This is topic SFI Balancer + smog = fail? in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
Last week I installed an SFI 18.1 approved balancer, it's universal for SBF so it has 3 sets of timing marks.

2 smog shops have failed me and taken my money despite passing the tailpipe and visual check because they don't believe the 10 BTDC mark my timing is set at is the one for my car?

The guy today wanted to charge me a minimum of $85 to pull the #1 plug, set it to TDC, and verify 0* on the balancer for the mark I have it set to (with a large line of white out across the entire face where 10* is.




is this legit, can they fail me for smog for this bullshit (IMO) reason?
 

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Posted by Luke87GT (Member # 21) on :
 
Of course they can!

Smog is just another means for the government abuse their power and steal our hard earned money.

Most smog shops will play by the book. They have no motivation not to since they always get their money and have no liability by never going outside of the lines
 

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Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
but in the book, does it say there can't be more than 1 set of timing marks on the balancer?


I clearly marked the 10* BTDC mark I am using with white-out and extended that across the face so it's obvious, but it falls on the 40* BTDC mark on another set of timing marks so both shops failed me.


2nd place I warned him, and asked him to not test me/charge me if he was going to fail me for the same thing, but 10 minutes later he checked the timing, then went on to do the sniffer test, I asked if he had a problem seeing the timing and he said, yep I can't tell which set of timing marks is right, so I'm going to have to fail you.

charged me $35 for absolute BULLSHIT.
 

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Posted by warhorse58gt (Member # 7702) on :
 
wow . man glad the shop in my town don't hassle me like that. i have a sfi balancer and never even been asked about it.
 

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Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
I'm thinking about taking my pulley off, spray painting the balancer flat black, and slapping on a timing strip sticker from kragen
 

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Posted by BlowN67 (Member # 4229) on :
 
i got turned away for having an adj fpr. shitty i know an that was the only thing modified on the car.
 

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Posted by gtowned (Member # 8156) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by BlowN67:
i got turned away for having an adj fpr. shitty i know an that was the only thing modified on the car.

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my shop failed alot of mustangs over this.always had alot coming in asking to "overlook" it
 

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Posted by venomous99 (Member # 1917) on :
 
man..i guess im lucky as the shop i go to only does the sniffer. never has he checked timing or inspected anything in the engine bay nor underneath. i went in with my supercharged 94 w/ stuff they could easily pick at yet the car passed w/ no hassle. the true test will come when i bring in my 97 with the 03/04 cobra transplant for smog in 2 years. lol my gut tells me that he'll say nice engine and put the probe in the tailpipe..lol
 

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Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
just passed smog with it this morning before I went to work, man what a freaking headache, put out 25 hc's at idle, 32 at 2500rpm, damn what a risk to the air quality my car is with that balancer

I'm thinking of reporting the smog shop that failed me for it to the BAR, but from what I can tell they can't get in trouble for failing a car, despite taking my money for the test for absolutely no service done to me
 

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Posted by Bronco Man (Member # 8401) on :
 
ya I'd report them, they think they know everything. I had some foreign dork tell me my timing was wrong and I watched him try to pull it off the #5 plug and when I told him he was doing it wrong he said oh this is a Ford thats where it's at. I told him he was full of crap and he said you can do it off this plug too if you know what your doing. I told him to unhook my rig and piss off. You get all these foreign people taking over the shops and they don't know S_ _ _ ! nothing against any foreign guys out there just the idiots running the tests.
 

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