380sl Emmisions test failures

[captalex]

I have a 1985 308 Sl that will not pass the #$@% Emmision test due to NOX and CO2 I have done the full tune up fresh gas (Premium) ETC....Reading through many many pages I have turned my attention on timing. Can anyone tell me the correct timing for this car. It seems that 2BDC with the Vac. hose out should do the trick but is this correct. We spent a good portion of the afternoon spraying the enginr down cleaner and could not find a vac. leak. The car runs great with the exception of idling really rough intermitenly and occ. staling when in gear at red lights..........

[wbain5280]

Check the catalytic converter for scrapes. If there are any, the matrix inside may be broken. A replacement is in order.

Otherwise, you will need to remove the intake manifold to replace all, and I mean all, the rubber hoses and the eight donuts between the intake manifold halves. This is a big job because there are so many hoses, pipes, bolts of different lengths, and rubber pieces. If you decide to go this route, and I expect you will due to the car's age, be prepared to replace the upper chain guides and quite possibly the chain. Make sure your engine has the more reliable double row chain.

[stevebfl]

Are you running in closed loop?

Timing on that motor looses vacuum control at a certain temperature. There should be no vacuum at the dist when at operating temp.

The car can't pass emissions testing if it isn't running right and I would imagine the cats are about dead now, just from age. New cats would probably repair the emissions issue even without running proper. But the won't last unless you run in closed loop.

[captalex]

My numbers came way down dooing the timing and adjusting co mix 3mm allen screw. I found the air pump on the drivers side is not hooked up! What exactly is this for and will it cause my emmisions to go up. It appears to pump air into the crankcase! Also the car is still erratically misefiring. Thanks for the help