ok so i sold my z28 like 3 weeks ago. Cash signed title he drove the car away now when he went to get it smogged it didn't pass. I don't know what emission it was but i guess one was off the charts they changed the plugs and wires and it stayed the same i guess its now running like **** and the guy has dumped over a 1000 in it so far trying to make it run right again. i got some alcohol to help it pass but still trying to work out some kinks in the car. his mechanic isn't sure what it is and so he took it to the dealership and the quoted him 800 bucks just to look at the heads not even saying that that is for sure the problem. this is starting to freak me out because i know its sellers resposibilty to have it smogged but this all happened after the fact. anyone possibly know what it could be? i guess its not running on all 8 cylinders and it did he did say something about and injector or injector servo code any help

 

btw could this be the opti crapping out, the guys said the car feels like its barely running and the shop said its only firing 6 cylinders or something like that. the car sat for about 3 months before i sold it if that helps

 

id say try the opti..those damn things can do some crazy @#$%

 

thats what im thinking or at least hoping. any other suggestions

 

$1K for guessing or $800 to look at heads is not only stupid, it's not your fault or your problem. If the heads were the problem, they could be diagnosed in less than 1/2 hour. Even at $100 per hour like here, guess what $800 is?

One, is this a friend? If not, why are you worrying about the car? Did you give him some sort of guarantee? Here, unless it states, it's assumed to be "as is".

Second, anyone using the exhaust gas analyzer should be able to tell from the results, if it's ignition related or injector related. Sounds like this guy has a bunch of monkeys looking at the car.

Relax

 

I think it's a 'Kalifornia thing' having to 'guarantee emissions'.. which frankly is rediculous!
And I thought Jersey was bad here... [it is, but Kali is worse ]

 

yeah thats why i had him take it to my mechanic today so hopefully they will be able to figure it out. they worked on my past z28 and never had any problems figuring out what is wrong.

 

First look for any vacuum leaks, that will cause the more air to enter than is being registered by the MAF and will make the O2 sensors read lean and the computer will add fuel, will make it idle rough as well but will have less of an effect at higher rpms.
Next would be the O2 sensors bad or lazy...get new O2s and if its not the problem, he has some spares cause eventually they will need replacing.
Spark can be checked easily with a spark tester to rule out a bad opti.
Next might be a stuck injector, cut car off and see if pressure is held in the rail or if it immediately drops...if it drops, it doesn't necessarily mean the injector is stuck, could be a bad regulator or check valve in the pump, but it will help you isolate it...a stuck injector would lead you to find fuel all over your plugs if you pull them out shortly after shutdown. And running it very long with a stuck injector or a vacuum leak will wear out the O2 prematurely.
Next thing would be the Cat convertor to look at, but I don't think that would hurt the idle quality unless it was clogged.

 

In CA the seller must have the car smogged and it must pass before a change of owner can take place.

If I was you I'd get the car back into my own hands instead of letting somebody else spend money for me and send me second-hand estimates and diagnoses.

If I was the buyer, I'd give it back to you and demand my money back. Wasn't real smart on his part to give you money before it was smogged.

You aren't likely to get a very good diagnosis over the internet when you don't even know what the problem is.

 

There are alot of small smog shops that will illegally pass the car for $300. I don't see why you should spend more than $300 if you want to repair it.

 

You aren't likely to get a very good diagnosis over the internet when you don't even know what the problem is.[/QUOTE]

if i knew what the problem was i wouldn't have asked. I did attempt to list the problems that he described to me to try a locate a few things that could be a problem.
Now the problem isn't really a smog issue passing wise as much as it is an issue to get it running so that it can go to smog. It ran fine before and just didn't pass. Now its not running very well at all after he drove it for a week and a half or so while looking for smog shops to pass it under the table.