Hi friends,

Looking for someone who knows Smog. I’m restoring an 83 pickup that has had some (not all) smog equipment removed. Trying to get it back to CA legal. A few questions…

1) Do I need the Emissions Control Computer to pass CA smog? If so, where is it located? I don’t see anything under the dash on either side.

2) I need to install a Cat. Any suggestions? Could I find any junkyard exhaust? What years pickup exhaust would be compatible? Should I just buy a CARB certified universal Cat and have someone weld it in?

3) I’m reading about a Cat temp sensor that needs to be stuck in the Cat. I think I see the cable under drivers side seat? Is this sensor needed to pass CA smog?

Thanks for the help!

 

First question is whether or not there is an emission sticker still on the underside of the hood and does it say calif emissions?. Sticker should tell you what is required for your truck
Emission computor is in the right hand kick panel A pillar behind the plastic

 

Thanks for the reply mechkw. No sticker under my hood. I can only assume hood was replaced along the way. Truck has California plates and stickers so it’s definitely been smogged before. Seeing Calif
smog stickers for my truck on eBay. Should I get one?

No sign of emissions computer anywhere in passenger kick.

 

Wiring harness plug/s??

What I'm getting at is whether or not the truck is 'california certified' or federal. Equipment and pollution levels are different between the 2. Look on line and see if there is a federal sticker available and compare the 2. Maybe you can look at the truck closer with both and determine what you've got. That is unless there is a history of the truck emission inspections in the past.

 

Did you figure anything out yet?? Maybe you could post a couple pics of the eng compartment. Also with or without Air conditioning. AC trucks had a pulse A.I.R. system and non-AC had a smog pump.

 

Hey mechkw,

I did buy the 1983 California 4wd smog sticker on eBay. It says AI / EGR / O2S / TWC. I have all but the Cat. Also spoke to a few guys locally who say computer and cat sensor not needed to pass CA smog.

Hoping I’m just a CAT away from passing smog. Will report back. Thanks for all the help!

 

Hey Jonny,

Any updates on how your truck did with the smog check? I’m considering to buy a 1981 Pickup and in the process of finding out how to get it to pass smog.

 

Hey zeebreezy,

Yup she passed smog about a year ago. Not a big deal. Essentially you need to be sure all vacuum lines are hooked up in accordance with the smog diagram for your truck as well as well as being sure that your smog pump, egr, o2 sensor and cat converter are all working. If you need to buy a new cat, be sure you get one that’s on the California approved list for 81 Toyota Pickup. Feel free to PM me for details.

 

The one thing that can be an issue is when the smog tech runs the test at idle.
The BAR gives a rpm low/high range that the test has to be administered at. The 22R# will burn cleaner if the rpms are close to the high end.
Fortunately, the smog tech I use knew this and was prepared. It was interesting to watch the manual smog test I had done before the official test.(you can't see how the vehicle is doing during the real test). During the manual test my vehicle was idling at the lower end of the scale, and the HC's were terrible. As the rpm's were raised the numbers started to slowly go down, then all of a sudden they hit a spot on the rpm scale and just plummeted. I mean it was like literally rolling off a cliff. It doesn't matter if the 22R is carb or EFI. I've seen this on both.
And i always run my vehicle with Chevron super unleaded when a smog test is coming up.

 

Jimkola, please share acceptable idle RPM range for CA. I agree being at the top of the range would be ideal.

 

I don't know what the max allowed for idle rpm, and it's not one of the specs printed on the smog test read out (unlike Hc and co%). It does show mine was tested at 981 rpms.
BAR could better answer that.
edit:
Just found this. Looks like max rpm at idle is 1,200 for your year. That seems kinda high. Might be worth a call to BAR to confirm. They're very good with help.
BAR smog specs

 

I had a cali 85 pickup, removed all emissions and put a weber carb in it. Honestly, I should of kept all of it, mileage tanked and it doesnt run any better, if anything worse.
does cali not have any law for vintage vehicles to exclude emissions?

 

A California smog legal Weber is not hard to get setup and definitely the best option.

1975 and older are exempt from CA smog.

 

easier option* I think would be more in line

 

Depends who you ask. I’m my case, a properly working and dialed in Weber runs better than my Aisin.

 

Maybe, but Aisin carbs are durable as hell, and rarely cause issues. I think many get replaced when a simple cleaning and new needle and seat would have sufficed.
Regardless, I beg everyone looking to delete their egr, swap to Weber, remove their catlytic converter, etc etc etc to keep their old parts. You might need them, sometimes sooner than you think.

 

Sticker should tell you what is required for your truck
Emission computor is in the right hand kick panel A pillar behind the plastic