ChicagoCoug

I hear you. What state are you trying to pass emisisons in? I live in IL. If you spend more than $450 on emissions fixes you can get a 1 year waiver. As long as you provide the receipts and they see some improvement you can get the waiver. But you have to deal with it a year later so you're still screwed.

I figured it out. I just had to pull really hard to open the housing

I took a look at the air filter housing on my 1993 Lexus ES300. Followed the directions by unfastening the 4 snaps on the housing. That's not enough to get it open though. I see a bolt to the left that attaches to the air filter housing near the bottom and a clamp around the hose. Do I need to take off all that stuff to get to the air filter? Thanks

I got the oil changed an hour before the test. Don't know the last time the spark plugs or air filter were changed. The more I think about it, not warming up the car properly and not driving it enough day-to-day are probably the reasons why I failed the test. I'm going to dump some fuel injection cleaner in this weekend and drive it out of state...hopefully that will clean it out. Wouldn't I want to use premium gas for the test vs. regular? Doesn't premium burn cleaner?

BTW, I should throw this out there. I hardly ever use my car right now...maybe once or twice a week short distances. On the day of the test I drove around the city for 15-20 minutes. Could this be what's causing the high readings? The state recommends driving for 15 minutes prior to the test. Maybe I should have taken it out on the highway and come back.

Hydrocarbons: Standard = 0.80 Reading = 1.68 Carbon Monoxide: Standard = 15.0 Reading = 52.8 My HC levels were 2x the limit and my CO levels were off the charts!

I bought a 1993 Lexus ES300 from someone a few months ago. Car has 99K miles on it. The previous owner seemed to keep it maintained. I took it in for the state emissions test in IL and failed. A crooked mechanic(recommended by the state) quoted me at $1200 to fix my car to pass. This includes: new PCV valve, EGR valve, oxygen sensors, catalytic converter, fuel injection cleaning, and engine oil flush. I can't afford to pay $1200 as I'm currently unemployed. I bought a Haynes Repair manual for the 1993 Camry(same thing). I'm thinking about changing the PCV valve, oxygen sensors, and spark plugs myself. I know the catalytic converter is OK since it does not give off a foul smell. Has anyone else had emissions problems with their ES300? Also, since I need to disconnect the (-) on the battery when I do all this, my stereo probably won't work. I bought this car used, so how do I go about getting a code to reset the stereo so it will work. Thanks!