Houston, we have smog!!

It turned out that the fix consisting of plugging the loose injector connector didn't quite do the trick. The emission values got a lot better, but alas, still no cigar... The car failed a *second* time.

Well, I had repaired all I knew to repair and replaced all I knew to replace. It was time for drastic measures. On Ireland Engineering's recommendation, I called John at European Motor Works in Arcadia and told him of the problem.

It turned out that the catalytic converter had decided to take a permanent leave of absence and was the main culprit in causing excessively high NOx emissions. About $520.- later, the car is now sporting a shiny new cat, a new intake boot AND... yes! A shiny white sheet of paper with the word "PASS" written all over it! Talk about taking a BIG load off my mind!!

Hopefully, over the coming holidays, I'll get the detonation problem taken care of. I've been given some instructions, hopefully they'll do the trick...

A New Hope (I hope!!)

Needless to say I was worried and depressed after the disastrous results at the Smog Test station. But the words of the ever-reliable Jeff and Jeremy at Ireland Engineering gave me something to hope for.

I figured I'd approach the problem systematically. First of all I already knew that number one connector on the distributor cap was cracked, an accident during re-assembly of the engine. Could that be the culprit? At this point, anything was suspect. Having placed a distributor cap on order at BMA Auto Parts, I figured I'd double-check the electrical connections, always a big suspect.

Went through the plug wires, ignition coil, everything seemed tight. Multi-connector for the fuel injector wires, tight as well. Things were getting desperate, I was running out of stuff I could push and prod on.

One of the few things remaining was the wiring rail for the fuel injectors, which has connectors that the injectors themselves plug into for power. I started pushing on them to make sure they were tightly seated. One by one, they passed the test: one, two three, four, until on number six...

SNAP!

Yup, mister number six injector connector hadn't been snapped into place on the injector, it had just been sitting on top! With a trembling hand, I thought I'd give it a shot and fired up the motor.

The difference has been INCREDIBLE! I thought I had a more powerful motor before, but that day a few weeks ago, I first came to realize what a beast this is!! The drive to and from work has been nothing short of a thrill ride since then!

The motor has been running silky smooth and accelerates with no hesitation or lag. As the title says, I am now really hopeful that the car will pass smog with no problems this time around. But, just to be on the paranoid side, I'll dial the fuel pressure back down to 3.0 bar (about 44 PSI). It is currently set to just over 3.8 bar (56 PSI) to compensate for a pinging issue. More on that later though. I really hope she passes this time!!