High HC on California smog test

Tiny
IRISHMUSTANG
  • MEMBER
  • HONDA CIVIC
I have a 1986 Honda Civic DX 4WD manual trans with a carburated 1500cc engine. It has 156,000 miles. The first smog test it failed HC at idle with 179 (120 is max allowed). It passed at 2500 rpm. So I changed the plugs, cap, rotor, air filter and the breather filter. I also pulled the egr valve cleaned off the carbon and vacuum tested it. It holds a vacuum. I checked and corrected the idle speed and timing. I took it in for a retest and the HC are down to 139 at idle, thus it still failed. After telling the tech the work I did he suggested a new catalytic converter. Is this my best bet, or should I try a new O2 sensor first?
Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 AT 1:50 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
BRUCE HUNT
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,754 POSTS
I would opt for the O2 first and then see how that comes out. Less money, however, they usually work fine or fail. Whereas, the convertor can be slowly plugging and losing efficiency. Your call & $. You seem to actually have things well in hand. Good job.
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Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 AT 9:37 AM

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