zeroptzero

Just got a used 2002, it had to be e-tested prior to the sale. Most items on the e-test were way below their limits, but HC (hydrocarbons) was right on the limit for our region at 16 ppms. As far as I know this is usually related to unburned fuel , etc..., not an expert on this though. Car has approx. 57,000 miles. The entire car is in mint condition and well maintained. Engine runs silky smooth. It has been run on Castrol Syntec 10w-30 in the past on short interval changes.

Any suggestions as to what may cause this ?. I am going through the entire car and swapping out all fluids, and putting in new spark plugs. Doing a valve adjustment right now, running a fuel cleaner and other stuff. It has a brand new air filter.

The car seems to have a leak around the valvecover, and the inside of the valvecover was pretty mucky with varnish like deposits. I just replaced the pcv valve as a precaution, it may have been partly responsible for the dirty valvecover and possibly the leakage as well. Not sure if it would affect HC levels on emmissions.

Any opinions on this would be cool. Thanks !

2poor2mod

Sounds like you are on the right track to getting the car back in tip top shape. The only other thing i can think of is the catalytic convertor or an O2 sensor may be on their way out. I would suggest getting the car re-tested after you do all of the things you mentioned and see where the HC's are then and go from there.

zeroptzero

thanks for the quick reply. Yeah I guess an 02 sensor could be a culprit, hopefully the cat. is still new enough not to be an issue for a while, but you never know.

For the relatively low cost of a test, I may just try that in the future. thanks for the suggestion.