If its a 96 its OBD2.
Even if they dont do a visual,
It wont pass with any code of any type.
Im in washington State but Im pretty sure that is a fed rule.
The other thing to keep in mind on an OBD2 is that it wont pass untill all of the "registers" for the system are ready.
This is what happens when you disconnect the battery to repair something, and then take it straight to emissions testing and it fails.
If that happened here, they would tell you to go drive it around for a week and try again.
It has to go through a "Drive Cycle" before all of those registers switch from "Not Ready" to "Ready"
No matter what is going on, No data or history from any system is an automatic fail.
The "Drive Cycle" for a vehicle varies depending on the manufacturer.
The GM drive cycle looks rather complicated.
Its been a few years but I remember it being something like...
Cold start at a certain outside temp and relative humidty and then 15 mph and decelerate 3 times then accelerate to 50 and decelerate to idle and touch the dashboard three times with your left toe while holding a conoe paddle and a bunch of other nonsense.
You can do a GM drive cycle in one day with a cheap OBD2 code reader as long as it shows you live data and sensor status.
The ECM recieves and stores different data from each sensor depending on what you are doing.
So cold data and hot data at speed versus idle etc...
Start it cold and take it for a normal drive on city streets, get on the freeway and drive like normal, get off the freeway and go back to city streets etc...
Go back on the freeway and take the next exit.
Basically you want to put the vehicle through every normal type of driving untill your code scanner shows all of those readiness moniters being okay.
About 15 years ago I bought 5 chevy fleet trucks that were dead as disco and ran all 5 of them through emissions in 2 days just by putting new batterys in and driving the piss out of them.
On some vehicles, like friggen volkswagon, when you shut it off you loose the O2 moniter.
It will always be not ready at start
It comes back after restart but it made me think it was a fail.
Friggen car.
None of this will make you instantly pass emissions.
You still have to pass the test.
This just keeps you from instantly failing the test before they even test it.
We dont have emissions testing in Washington anymore.
Which is just as shocking as hell.
But a couple of years ago when we did you had 3 chances to pass and if you failed for whatever reason you had to take your car to a shop and give them 150 bucks to get an emissions exemption which pretty much made the car un-sellable and worthless.
Very, very few of these cars failed from actual excessive emissions.
They failed because of a stored or active OBD2 code.
And, most of the cars and trucks that got crushed during the "Cash for Clunkers" program were cars that probably needed a new starter or a water pump
Whatever you do and no matter how frustrating it may get keep your truck.
The supply is starting to get pretty thin.
Twenty years from now.
You will wish like hell you still had it.
My high school car was a 1969 roadrunner 383 4 barrel bucket seat console car.
Forrest green with a green interior.
I sold that car for 800 bucks.
About two weeks ago I met up with some old high school freinds at our local bar.
Including my friend who had a 1963 409 4 speed impala back then.
A bucket, console SS car.
I drove the friggen toyota corrolla and he showed up in a prious.
I should have brought the lawnmower.
At least it makes some noise.
Hang on to your ******* cars and trucks kids.
There is a time coming really soon when you will not be able to find or afford another one.
