor rotor. Now that he's verified the cat is not California legal and discovered the vapor canister is not there, he's insisting that I get that handled before he does anything else.
Now that I've read a bit through the forum, I'm wondering if this thing even has an O2 sensor, and if not, could the previous owner have disabled something so the check engine light doesn't come on? Sure, I don't mind getting legal exhaust installed; just doesn't make sense to me to insist on doing that before doing a tune-up.
And what exactly is a "tune-up"? Let's assume all sensors are in order, and you put in new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor... does the computer have to "learn" the new behavior over some time, or will it instantly adjust the mixture and it'll be good to go? If I had the tools, I figure the last thing I'd do is go get a new cat put in - I'd do all the messing around with the one that I am being forced to dispose of anyway.
I'm wondering if this guy is actually diagnosing things or if he's just finding it difficult to tell me he doesn't actually want to explore this truck and its quirks any further.
Any opinions / advice / knowledge greatly appreciated.
I'm in California and he insisted on running the truck without a catalytic converter, skirting smog laws via registration loopholes. I'm trying to go legal. He handed me a brand new cat, but of course, it's not California legal so I have to get a new one anyway.
The truck runs fine. I can't tell if it accelerates well as I've never driven anything like it. But it starts relatively easily, idles just fine, doesn't hesitate, gets to 80 mph, etc. I've driven it some 250 miles. The check engine light comes on when I turn the key, so I know it works; it stays off while the truck is running. Just really smells like gas, all the time. Smog check passes everything except that it's got about 3X the legal limit of unburned gas in the exhaust.
The mechanic says he can do a "tune up" - he ran a compression test and it's all fine; he's suggesting new plugs, wires, and distributor rotor. Now that he's verified the cat is not California legal and discovered the vapor canister is not there, he's insisting that I get that handled before he does anything else.
Now that I've read a bit through the forum, I'm wondering if this thing even has an O2 sensor, and if not, could the previous owner have disabled something so the check engine light doesn't come on? Sure, I don't mind getting legal exhaust installed; just doesn't make sense to me to insist on doing that before doing a tune-up.
And what exactly is a "tune-up"? Let's assume all sensors are in order, and you put in new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor... does the computer have to "learn" the new behavior over some time, or will it instantly adjust the mixture and it'll be good to go? If I had the tools, I figure the last thing I'd do is go get a new cat put in - I'd do all the messing around with the one that I am being forced to dispose of anyway.
I'm wondering if this guy is actually diagnosing things or if he's just finding it difficult to tell me he doesn't actually want to explore this truck and its quirks any further.
Any opinions / advice / knowledge greatly appreciated.