Triumph Repair: State Emissions Test, state emissions, emissions test

Question
QUESTION: Hello Jim,

The reason I am asking this question to a non-jeep owner is that my situation would seem at least to be coming from the same problem on most vehicles. I might be wrong though.

I took my 1993 jeep cherokee,(4 cyl.),to the state emissions testing center. They said they couldn't test it because some white,(no blue), vapor was visibly & continuously coming out of the rear of the exhaust pipe. Not too much coming out though, just enough to see. The attendant said if they ran it through the way it was, I'd fail. I passed emissions last year by a decent margin. No sensor lights are showing now either & it runs well and doesn't miss at all, even on start up. Has plenty of power with 216,000 mi.
Someone suggested it might be a leaking head gasket so I put some Barr's Leak in the radiator tonight & some GTP (guaranteed to pass), additive in the fuel tank.

I'm hoping if the exhaust emission is a leaky head gasket, the Barr's will help seal it enough to pass emissions testing. I've heard if you run it out on the highway at 70 or 75 m.ph. & get it pretty hot that sometimes the gasket will swell enough to seal a leak if the leak is minor. If it is a leaky head gasket, would some water vapor coming out the tail pipe cause it to fail emissions? Water's not a contaminant so I wouldn't think so.

Thank you for any advice.

Mike E.

ANSWER: Mike,

White smoke is either running lean, or water vapor when it's really cold out.  What's the weather like where  you're located?

Are you losing water from the radiator?  

A good highway run right before the testing will get everything (including the muffler) nice and warm, that'll minimize the normal visible condensation for the test.

Other than that, if you can go to a different emissions test station I'd do it.  Sounds like the place you went was being unfriendly that day.


Cheers,

Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply Jim. The radiator has been getting just a little bit low. For example, about once per week I notice I can't see any water with the radiator cap off. When I pour in about 8 ounces of 50/50 mix or a little less, the level tops back up to the neck.

It was around 45 to 50 degrees when they rejected me due to seeing visible emissions coming out the tail-pipe. I remember them saying if the vapor was coming out on and off or intermittently, they would test it. I guess they're a little picky maybe.

Thanks.

Mike E.

Answer
Mike,

What I'd suggest is get the vehicle warmed up and look at the tail pipe.  If it's still a steady white... well.. maybe see if there is another inspection station available.

If not, maybe try to get a hold of a live human being in the state deparment of inspections and find out if "officially" excessive water vapor is a valid reason for rejection.

That's as far as I can go with this problem.  

If you get a Triumph Spitfire... I can offer more useful tips ;)


Cheers,

Jim