Same drill here - I tune up, get it hot, pretest and this coming year will install a new cat (I've never had to replace it before - this is the original cat - and it's always passed).  All of our family's older cars have come under CA's new "test-only" station rules and I suspect things will stay that way.   

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of BenT
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 11:24 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Do I need a HEATED O2 sensor?

Craig,

I always pretest my rig before taking it to the smog check station.
Fix all the bad things (cat every couple of years). Never failed yet.

The placed I get my smog checks also re-certifies gross polluters. It
ain't no big thang. You have to pay if you want to play.

BenT
http://members.aol.com/bentbtstr8/myhomepage/index.html

On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 10:52:39 -0700, Craig Oda <craigoda@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think Tom's vehicle failed the CA SMOG once.  In CA, there is
> usually one free retest.  The cost of the test itself varies.  This
> year, costs went up to $70 to $80 at test-only centers.  :-(  That's a
> lot of cash.   Last year there was no dyno and no testing for NO
> emissions.  Times are tougher now, especially in metro areas like the
> SF Bay area.  I think that these older vehicles also fall under the
> high-emitter profile set by CA DMV.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  I have
> not taken my vehicle in for SMOG under the new laws.
>
> I agree about getting the catalytic converter as hot as possible.
> With the cost of failing the retest (and having to pay another $70 for
> another test), I think that buying a new cat is a good investment if
> the current cat is over 10 years old.  This assumes that the fuel-air
> mixture can be adjusted properly.
>
> As far as the original question concerning a single-wire O2 sensor.
> This is what I have on my '83 waterboxer.  I don't think that heating
> the sensor with the third wire would affect emissions since the O2
> sensor is supposed to get to operating temp in under 2 minutes.
>
> Tom, good luck and let us know if you pass emissions.  BTW, are you
> taking the van to a test-only center?  Was it designated a
> gross-polluter after the initial testing, or did it just fall
> marginally out of spec?
>
> Passing the new CA emissions tests is one of the biggest anxieties I
> have about owning the Westy and keeping up with the repairs and
> investments.  The problem is that the emissions equipment are
> unavailable to the home mechanic and many mechanic shops won't work on
> vanagon emission problems or don't do good work.  If my van fails in
> 2005, I will probably seek out the help of BusLabs in Berkeley.
> However, this means taking a half-day off from work and loss of some
> pay.  :-(      Well, I don't have to worry about this for another
> year.