[yellowsnow]

Not sure if I got this right so please correct me if I am wrong. The car I need to get registered, the one than belonged to my H, is a diesel. I need to get it smogged. There are no indicators on so the computer check should be good. But I read they check diesel on a dyno. And if it fails I have to spend $500 at some sort of a certified station to get an exemption for a year.

Is there a way to check and see if it will pass before I get it done officially?

The reason is because if it needs some work, I can probably get it done cheaper elsewhere.

Or is there a chance I can just take it into the first smog place I see and they won't notice it's a diesel?

[observer53]

There are a lot of places on the list of approved repair stations. It isn't that you have to spend 500, it's that you can get a waiver if you've got receipts for $450 or more from an approved station and the car still won't pass. If it fails, it may cost less than that to fix it and get it to pass.

I would imagine any of the repair stations (and other garages as well) have the equipment to test it for you ahead of time. It may not have any problems at all, in which case you are worrying for nothing.

[trisha0608]

I'm not sure if it's the same for diesel engines, but after I had my car worked on, my mechanic hooked it up to this hand held machine to make sure it didn't kick back any codes. I'm pretty sure Autozone does the same thing for free too...

[yellowsnow]

I have to take it back to Big O today to get the wheels checked again. After the flying tire issue they asked me to bring it back at 50 and 500 miles for a torque check. I will ask them too.

[WestieJeff]

The smog check for a diesel is done by checking 1) you haven't removed the catalytic converter on the exhaust (you'd know if you did this, since it's a no-no 2) checking the exhaust for opacity (making sure it's not billowing black smoke).

They run the vehicle on a dyno up to 40mph (I believe) during the opacity check. As long as your vehicle doesn't blow serious black smoke, you're fine.

You have to go to a smog station with the diesel test equipment and a dyno, there are a quite a few less than regular smog stations. Figure it costs around $40-$50 for a diesel smog, depending on if you have a coupon.

They don't connect to the computer and run a check the same way they do on a gas vehicle (most diesel vehicles don't have O2 sensors). It's really a joke the way they check it and seems mostly to collect revenue.

[Trash Can]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Or is there a chance I can just take it into the first smog place I see and they won't notice it's a diesel?

Nope, they'll notice immediately. If the sound doesn't give it away, the VIN number will.

[airics]

Just take it to purfect.... $9.99 with coupon 4 smog