How to pass a car inspection ?!?!??

K

KravtZ

Active member
I have a 2003 VW jetta 5 speed I have owned since I started driving. Recently sold my taco since I rarely drive now. Really like the car and I want to keep it for a long time since I always hear people talk about how they wish they kept their early cars. Anyways just broke 130,000 miles on her.

So my CAT is completely SHOT on her. No materials left inside. Mechanically she is great though. The car right now is only worth 2000 bucks. A new CAT will be ~$1000. I don't really want to spend 1000 for something that doesn't affect the car mechanically just to pass the BS NY state inspection.

I took it to my mechanic and the past couple years he has reset the drive cycle and has had me going through it to pass inspection. Problem is this year its not working. Im really not a mechanic kind of car guy...I love cars but don't know shit about about fixing them;

Is there ANY thing I can do to attempt to get it to pass an inspection? Im willing to spend some money but really never drive since I live in NYC now. I have heard installing spacers? Sometimes can pass an inspection? Looking for any advice
 
In Washington there is a cap on the money you have to spend to try to pass an emissions test. So if you go in, fail, and go spend like 150 bucks at a shop and go back and fail again you fill out a form or something and are good to go.
 
13115794:Casey said:
In Washington there is a cap on the money you have to spend to try to pass an emissions test. So if you go in, fail, and go spend like 150 bucks at a shop and go back and fail again you fill out a form or something and are good to go.
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If only in NY it was that easy I would gladly pay whatever it was. It sucks because its a great working car, safe, in good shape, etc. Its just the CAT which on a Jetta in the NYC area is about $1000+.

Just pisses me off so much what a ripoff it really is. Its like me paying $1200 bucks for a 2.5inch x 2.5 inch yellow sticker. Been considering attempting to buy one from some sketch place in NYC / yonkers or even just using my moms sticker and paying for her to get a new one.
 
Try and get an used one on Craigslist or at a scrap yard, should be far cheaper

Also check out forums for your car and see if they have tips
 
Yeah if you can find the parts a muffler shop can just weld it all together for you. It shouldnt have to be that much money.
 
Get your car OBDII sensor cleared right before going in. It usually isnt enough time for the car to register the cat problem and throw the CEL. Worked on my 2002 passat.
 
antifoulers/spacers are pretty cheap and probably worth trying. i've read of people having success with them before. put em on, reset the cel, and see what happens

if its a smog test though you might be out of luck
 
13117266:Astomp said:
So you have a check engine light on? Is that the problem or do they do a sniffer test?
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Yes check engine light on. It comes on from my CAT being shot and the 02 sensors trigger the check engine light. I have had it checked out by 3-4 different mechanics about the light and its just the sensors which trigger it.

13117284:raymondcabral said:
Ask around some, there's probably a guy around that does over the phone inspections.
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Any idea how to approach doing this? At this point I guess I will try some spacers and get them installed this weekend but I thikn it is going to come down to this. I don't want to get arrested but really need to get a sticker. It sucks all this effort for a 3x3 inch sticker.
 
13116302:the_armidilo said:
how do you drive a taco?
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TacoChaser.jpg


a tacoma
 
I feel your pain... I had to spend 900 bucks this past feb to get my saab inspected in NY. Half of that was emissions related
 
If you don't really care how you pass, denatured alcohol will work. A buddy did it on his subi converted VW bus and he spewing smoke the whole time. Guy testing him was scratching his head on how the hell the thing passed emissions. I'd also clear the codes before going in and doing this to get best results.

This is off e30 tech but principal applies. Don't do this whole lot though, its not the best thing but once probably won't do anything. And I am retarded when it comes to posting links and stuff so if this doesn't work, hopefully someone can help make it a link.
http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34994
 
Simple fix. Get black electrical tape. Reach under your dash/learn how to get under it and put it over the check engine light. No more light. No more check engine. Good to go.
 
13117366:Astomp said:
Simple fix. Get black electrical tape. Reach under your dash/learn how to get under it and put it over the check engine light. No more light. No more check engine. Good to go.
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If only that hid the codes in the computer, but sadly it doesnt. I feel they most likely hook a scanner up to check for pending codes anyways but maybe it would fly some places
 
13117385:cornholio said:
If only that hid the codes in the computer, but sadly it doesnt. I feel they most likely hook a scanner up to check for pending codes anyways but maybe it would fly some places
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not in Ny.. I think it all gets logged in the computer including when it gets hooked to a test. If it were as easy as just covering the screen, so many mechanics would take cash to just say it is fine.
 
lolol some funny response.

