I was interested to see how close your 190E 2.6 emissions were to the test limit (even with the mistaken engine type).

I had my 1991 420SEL (W126) smogged a few weeks ago, also at a test-only station (again, because CARB has labeled these cars as high-profile emitters), and my results were only a small fraction of the allowable limit in all cases. (I can't recall the results from memory, but seem to think they were all around 10% or less of the allowable limit.)

The place I had it done was pretty crowded, so the car was fully warmed up by the drive to the test station, but then was sitting off for 45 minutes. Then, when I was called, they had me drive it to the end of the street (2 blocks) and back, just prior to the test.

What really frosted me was four years ago, when the car passed all of the actual emissions tests, but the mechanic (this was at an M-B dealer) said that I had a clogged crankcase breather pipe (actually a metal tube), and so he had to mark down a failure (of the EGR system). Replacing this tube involved several hours of labor and a fair amount of money. Afterwards the emissions readings passed again, with exactly the same values. Perhaps I was taken for a ride on this one.

Bob Schleicher
1991 420SEL, 172,000 miles