this guy behind the counter at NAPA told me that if i add two bottles of rubbing alcohol to my gas tank and runn the truck hard all the way to the E-check place it will pass everytime! did he just want me to break something so id have to come back? have any of yall ever heard of this? i live just outside of cleveland and we have e-checks here. this is the first time ive ever had to deal with this crap, in virginia we didnt have this.

 

I don't know about the alcohol, seems to me there was a warning about putting gas-a-hol in certain vehicles though, something about melting some of the plastic parts or something. We used to have e-testing here in Tampabay area and I would use a product called EXP it came in a 2 or 3 ounce bottle one type came in a green bottle and the other came in a reddish bottle. Always worked great for me. I always pulled the air pumps and stuff off my vehicles and I would pass with flying colors. One thing else drive the truck for about half an hour or so to get it good and warm.
Good Luck, Rick

86 302 EFI, bored 60 over, AOD,
Headman Headers, Flowmaster 40 series,
2 inch dual exhaust, MSD ignition

 

I wouldn't use rubbing alcohol...it is 30% water I believe. Try a bottle or two of HEET gas treatment; I believe it is mostly alcohol and is supposed to help. I've never tried that, though. I have also use denatured alcohol before in my 'vette, and it has worked really well. You can get it at a local hardware store.

 

We've had smog checks here in CA seemingly forever and I have never heard of the alcohol trick. There is some additive sold here that claims that you pass or your money back. I think this is just ordinary fuel system cleaner. Most folks pass anyway, so refunding a tiny percentage of customers is just working the odds.

If something is really wrong, like a stuck EGR valve, bad O2 sensor or burnt out catylist, you won't pass anyway. Here they do a visual check first for missing gas cap, non-working check engine light, and anything under the hood that looks altered or disconnected.

If you just have an old, tired engine, try the following.
Fresh oil change, and leave it a quart low - less chance of burnt oil in the exhaust.
Minor tuneup: plugs, air filter and pcv.
Premium gas, not a full tank - so as not to overload the evap system.
Bring it in after a high-speed run so that it is hot and not loaded up from idling in traffic.

 

Alcohol will help lower emissions, especially Carbon Monoxide (CO). CO is often caused by a rich fuel mixture, and alcohol will lean this out. Obviously, it won't fix a serious problem, but if your truck is failing by a small margin, the alcohol may drop the emissions down enough to pass it. Not only that, but alcohol burns much more cleanly all around than gasoline does. Just make sure you use the right alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is not going to do it, and is probably going to be bad for your engine.