$1000.00 maybe from Volkswagen.

I just checked rockauto.com.

Assuming you have the 1.8t engine, Catalytic converters start at $268.00.

Much better then $1000.00

That took 2 minutes to find man...google is your friend.
 
By the way it is possible to pass emissions test with a check engine light on. My car passed and has a check engine light on.
 
13117545:speedin said:
lolol some funny response.

$1000.00 maybe from Volkswagen.

I just checked rockauto.com.

Assuming you have the 1.8t engine, Catalytic converters start at $268.00.

Much better then $1000.00

That took 2 minutes to find man...google is your friend.
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Plus a lot more for labor... Tack on over a hundred an hour, ecspecially in nyc. No spots to work on cars by yourself there
 
13117618:louie.mirags said:
Plus a lot more for labor... Tack on over a hundred an hour, ecspecially in nyc. No spots to work on cars by yourself there
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If someone is charging $100 to unbolt and rebolt a cat, they should be shot. Thats a 30 min job at most with the right tools.

$100 is what race shops charge....
 
13117640:speedin said:
If someone is charging $100 to unbolt and rebolt a cat, they should be shot. Thats a 30 min job at most with the right tools.

$100 is what race shops charge....
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I'm not being exact but they're going to get you for at least an hour of labor at minimum 80 bucks. Just how it goes... So much worse if you don't have a go-to mechanic
 
13117545:speedin said:
lolol some funny response.

$1000.00 maybe from Volkswagen.

I just checked rockauto.com.

Assuming you have the 1.8t engine, Catalytic converters start at $268.00.

Much better then $1000.00

That took 2 minutes to find man...google is your friend.
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I have the 2.0 engine without a turbo in it. Pretty basic stuff. I have looked online and found cats for that cheap as well. The problem is maybe I am getting total noobed at the mechanics I bring it into but every single one says that aftermarket aren't worth the money and the last 5 I brought my car to said I should get a VW cat from the factory which is where the 1000+ comes into play.
 
13117966:KravtZ said:
I have the 2.0 engine without a turbo in it. Pretty basic stuff. I have looked online and found cats for that cheap as well. The problem is maybe I am getting total noobed at the mechanics I bring it into but every single one says that aftermarket aren't worth the money and the last 5 I brought my car to said I should get a VW cat from the factory which is where the 1000+ comes into play.
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idk maybe dig around some vw forums for some local help. maybe you can get someone to discount your labor.
 
13117966:KravtZ said:
I have the 2.0 engine without a turbo in it. Pretty basic stuff. I have looked online and found cats for that cheap as well. The problem is maybe I am getting total noobed at the mechanics I bring it into but every single one says that aftermarket aren't worth the money and the last 5 I brought my car to said I should get a VW cat from the factory which is where the 1000+ comes into play.
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No dude you need to go to a junk yard or buy one online for as cheap as possible. Then go to like midas or whatever muffler shop in town and have them weld it in for like a couple hundred.

Everyone that says you can pass emissions with a check engine light on is correct but you guys are being fucking retarded. Of course if your engine problem isn't directly related to EMISSIONS you will be fine. If the thing that catches pollution out of your tailpipe is not functioning anymore you aren't going to pass. Its not the light that is the problem its the levels of CO coming out of the exhaust.
 
13118119:Casey said:
No dude you need to go to a junk yard or buy one online for as cheap as possible. Then go to like midas or whatever muffler shop in town and have them weld it in for like a couple hundred.

Everyone that says you can pass emissions with a check engine light on is correct but you guys are being fucking retarded. Of course if your engine problem isn't directly related to EMISSIONS you will be fine. If the thing that catches pollution out of your tailpipe is not functioning anymore you aren't going to pass. Its not the light that is the problem its the levels of CO coming out of the exhaust.
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haha for sure theres a right way and a wrong way no doubt. long term solution should be to replace the cat. short term could be a $5 part to get through inspection until OP can afford what he needs
 
13118119:Casey said:
No dude you need to go to a junk yard or buy one online for as cheap as possible. Then go to like midas or whatever muffler shop in town and have them weld it in for like a couple hundred.

