Having Smog Issues. Help Plz

[Rey01ITR]

Hello everyone and thanks first for any help given. I jus recently bought a itr py ^^ last weekend. but its not passing smog. Im in california and bought it from nevada. Im not sure what the problems and am willing to give more info if it helps. Mainly it has high HC levels but its barely over. I replaced the plugs seeing how one has alot of carbon build up. Compression test is fine. During this week i will be seafoaming it and a friend is going to check the cat. Heres one thing.. the intake sensor which i think is called the IAT sensor (intake air temp) is not in the intake piping. I CANT FIND IT.. im assuming it goes into the 3rd port of the manifold but not sure. if anyone has a pic of it or knows for certain that would help.. hopin the previous owner did not cut into the harness or relocate it. i can post quality pic if necessary. My friend has a scanner and the temp read 120 and slowly climbed to 131 which im guessing is real high.. im hoping this is the problem but i need help and any suggestions.. sorry for the long read. I will post more info soon.

[Markusirealius01]

I would not put sea foam in am ITR. You are doing it an injustice. Most people say that works but if you do some research I think you will change your mind on it. It could harm your very delicate and expensive motor. The AIT could very well be the problem especially if you don't have one. I would look into that before the sea foam. I think that should be your last resort. I think most people on this forum would agree with me. Good Luck man and welcome to the family.

[Rey01ITR]

yea im real skeptical about the seafoam since the motor does have "lower" mileage. 79k But it has been driven long drives. I think ima try pulling off the IAT valve and checking to see if theres buildup. I found the IAT sensor goes into the 3rd pipe on the intake manifold but if anyone has a scanner and a ITR, could u plz check IAT reading? Mine was again 120-131degrees F. ill hold off on sea foam and maybe check wires and cap.

[Markusirealius01]

Just dont do the sea foam if you dont know that will fix it for sure.

[Rey01ITR]

ok wont use seafoam. I'm going to have a ASE friend scan the car and hopefuly he finds the problem cus hes pretty smart. It does vibrate like a mother at idle so guessing maybe misfire.. no cel but might need a valve adj.

[Erik B]

Take it to Acura see if they can run a test for you.

[Rey01ITR]

ok so the car checked out fine from my ASE friend but he said replace the cat. As i told him about the previous owner messing around with the fuel rail it made perfect sense. I planned on doing it tommarow but i hit a brick wall. Not literally but i might as well have b/c im knee deep in it now. I asked him why the car was shaking so much and he pointed how loose the side motor mount was. So i decided to fix this little problem, or so i thought. As i loosen the timing belt cover (upper) my girl noticed the motor shifted. I stepped back and raised the motor to lighten the load. As i pulled of the cover one bolt came right out. As i looked at it all the threads to the block are on the bolt.
i then removed the mount to the susp and noticed the mount (engine side) was not connected to the motor. There was another bolt on the lower side but it was mighty short. I inspected the holes and they are both in the block with the heads missing. So my little repair just turned into a HUGE headache. So i have one bolt that has the blocks threads. Another that is a stub. And one missing.

I hope that cat fixes the smog issue and im sure it will.. but at this point i am exhausted and this type r is now my nightmare. WHY WOULD SOMEONE MESS WITH THE ENGINE MOUNT LIKE THIS.. sorry for caps. So this thread is pretty much done. Thanks Erik and Markus for ur suggestions.

[Markusirealius01]

Good Luck man. My advice is find reputable machine shop and Have them tap and square up all the holes remove the bolt and fix it right. I would not do this your self if you are an amateur at Tapping. What state are you in I might be able to recommend some one.

[Rey01ITR]

Im in california norcal to be exact. Yea im having my uncle do it and hes been a ASE mechanic for many years. However not too sure if hes going to be able to successfully pull those bolts out. I guess we'll find out sunday b/c i just dont have the money for the tow and shop costs.

[Erik B]

hope it works out for you keep us posted

[Rey01ITR]

So a fun weekend indeed. With a little help from good ol paps and a neighbor i was able to remove the two broken bolts. One as we drilled into it litterally started threading in deeper. So reversed it and it came right out. Changed the other thread from a 10 fine to a 11 coarse. Unfortunetly the new bolt is to big for the actual mount side so i have to open it up. About to call around some shops and see if anyone can do that. But got new timing belt, serp belts, water pump. This yellow itr which i have not named is defienetly in need of a little tlc. I jus cant believe the motor was sitting on the upper timing cover. Blows my mind since i drove it from LV nevada to norcal. Well im past the hard part. After im done cat and maybe o2's for the smog. Ill repost when all is OK

[Rey01ITR]

Got it running so thanks for everyones help and welcoming me to ITRCA. Tommarrow the cat and hopefully that drops the HC a bit for a good smog.