failed smog in CA

[96GSTkiD]

i took my car the other day to get smoged and it failed the HC were at 67 at 15 mph roll and 48 at 25 mph roll. then i took it to a golden shield station for the diagnosis he told me that my rear o2 sensor was gone and that my cat was dead what i don't understand is two years ago when i bought the car I had to change the cat because of the same reason, do they only last that long. when he had the total for the cat and o2 sensor it came out to 780.00 dollars the cat itself was 485.00 because its the Mitsubishi oem one. do i have any other options or do i have to pay all that money for a retarded cat.

 

[TALONTRAX]

On a 2G obd car, There should have been a cel on with a cat efficiency(P0420 I think) or rear o2 sensor code(s) if the cat was bad or poisoned. Was the cel. on ??

 

[96GSTkiD]

he didnt tell me the cel he just told me that both things were bad

 

[wt71gas]

On a 2G obd car, There should have been a cel on with a cat efficiency(P0420 I think) or rear o2 sensor code(s) if the cat was bad or poisoned. Was the cel. on ??

I will agree with that statement and yes P0420 is the correct code for cat inefficiency. Have you been running any kind of leaded race gas? I would think a new cat should last more than 2 years. If you need let me know I have a supplier that will rebuild cats and have carb legal universals for obd2 at about half the cost.

Wayne

 

[Artago]

If you do end up buying a Cat and rear O2 sensor get the cat from eBay cause you can get a good deal on Magnaflow or OBX cats and get the sensor from www.sparkplugs.com they have good deals on stuff like that. You can install the cat and sensor your self and save on the labor. The total cost to you should be $200-300 depending on which cat and sensor you get. Good luck, Tom.

 

[wt71gas]

If you do end up buying a Cat and rear O2 sensor get the cat from eBay cause you can get a good deal on Magnaflow or OBX cats and get the sensor from www.sparkplugs.com they have good deals on stuff like that. You can install the cat and sensor your self and save on the labor. The total cost to you should be $200-300 depending on which cat and sensor you get. Good luck, Tom.

I know you are not in CA so you probably don't know but a lot of people like magnaflow etc... offer an obd2 style converter. Only problem is most are NOT carb compliant for use in CA (i know it is stupid) In CA on an obd2 vehicle you have to run a stock style cat or a certified carb obd2 for CA. The magnaflow will go in and function fine but the CA smog tech won't pass it

Here is a little snippet from magnaflow's website about it:

Consolidated Converters vs. Universal Converters
A rule exists within the framework of the California Interim OBDII rules that basically require the installer to strictly adhere to the California OBDll Application Guide as the SOLE source of information to determine the correct converter for the vehicle. This is primarily because there may be multiple OE certifications for an application and the new aftermarket replacement converter may not meet all of the OE certifications. If the vehicle or application is not listed in the California OBDll Application Guide, the consolidated converter CANNOT be used.