need help to pass the smog on my 1983 W150

[greg rider]

Lean-Burn used a computer mounted to the side of the air cleaner to control timing. Here are 2 pics from a manual I have. If you want good scans let me know.



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[IMG][/IMG]

The second pic isn't great but shows it on the side of the air cleaner.

An option would be bone yard and pull all the ones you could get,,even cars.

[simplysmn]

hello guys and gals........(up date-March 15, 2012)

We replaced the old worn out parts with new parts such as fuel filter,fuel pump,195 degree thermostat and rebuilt the carb, set the timing and 2 cans of "sea foam" with least 5 gallons of gas. The truck ran much better than before, but still failed the smog for second time March 12 2012 (the truck was fully warmed up before the smog test) and had to pay 57.75 for the retest. We asked him WHY we have to pay again and more money, he told us "because we did the repairs ourselves" but we didnt know as no one told us.

The readings are at CO% 4.10, MAX is 2.00 @ 1,033 RPMs and CO% 2.80, MAX is 2.00 @ 2334 RPMs. We were told by scott and he said the computer (small one that is attached to the side of the air cleaner) is malfunctioning (the old "lean burn" system that dodge uses in the 1980's). We looked at AUTOZONE parts web site and they have replacement computers from 99.00 to 138.99 and have about 12 different kinds for this truck all with different OEM # numbers on it and the one on my truck has a missing label on the top but NO OEM NUMBER on it so we don't know which one to buy ? Please guys help us as we have already spent 300 dollars for the parts and failed the test second time and we are out of money !!!!!!!! and we are very frustrating about this whole thing.

The tags are due in 31st. of march 2012. The smart guy that works there told me twice to "sell the truck to the state". We said "NO" twice, and he is a mopar hotrodder has nice Red Cuda and his daughter has a Blue 340 challenger but seems to NOT be interesting in helping us solve the stupid smog problem as he told us that he has a friend to help us with this and i have called him 3 times this week to find out what his so called "friend" has to say about how to help with the repairs but 3 times he keep saying "i been trying to get hold of him" and we don't know if he's truthful with us or not.

We used the free relay service to call him because we are hearing-impaired and i guess he has a problem with that or something. We are planning to move to Wyoming next summer 2013 and looking forward to LEAVE the NAZI state once for all. I am sorry for the LOOOONG Rant but had to VENT. We are "at of our wits end", If someone can help with this, we will be VERY VERY APPRECIATED.

Tiffy's W150

Hey Tiffy's are you guy's in southern Ca.? if so Send me a message I can help you out getting the truck pass smog

Val

[tiffy's W150]

hello simplysmn......
We live in northern california (BIG MISTAKE) We used to live in southern ca. back in 1980's. Do you know of anyone that CAN help and lives in northern ca. ?

Tiffy's w150

[simplysmn]

Well Darn what you need to do is find a county that doesn't require smog and I know there are a few around if you were close to Southern Ca you could use Needles Ca as a address Sorry I tried :(

[MrMarty51]

I`ve never had to smog a vehicle before,did the shop give You any clues as to what could possibly cause it to run so high in the circled numbers???
i do know that when I pour a can of seafoam into the fuel of My MG it does quiet the engine some and it does seem to run smoother.
The added lubrication to the topend/pistons/rings helps them to seal better and I`m not sure but I think if the rings are carboned in and not flexing as they shoul the seafoam would help to clean those rings and grooves.
I also add some to the oild of the MG,not as much aas they recommend,and that too seems to help that tired beast.
of course in Montana there is no smogging tests so,so far,We are fortunate as most anything I own has well over a hundred thousand miles on it.

[MrMarty51]

Also too.
I`m thinking this MoPar guy You are smogging through wants to see this truck fail,he may or may not report it to the state and then sell parts from it to His friends,even if He did report the vehicle as a state owned unit He would still have ample time to part it out before the state come and got it.
Can You imagine how much the front clip off of that would be worth in Cali.????

[tiffy's W150]

hello Guys and Gals........
I think the nazi state of calforina is doing this for money by flunking the smog tests to get owners to pay more for ripoff repairs (what choice do we have ) !!!!!!!!! tell me guys am i wrong ? In this case we are trying to get our truck passed so we can stay here in this sucked state for another year so we can save our money on FIXED income then LEAVE and move to Wyoming or Montana in 2013 in search for jobs plus NO smog testing to boot !!!!!!!!! I do not know why the highway patrol will even bother to pull anyone over due to expired tags. I was born and raised in calfornia and i had many older cars that needed smog testing years ago and never had to deal with so much hassles with this smog BS until just this month of this year. I picked this 1983 W150 because its in the best condition for the price we paid for and this truck has very little rust but no rust on the floors or cab areas and the frame is straight and no rust either so this truck deserves to be saved and fixed up. SIGH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tiffy's W150

[MrMarty51]

Back to Carbs,not diet.

