jfrahm

Hi all,
I have a 1998 4runner, 49-state version. As I understand it, I am supposed to have one catalytic converter as only the later ones and the CA version had two cats in 1998.

I went to get smogged and while the truck's numbers are great, they failed it on the visual and said I was supposed to have two cats. I went back after determining that there is only one in 1998 for my version, and they pointed to the sticker under the hood, which does imply I need two converters with TWC(2) despite being a Fed and Canada. So they said I needed two as they go by the sticker.

I admit I did not think to look if I have a hood from an MY 2000 or something like that. I got the truck used 4 years ago and it's a bit battered, but emissions has not been one of it's problems. I will try to check out the hood sticker after work.

At any rate has anyone encountered this? Some sort of confusion between the hood sticker and reality?

Thanks,
-Joel.

habanero

My hood stickers have the year the regulations conform to on it. Does yours?

rancherman

man, that sucks.. A vehicle that passes with flying colors, but failed because of a 'sticker'. Makes me wonder just what they are really trying to accomplish> Cleaner air to breathe, or just keeping the general pop 'bent over, grabbing their ankles'.


anyhoo, I'd bet you've got a replacement hood... and the knucklehead's protocols don't allow for 'silliness' such as this....
Would it be against the law to just remove that sticker.. and FORCE the inspector to actually look something up in his data base? (oh, he'd have to actually expend energy to walk back to his office! Can't have that!!) shoot, there's probably an app for that!

94 Newbie

Looks like it has 2 heated O2 sensors, not cats.



Here is a quick find on a '00:

250000_yota

My understanding of that sticker is the same as 94. TWC stand for Three Way Catalyst if I remember correctly.

I checked my '94, and it's sticker says HO2S and TWC, which I'm assuming means single heated o2 sensor and a single Cat.

TheDurk

First, there were no Cali. models AT ALL in MY 1998. That silliness started in MY 1999. And yes, the Cali. systems say "A/F, S, TWC(2), HO2S"

You have a Federal, 50-state, MY 1998, one-cat system....or you don't have a 1998. As to the hood...who knows?

What state is this clownplay happening in?

habanero

Interesting to know about the '98.
My 1996 is a CALI 4Runner. It only has ONE cat, but it is definitely CA emissions.

So, jfrahm, what did you find?

jfrahm

Thanks for the responses so far.

The sticker is for 1998 so probably original and it actually says:
SFI, HO2S(2), TWC+TWC

I was told by the smog tech that the TWC+TWC meant two cats.

It is a 49 state model as per the sticker. I have attached a pic.
This is happening in Boulder, CO.

jfrahm

Better googling with "TWC+TWC" and a few other keywords finds me this thread:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...t-tech-183289/

----
Been doing a little research and it appears "TWC+TWC" refers to a type of converter design intended to extend the life of the converter, in particular the rhodium based catalyst section.
It consists of two stages- the first half being a palladium based catalyst which operates as a three-way catalyst and the second half being the traditional platinum and rhodium based three-way catalyst.
It's sometimes written as "TWC/TWC", particularly on the converter manufacturer's specs."
----

I have an appointment with the tech people in Broomfield tomorrow, hopefully they have the correct info and will get me approved. I found another thread about a Tacoma with the same issue.

-Joel.

TheDurk

It's Federal 50-state EXHAUST emissions. The Cali. standards in '96 were only different for EVAPORATIVE emissions. Post a pic of your sticker and I'll prove it. I just checked again, there was no Cali. spec exhaust in 1996.

On the other hand, I'm finding conflicting info on the OP's 1998 engine family (WTYXT03.4DBP). It LOOKS like that is a two-cat Cali'Spec version that did NOT use an Air/Fuel sensor in front and was Cali legal to the TLEV standard used in 1998. Up to now, I thought all two-cat systems used the A/F and the A/F definitely started in '99. I was unaware of this '98 Cali. spec version.

But this appears to be what his engine family requires:

Front:



and back:



I'm not done looking at this but I am officially confused.

SacRunner

Chances are your hood was replaced at some point, so why not go to a dealer's parts dept (with VIN and the 4Runner) have them look up the VIN and buy the correct sticker for your 4Runner?

Or you could call the CA SMOG Ref, schedule an appointment, have them inspect the vehicle, and give you a firewall sticker stating exactly what you have and what you need, regardless of whatever sticker is on the hood.

habanero

I'm listening, especially to someone with as much good knowledge as you have often proven to have. This debate came up recently in my build thread and the info I've found online only leads to more confusion. I thought we had it sorted out but if you've got info to the contrary let's hear it!
I do know I have to specify CA for certain parts- and that they cost more.


Oh, and here's a comparison from a 97 Fed truck and my 96, if that makes any difference:

reaj

iTrader: (6)

Missing my original hood no stickers. However I was just at emissions place passed no problem however they never even opened the hood for me, never looked under it, in and out! Hooked up the OBD scanner watched this screen to rev up and what not, checked my gas cap and I was out. Good luck man!

jfrahm

So now I have been to the tech inspector and have the whole story.

