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1983 Ford Fairmont Carburetor Failed for High HC.

My 1983 Ford Fairmont has failed the smog test only twice! After the first smog check failure, I took out carburetor and sent it out to be cleaned and tested. Recarbo (the carburetor shop) said it was in excellent condition. I re-installed the carburetor. Then I did a full tune up and had the idle adjusted to specs by my mechanic for this car. Then I put an engine cleaner into the crankcase and drained the oil and put new oil into the engine, 10W-40. Lastly, I put a fuel system cleaner into the gas tank and drove until nearly empty then put premium gas into the tank.

I took the smog check re-test three weeks later. IT FAILED AGAIN! Same exact problem as the first test. HC(PPM) reading on the 25mph test was measured at 110. Maximum in California in 79. What's even more bizarre is my first test reading was 105. Lower by 5 points BEFORE I even did all of the maintenance described above! That means there was NO IMPROVEMENT whatsover on my retest! This is really infuriating! What the hell do I do now? Please help! Note: The reading on the 15mph test was exactly the same on both tests. 129! In California, the maximum is 129. So I barely made it here as well. By the way, my CO and NO readings were excellent both times.

Answer:

Fuel distribution is primarily controlled by the carburetor. If any component within the carburetor is defective air/fuel ratio can be disrupted and result in incomplete combustion. The presentation of slightly lean or rich fuel will produce high HC emissions. We recommend you have a local smog check repair station (using their smog check machine's 5-gas analyzer) adjust this Ford Fairmont's carburetor. If after making sure the carburetor is properly tuned this Ford is still producing high HC look conduct a compression test to ensure all cylinders are have proper compression. You may also want to perform a Vacuum Test and monitor overall engine performance. posted by SmogTips Support

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