First,understand the two barrel carbs on these pickups are very simple.
Even more simple if no one has been there before.
Please note,there are two balls under screws in tnis carb.,make sure You get the balls{New ones in the kit}back into their perspective holes.
Purchase a carb kit,usually about twenty five to thirty dollars,also purchase a new float,the old one is of a foam material and has probably been leaking,self sturation with fuel,causes them to sink and in turn the carb will continue feeding too much fuel into the intake.
Read the instructions suppled with the carb kit thoroughly,from start to finish before removing the carb from the manifold,then,remove the carb,then,reread the disasembly instructions thoroughly through again before disasembling the carb,identify as many parts as can be seen before disasembly,take pictures if You have to,especially of the rods running the accelerator pump,choke pull off,etc;make special note of where in the multi link control arms to the rods are hooked to.
Wash the carb with some type of mineral spirits,ie,solvent or just plain old mineral spirits.
Disasemble the carb,remove the top first,the rods can be worked out without completely removing them from one side or the other,just disasemble what is absolutely necessary and NO MORE.
Follow those instructions,one ball goes under a screw/and a weight when the accelerator jet nozzles are removed,the other ball is for a check ball for the accelerator pump.
after disasembling a bucket of carb cleaner is nice but most people do`nt have that 150.00 item setting around,the next best thing is Laquer thinner,get a gallon,the cheap stuff,about 25.00,if You cant get that then get several cans of spray carb choke cleaner.
Thoroughly clean all passages,gently screw in the idle fuel mixture screws[Located on the base of the carb;count the number of turns on each screw.remove the screws and thoroughly clean those airways,blow out each passage with compressed air after squirting them clean.
This process will use probably four to five cans of aerosol cleaner,I always like to do a rinse off with brake and parts cleaner but that is optional.
Reassemble the carb with the new float,follow the instructions that came with the kit.
those styrophoam floats was the cause for many an engine to wear out prematurely,I have overhauled a lot of carbs and everyone I rebuild I always replace the foam float with a brass float,even though I have been warned about the brass float being slightly heavier than the foam OE I still will use the brass whenever available.

[tiffy's W150]

hello MrMarty51........
We just had the carb rebuild few weeks ago with a 25 dollar carb kit and it made a BIG improvement in gas mileage and performance but still failed the smog SIGH. We replaced the fuel filter, put on new fuel pump, fresh set of plugs, one spark plug wire, pcv valve, new breather, 195 degree thermostat , new oxygen sensor and 2 cans of sea forms at 10 dollars a can plus 5 dollars of gas the day before the dreaded smog test. As expected it failed. The truck really runs good with the old old 318 (high mileage) after we did all that. We were planing to put in fresh 408 or 360 after we leave this nazi state and settled in another state. The whole thing is about to get it to pass as we are forced to stayed another year due to lack of funds needed to leave and so we have to save for least a year before we can leave and never come back.

Tiffy's w150

[Hobcobble]

Try a bottle of single malt Scotch. ;)
John

[USN78W150]

Smog

Tiffy,

The cost of that lean burn computer, if you replace it and still fail the test, will put you over the top for money spent on repairs. You can then get a waiver and register your truck. I don't think there is a conspiracy to get older vehicles off the roads here. There are specific limits on CO and HC's that can be emitted. These limits vary depending on the decade the vehicle was built. If a vehicle is running properly, and all emission controls are working, passing is always easy. Ironically, vehicles with smog control devices can pollute far more than vehicles that don't have any controls, if one or more of the pollution controlling devices is malfunctioning. The HC limit for 1980 and newer vehicles is 100 ppm, I believe. You are not too far over that now. Small block Mopar engines are extremely clean, emissions wise. My '85 W350 runs 10 ppm HC at idle, and 1 (yes, 1) ppm at 2,500 rpm. The CO is 0.0%. It holds the HC record for the cleanest vehicle ever tested at my local smog shop, regardless of age. Cleaner than the new ulev cars. It has Cal. emissions, but no computer or O2 sensor, as it is a one ton, and has the heavy duty emissions package. Having 62,000 original miles might help it a little, but nonetheless, it is one clean engine. Don't give up on your truck. If the new computer won't make it pass the test, total up your receipts. I think the cost limit for a waiver is approximately $375.00.

[tiffy's W150]

hello USN78W150......
interesting to know as no one told us about the "waiver" thing, we have already spend close to 376.44 dollars so far (including the cost of 2 failed smog tests and 2 cans of sea form plus gas), carb kit 23.58, paid the private mechanic 140.00 dollars to rebuild the carb and install the new fuel pump 18.99. We installed new the fuel filter 4.99, new 195 degree thermostat 12.99, new O2 oxygen sensor 45.99 (the truck only has ONE), one USED spark plug wire 1.00 from the junk yard, new PCV valve 6.59, new breather filter 4.99 and almost 20 dollars for 2 cans of sea form plus 5.00 for gas. We had set of new plugs but they were free and installed them too. In April 2nd, i am suppose to take my truck back to the second smog place and pay them 250 dollars (200 for the repairs and 50 for second retesting). We already paid 36.75 for the first smog test at the first smog station with the gold shield and of course it failed. Then we did the repairs as listed above and took it to the second (different) smog station with gold shield for the second test which we paid 57.75 and it failed. The second smog station charged us more because we did the repairs as that's what they told us and we didn't know (no one told us). Something is wrong as the truck DID pass last year and has the green 2012 tags on it when we bought the truck last Dec 2011. Guys ,we have NO desire to pollute the air because I have severe asthma and we do want a clean emissions truck and clean air is important to me but we do not want to spend 50,000 for new truck and be suck with high truck payments for 7 years and pay high tags for it every year. Its not worth being in debt. We love older trucks better too. How do we get the "Wavier" thing ?

Tiffy's W150

[simplysmn]

I believe what he's talking about is there is a limit on what you have to spend to make a Vehicle pass smog if you go to that limit and it doesn't pass then they give you a wavier for I believe 2 yr's and as for charging more because you did the repair's your getting Rip'd off doesn't matter who does the repair as long as it was done .Do a search of the dmv web site to see if there is a county near you that is smog excempt and get a address there that way you don't have to worry about smog .Also if either 1 of you are Disabled get handicap plates it will take the cost for reg down some but still allow towing

[greg rider]

hello USN78W150......
interesting to know as no one told us about the "waiver" thing,
Tiffy's W150

Re-read post 17 at the end.

[MrMarty51]

That "Waiver" thing sounds gooooood.