trouble getting 93 Civic VX to pass smog
 

I know about zero about cars but I thought I'd try this forum to see if anyone has some ideas about my problem.

93 Civic VX. Made in Canada. Failed the smog check. Took it to a smog check/repair place. They said it was misfiring at higher rpms. Would run OK at low rpm. First they tried all the usual stuff. Spark plugs, wires, made sure there was no water anywhere from a very recent engine steam clean. It was sending out a code that meant "Oxygen sensor bad". Put in a new Oxygen sensor. That didn't help anything except eliminating that code. The guy said that if he ran it somehow without the Throttle Position Sensor hooked up it worked. Therefore I needed a new Throttle Body.

When I called the car dismantlers looking for a Throttle Body they asked if my car was VTEC or not. I thought it was (because of the VX) but wasn't sure. Not sure, I called the mechanic assured me it was not VTEC. Got the Throttle Body and my mechanic later called and told me it was the wrong one. Took the original Throttle body (smaller than the one I first got) to the dismantler and got one just like it. He said my engine was VTEC-E. After my mechanic put it this new correct Throttle body in, the problem was still there.

I've lost most faith in the mechanic after he didn't know it was VTEC. I'm reluctant to change mechanics in mid-stream but maybe I should if I knew someone good at this stuff. Opinions? I don't want to go broke on this. I want to get my car back to being a non-gross-polluter.

I know that I left out a bunch of technical details that I don't know. But I thought this might ring a bell for someone and they might remember something similar.

I forgot, I'm in the L.A. Area, if anyone has any suggestions for good places to take it.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

RE: trouble getting 93 Civic VX to pass smog
 

My cousin had an old 83' V8 camaro that was on its last leg. When it came down to the smog and emissions he couldnt pass. Got a tip from a friend to run a tank of high octane (100 octane is what he ran) gas, then get it tested. Well, long story short... it worked and he passed.

Its worth a shot, but might cost you a few more bills

RE: trouble getting 93 Civic VX to pass smog
 

A buddy's car failed miserably and we did the following to his car and it passed. A lot of people don't know a lot about the smog or emmissions tests. Believe it or not, it helps to run a bottle of engine cleaner or injector cleaner in the tank previous to your test, get your engine oil and filter changed, and yes......put about 50 pounds of air in your drive tires (this creates less friction for the test and means the engine doesn't have to work as hard).