Engine Swap In Ontario. Emmision Laws

[rlauzon]

So im in the middle of moving homes and will have a garage i can work in im looking at building a engine on a stand over the winter my only issue is i would like to build someting better than stock but i have emmisions laws in need to deal with, My question is has anyone on here had to deal with this?

 

[imp]

So im in the middle of moving homes and will have a garage i can work in im looking at building a engine on a stand over the winter my only issue is i would like to build someting better than stock but i have emmisions laws in need to deal with, My question is has anyone on here had to deal with this?

Many times over! Different up there? Don't know. What happened to me was this: Here, the model and year must meet emissions levels for that specifically. IOW, when I put an EFI 5.0L HO in my '79 Ranchero, threw out the carbureted 400M boat anchor, it's emissions were near-zero, in fact Carbon Monoxide WAS 0.00 %! Inspector failed it, because the smog pump had no diverter valve! I stuck a few hoses in there to mislead him, and he OK'd it! Depends partly o circumstances. I hear in California, levels must be met determined by the year and make of engine in use. imp

 

[rlauzon]

ya thats my problem here in Canada is that the emissions need to meet the year make and model. not sure if i can be better but i know i cant be worse was looking for a little insight here

 

[wmburns]

This post does not state the model year of the original car. Why is this important? Because it matters IF the original car is ODB2 compliant and it will REMAIN ODB2 compliant with all of the original smog gear in place. Further if after the work is done will the PCM state "all readiness tests complete".

 

[imp]

This post does not state the model year of the original car. Why is this important? Because it matters IF the original car is ODB2 compliant and it will REMAIN ODB2 compliant with all of the original smog gear in place. Further if after the work is done will the PCM state "all readiness tests complete".

Does OBD-II apply verbatim in Canada? Looks to me as though dealing with emissions testing after '96, predisposes one to move away to a place like mine, Arizona Nowhere, which seems indifferent overall to emissions. Very early vehicles converted to EFI, such as my '70 Bronco, could be built without cats altogether, since in '70 cats were still gleams in EPA's eye. Many still insist Ford EEC-IV will not function without cats: all my conversions ran beautifully with 2 HO2S sensors and NO CATS. My '79 Ranchero, 5.0HO w/AOD, I put 3.10 gears in it, tossed the 2.79s, when I found how "boggy" the shift into 3rd. gear was (no converter action in 3rd. & 4th.), that huge boat did 25mpg on I-40!

I am not saying I condone "undoing emissions" equipment. I know how bad the air is in metropolitan areas. I DO feel, however, that if I do an EFI conversion which easily passes the 240 dyno testing, it ought to be registerable, regardless of all else. 0% CO and a couple of grams of HC per mile present, to me, acceptable reasons to license. imp

 

[imp]

@wmburns
What exactly does "OBD-II Compliant" mean? If it means the emissions levels maximums are not exceeded, should not the vehicle be registered REGARDLESS of the "state" of it's hardware?

Specify maximum emissions levels, successfully produce less, means a PASS to me. imp

 

[wmburns]

What exactly does "OBD-II Compliant" mean?

Many States have emission standards that do not test the actual tail pipe emissions from ODB2 compliant cars. For the US market that means 1996+. The cars are "assumed" to be in emission compliance as long as:

• The PCM does not have a MIL active (check engine).
• The PCM states "all readiness tests complete". Some states even allow for 1 (sometimes 2) readiness test to not be complete.
• The car has all of the emission controls that it left the factory with (usually determined with a visual inspection).

It comes up on the forum there are states that are soooooooo strict on pollution controls that performing a motor swap is impossible. IMHO a motor swap is possible as long as the same type of motor the car came with is used. So if the car originally came with a 4.6 SOHC and a DOHC motor is swapped in, this wouldn't be acceptable. But a built SOHC would.

I'm not an expert on emission's laws in the US and Canada. I happen to live in a state (Texas) that is in between the extreme of California and the wild west of no testing at all (Arizona). Texas does have a state wide inspection. When getting a state inspection in Texas on a 1996 or newer vehicle for emissions testing the main thing that matters is the ODB2 readiness test complete. Texas does not do any tail pipe testing for an ODB2 compliant vehicle.

If considering a motor swap IMO it's best to do your homework first.

 

[rlauzon]

After a little more reserch with my Emissions guy you are correct about the OBDII as long as i get a "clean" scan i should be ok. the smog test is done to Pre 96 vehicles.