I have a 1994 Toyota Camry, everything passed okay on smog except my HC (PPM) was high. It read 53 and the max can only be 49. My car runs awesome and just barely failed. What do I need to do to get the level down 4 points. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is a California smog just incase you need to know what state.
I'm no mechanic, nor do I drive, or know much about cars so I could be wrong, but a simple oil change might help.
The good news is that it is do-able, but depending upon the issue the costs might well out-weigh the value of the car.
A high level HC reading means that the car is putting excessive fuel into the engine, but without specialist equipment it is going to be nigh on impossible to prove which part of the engine system is causing the problem.
I would suggest that it is likely to be the fuel injectors which are either worn or possibly leaking but equally it could be the spark plugs or HT leads which are at fault. Or it could be all three, or possibly the fuel mapping system or something else entirely
In the first instance I would suggest that you take the car to two or three garages/mechanics local to you and ask them to run a diagnostics check. That should at least give you some pointers. They should also be able to give you a quote for fixing it but be ready to sit down when they do!
Unless the car is cherished then you may be looking at a new set of wheels in the near future
Engines always benefit from oil changes but you won't see any reduction in a your HC reading, I'd be inclined to see what you can do to resolve the fuel issue first and then if you are keeping the car take GingerKitty's advice and change the oil. Danger of throwing money away if you are not going to keep the car