Everyone that says you can pass emissions with a check engine light on is correct but you guys are being fucking retarded. Of course if your engine problem isn't directly related to EMISSIONS you will be fine. If the thing that catches pollution out of your tailpipe is not functioning anymore you aren't going to pass. Its not the light that is the problem its the levels of CO coming out of the exhaust.
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SERIOUSLY. LISTEN TO THIS GUY.

I've done this before - not for inspection - just to replace the cat. Go to junk yard, etc., buy used CAT for a few hundred MAX. Take it to a muffler shop and they'll cut the old one out and weld this one in for like $50....maybe $100 in NYC.

No reason why you shouldn't be able to get this all taken care of for under $400.
 
13118305:Barefootin_Fiend said:
SERIOUSLY. LISTEN TO THIS GUY.

I've done this before - not for inspection - just to replace the cat. Go to junk yard, etc., buy used CAT for a few hundred MAX. Take it to a muffler shop and they'll cut the old one out and weld this one in for like $50....maybe $100 in NYC.

No reason why you shouldn't be able to get this all taken care of for under $400.
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If I go online and buy an aftermarket CAT for 100-200 with reviews that will pass a California emissions test I should be good in NY? Seems simple enough. Every mechanic I go to just wants to bone you with prices it sucks.
 
Head the South Bronx like Hunts Point area or Flushing in Queens even though they probably have cleaned those places up a bit
 
13118322:KravtZ said:
If I go online and buy an aftermarket CAT for 100-200 with reviews that will pass a California emissions test I should be good in NY? Seems simple enough. Every mechanic I go to just wants to bone you with prices it sucks.
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I would think so, but I must confess that I'm not familiar with the emissions requirements of each state.

You shouldn't even really need a real mechanic for this....as long as you know how to reset your ecu. A muffler shop should be more than able to get the job done.
 
i had a hell of a time with that this past year. I'm in a 94 acura and it has high CO2 emissions when idling, driving it's fine. I had to run the test, get a catalytic converter put on it, change oil, run different gas through it, run the test again, fail again, toy with the rpm's it idles at, put another type of fuel in it, pay extra for a conditional pass, then test again when the weather was better (it was the tail end of winter, i don't think that helped)and finally it passed.

just google it. if you run the test and it fails, they usually tell you what made it fail (what emissions were too high) and then when you google that there are tons of answers out there. for me it was cat converter, idle the engine at higher rpm's, flush the dirty ass tank with special gas a few times, and it was good.

good luck. some cars just burn dirty. my 94 acura is one of em. almost has 300k miles on it too. gonna keep it goin as long as i can!!
 
If you want real help. PM me. Lots of piss poor information in this thread.

If you have a MIL on your cluster.... 9.5 times out of 10 it is because the emission system is not functioning correctly. A replacement CAT is super common on your car, they always fall apart. There is a warranty extension for you car, so call the vw dealer and have them run your vin to see if you are still able to cash in on it then go from there. Otherwise, just get an aftermarket cat... not a highflow cat... just a reman cat. The actual labor rate to install your cat is 1 hour of labor with generating a readiness code... .7 of an hour without a readiness code.

The only possibly difficult part of the entire process is freeing the exhaust nuts from the studs, which break about 1/3 of the time so if you are getting a new CAT order a set of studs ( only a couple of bucks each) to go along with it to avoid any trouble.

Do not pour anything into your gas tank or engine to pass an emission test, that is beyond retarded.

They will measure for 4 different things in a smog test. HC's, CO, CO2, and O2. If you cat is hooped, you will have lots of HC's and CO. High numbers of C02 is actually a by-product of a Cat which is not really considered a pollutant in the industry.... the main things they want to eliminate are HC's and CO which cause acid rain.
 
Forgot to mention you will need an exhaust clamping band and a gasket as well, so order that as well.

There is no reason you should not be able to do this in your driveway/parking stall with a set of ramps. There is literally 6 bolts that you need to remove to do it.

You will need a 13mm socket, hammer and a ratchet, and some rust reduction spray. You might need a small grinder to cut off the exhaust clamp, which could be a dremel tool if need be.
 
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