Almost a month now since I bought my 2000 ls - had looked for about 6 months before I picked this one. It looked good and ran good. The next day I found a good sized puddle of oil under the car -crank seal(it was supposed to have a new t belt and water pump) and a code p0421. Day 3 coming home from work, the water pump belt broke. Being an old car guy, I have the tools and dove in. OMG, some people are idiots. Found several missing bolts, #2 spark plug had a steel sleeve and what dumba$$ would change the t-belt only? Spent a week cleaning engine compartment, another week putting it together(correctly). After battling water pump by-pass hose issues and a crank sensor wire I had to solder(towed from highway a second time), I think I got it but for the p0421(we all know what that is). I'm on my 2nd bottle of techron with no luck yet.
Before I dump another $800 for coils and a Calif cat, has anybody had success passing smog check with a Calif car in another state? I'm in AZ and I know I can reset the cel before snifter, but to keep this car, I need a long term and "legal" remedy.

 

dont fret. these cars are easy to work on and parts are cheap.

what is p0421 specifically? it's possible the coils are bad, I'm pretty sure the 99-00 coils are notoriously weak. But I wouldn't drop $800 on a new set.

also, you should have no issues with a CA car in another state, if anything the CA car will be more stringent and thus better emissions compare to AZ. You just need to fix the code.

 

PO421 is the cat attached to the exhaust manifold. Try the lacquer thinner cleaning.

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=5icTmYItwiE

 

I had that code on my Altima, I had to replace the precat

it was full of oil.

 

Can you get away with ditching the pre-cat manifold and still be legal in AZ?

I also have a 2000 CA emissions spec Miata, but I'm currently running a 01-05 NB factory exhaust manifold (with heatshields) and 01-05 EGR tube. It bolts right in and works just fine with the stock ECU. The only catch is that you have to move around the O2 sensors. I'm not saying its 100% legal, but I did pass both CA visual and sniffer emissions on just the cat in the midpipe... twice.

My motivation was 4 fold:
Save weight: The 01+ parts weight a fraction of the 99/00 iron boat anchor
Performance: The iron is a double killer. Not only is it heavy, it flows like crap
Cost Savings: $800 for the CA-EPA approved replacement pre-cat is not cool.
Cost vs Performance: At the time I bought all the 01+ parts to do the swap, it was $75 + shipping. Sadly, the cost has gone up.

While the 01+ OEM parts are no Racing Beat long tube, it does flow quite well. It also has the benefit of a heat shield and OEM quality fit and finish. My 99/00 CA emissions manifold/cat/egr tube are living quite happily under my workbench should I ever need to call them back into service.

The entire swap with pictures can be found here: http://peatpics.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=29359

To give you a better idea of what I'm talking about, you get to replace the cast iron manifold with this:

Hows that for better flow?

If you really want to get into this swap and make it "visually correct" I have Mazda PN and source for the under-hood emissions system layout sticker and some notes about the rear O2 sensor location and wiring that's included from the factory.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

Let me know if you really need a precat. I have one off my 2000 which has less than 5000 miles on it that i will let go for a song. I will never need it, no emissions check in Hawaii, and it is a shame to have it sitting around doing nothing.

 

Finally got cali cat off today - it looks like some one punched a hole in the screen and dumped remains from inside. There's nothing left inside.
Monday I'll get on phone and begin a search for parts.
EvoRoadster - any idea what shipping to Phoenix would be and how much would it take to have you part with your cali cat?

 

Thats unfortunate. IF the cat burned/melted, you may have chunks stuck in the main cat now

 

Shipping cost plus enough extra for a case or so of beer would keep me happy. Let me know if you really are interested and I will get a shipping estimate.

 

Go the 01+ header route.