Emissions questions

[Carol.92124]

Cal, part of the issue is he's in the process of swapping a 1994 HO motor into a 1988 Renix Jeep.

BigSky, CA smog stations & requirements can be completely idiotic, and it's no longer just a tail pipe emissions test. If they decide you need to conform to the newer of the motor or the vehicle, they're probably going to want your Renix OBD-None Jeep to sport an OBD-I Check Engine light of some sort, and who knows what else. I have no idea how hard they are on vehicles with out-of-country plates.

I can't see going through all the effort & heartache just to be denied here... I know you said you have a lot into that Jeep, but almost any Jeep you buy & build is going to cost more than you'll get out of it. There are a lot of good solid rust-free rigs to be had here in SoCal for $2-4K.

You would not be likely to get $4K for your rig in SoCal, and you can't even sell unsmoggable vehicles to someone in Mexico anymore (the old escape clause). Mexico's increased the tariff or tax or import duty to where it's totally impractical for someone down there to buy a US vehicle. And there's just too much of a likelihood of running into smog nightmares here.

Just my 2c. Okay, more like $1.50 =)

 

[silverslk]

It is an 88 XJ Locked front D30, open turdy-five rear, 4.5" Rough Country lift with full leaf packs, 34x10.5 LTB's. No rust.

I would say with the stuff you have listed.....SELL IT FOR $4000!!!!!

I sold my 93 with working AC, Rubicon Express Long arm lift, bilsteins 7100 shocks, 33" BFG muds with AR-23 wheels, 97+ mirrors and front end for $4300. And it didn't have a D35 rear. haha

Sell it bring the cash and you can score a nice rig easy. I know a guy who picked up a 94 locked front/rear, d44 rear, 33's, RE 5.5" lift w/drop brackets and a bunch more for like $3500 or $3700.

 

[cal]

Right, but if he swaps JUST the motor, leaving the renix intake/exhaust/electronics .. it doesnt matter.

the engines are more or less interchangable.

 

[Carol.92124]

Right, but if he swaps JUST the motor, leaving the renix intake/exhaust/electronics .. it doesnt matter.

the engines are more or less interchangable.

That's true, I guess. But I don't see what he has easily selling for $4K (+smog & transfer &...) here, although it may have many other unknown & unlisted cool upgrades. You just want access to him for a weekend to talk him out of running trails on a Danaherpes35, dontcha!!

BigSky, what you should do is have the rig delivered to the Rustbelt...they'll happily throw lots of cash at a rig that isn't rust-eaten! Especially anyone with a love of the older body style, since those have had the longest time to rot out.

I think if I had to live where the road treatments ate my vehicles, I'd find some way to install a set of those undercarriage jet blasters (like they have in carwashes) at the entrance to my garage with a helluva drainage system so everything didn't ice up all around the entrance.

 

[bigsky]

If it runs decent, its not hard to make a renix rig pass emissions. o2 sensor, coolant temp sensor, and a cat. That said, its technically illegal to sell a vehicle that won't pass smog - it has to have a current smog certificate to be sold, and that is the burden of the seller.


If you move here with it and cant get it to pass, look me up. I'll give you a weekend of my time and we WILL fix it. =)


An HO rig on the other hand, once it decides not to pass, is a bear.

I'll buy the beer bro.

 

[PhotographerMike]

One more possible unexpected expense. If you need to replace the Cat. in Cal. it MUST have the proper Calif. smog cert. and number, so the cost will be AT LEAST $300- (ask me how I know . . ) I just picked up a boxed "new old stock" cat. for the '89 that will be swapped in well before the next "Test only" smog check to be sure it looks properly "aged".

 

[badgeye]

Is this a U.S. market vehicle that you took over there, or are you trying to bring a German market vehicle into the states? If it is German market, just sell it there. Grey market vehicles are very hard to get registered here. I have seen Canadian market vehicles that had to be sent back because they could not be registered here. Besides XJ's are really cheap.

 

[bigsky]

The vehicle is US spec. I bought it while over here from one of the American salvage yards. Well after alot of thinking I have decided I will keep the rig, if I take it to a test ony station and it fails I can try to bring it up to meet the standard or if it seems too hard I will just keep the vehicle parked in my garage or maybe get an OHV sticker for it. I only have 18 months at Fort Irwin and then I am finished with the Army. So basically the worst that could happen is that it sits in my garage for 18 doing nothing but getting wrenched on. I guess it is sort of like an extended winter project.

 

[AJTorris]

man sucks you are sooner there is a guy in norcal that is in the army and going to germany and he has an xj and he is selling it and gonna buy one in germany. you guys could have swapped jeeps

 

[badgeye]

According to California law, the vehicle must posses all of the smog components for the year of the engine in the event the engine is changed. Engine changes can only be made using the same year or newer engine. Installing a different 4.0 in a Cherokee would not be considered an engine change because they are in the same engine family. If you were to put in a Chevy 350, that would be an engine change. So, what Cal said about using the H.O. engine with the Renix controls is accurate. I am not sure the H.O. head will work with the Renix intake. I know there are some differences in the intake ports. I am sure someone here has done it. If you have any questions about what is legal and what is not, I can help you with it, I have been a smog tech for 22 years. You can also consult the Bureau of Automotive Repair website www.bar.ca.gov

 

[bigsky]

According to California law, the vehicle must posses all of the smog components for the year of the engine in the event the engine is changed. Engine changes can only be made using the same year or newer engine. Installing a different 4.0 in a Cherokee would not be considered an engine change because they are in the same engine family. If you were to put in a Chevy 350, that would be an engine change. So, what Cal said about using the H.O. engine with the Renix controls is accurate. I am not sure the H.O. head will work with the Renix intake. I know there are some differences in the intake ports. I am sure someone here has done it. If you have any questions about what is legal and what is not, I can help you with it, I have been a smog tech for 22 years. You can also consult the Bureau of Automotive Repair website www.bar.ca.gov

Well the new engine is in. The new engine is also 6 years newer than the old engine, I put the renix intake and exhaust on the HO head. Everything lined up, all my sensors went right on to the HO block including my knock sensor which surprised me. The intake and exhaust ports lined up just fine. The only real difference is that the EGR is not going to work on a head that didnt have EGR, basically it is there just for looks. No smog equipment was acutally removed on this thing and nothing about it screams HO either. It all looks just like the Renix sitting in there. In about 2 hours I am heading over to work on the Jeep and finish up and get it running. I will let you know how that works out. I am glad to know that you are a smog tech, that means there is probably a good chance that if I fail smog you can guide me in the right direction. If and/or when I fail smog maybe you can lend me some insight on what the hell all those numbers mean and what I can do to fix them.

 

[badgeye]

The EGR will work. It recirculates exhaust into the intake.

 

[bigsky]

ok sounds good to me