Executive summary: Some aftermarket cats might not be 2-bed or appear to be 2-bed and this can cause problems with a visual inspection.

As per the inspector general: The cat on my truck does not appear stock, and the stock cat has 2 beds and is essentially two cats in one housing. The stock one has a bit of a hourglass shape that demonstrates this.

My car does not have this feature but appears the same as a walker cat sold as an aftermarket replacement for the 4runner. Despite the lack of identifiers on my cat the inspector said he'd sign off on it in this case. He also said my cat was a bit small and did not seem to be working perfectly, my numbers were 1/2 of the maximum but he said that was actually pretty high. I said I'd hunt down a stock cat pipe for the future.

Another tech suggested adding a second TWC in line which would probably be OK for Colorado, dunno about other states.

I am probably OK for 4 years if I make sure to do the drive-by testing for my next test but I should not sell the truck like this, if it ever comes to that and the truck is not a towaway at that point. I have no plans to sell the car and at 202K it's in good shape but who knows what the future holds. I'll keep an eye out for a part-out in my area that might yield a more appropriate part.

Thanks for all the help,
-Joel.

TheDurk

Joel--glad you fixed your immediate problem. In CA, we could verify that any aftermarket solution has been tested and approved by CARB, for your engine family. Outside of CA, CARB-approved equipment is not required--the manufacturers pretty much decide, as far as I can tell. But as you can see from my post, Catco specifies a two-cat setup for your engine family that is CARB-approved. In fact, all the CARB approved aftermarket setups for it are two separate cats.

Habanero--I'm still working on your answer. There is definitely no Cali.-spec exhaust in your year. There are still CARB-approved replacements, and non-CARB approved replacements. New York requires CARB approved replacements, and other states may go that route. But if you are in MO, I don't see why you would need CARB-approved parts. So are you buying CARB-approved parts, or CA-spec parts? Because so far I can't find any CA-spec parts.

What I am having trouble with is finding what is different for CAli. spec Runners in '96 other than the label. So far I haven't found anything (unlike for '98, where the parts listed for CA spec are clearly different). So I'm still working on it.

Meanwhile--here is a page from Rockauto that tries to shed light on the issue:

http://www.rockauto.com/info/emissionsExp.html

habanero

Thanks for your info so far. The Air Fuel Ratio sensor or whatever that front o2 thingy is called is cali and is different. The dealership told me they put a regular one in before I bought it but it kept triggering a cel. That's when they figured out it was CAL. This truck was originally sold and lived in California. Being in MO I did not have to buy a CARB approved cat, only a cal spec. Mostly I didn't want to go through the chance of tripping a CEL when it came to the cat (it was annoying enough to replace the 1st time! Why oh why do they have to bolt it to the manifold there??) and the A/F sensor because that's been known to cause a CEL. So far that's the only parts that I've had to change that I had to specify as CAL.

If my truck is not CAL spec then why the CAL sticker and why am I asked if it's CAL when I buy certain parts and why are those parts different from FED?

TheDurk

Well, as far as sensors go, there were no air/fuel sensors before the 1999 CA spec systems. There are only O2 sensors, front and back. In 1996, there are no sensors listed as CA-spec. Here is the 1996 listing from Denso, the people who make them--see for yourself--no Cali spec., no A/F's:



Note that the 234-4206 Universal sensor works in all positions on all models.

It's the same thing for Cats and the rest of the exhaust--the only part number for cats that comes up on toyodiy.com is 17401-62050. No separate listing for CA spec.



The single exception I have found is the ECM. There is a CA-spec. ECM:



So maybe the Toyota factory hardware was the same and different tuning allowed the CA version to pass the TLEV CA spec. described in your lable. But aftermarket makers need better hardware to pass the TLEV test. So far that's all I got as a way to explain this.

But if you are buying Denso sensors or Toyota cats I swear there is no CA-spec for V6 '96's.

octanejunkie

I know this is an old thread, but it's a new issue/concern for me

I have two 99 4runners, an SR5 WD with Federal Emissions, and a 2WD SR5 Sport with California emissions.

I am selling the 2WD and swapped hoods to keep my hood scoop, but now the emissions stickers under the hood no longer match the equipment on the trucks.
A quick call to Toyota and the stickers are discontinued, no longer available.

Emission Label
11298-62650
3.4L, federal

Emission Label
11298-62660
3.4L, california


What are my options?

Remove and try to swap stickers between trucks?

Remove stickers and leave them missing?

NO, I will not be swapping the hoods back because of a sticker

EDIT: I found a 11298-62650 Federal Emissions sticker NIB on eBay, ordered it

EDIT 2: I found a 11298-62660 CA emissions sticker NIB at a dealer online, and also ordered it