Failed smog

[stewart in slc]

I just had the annual smog check and my hydrocarbons are way high. I'm not in cali, the land of smog nazi's, but I need it to pass. Ideas?
It's a 1981 528i 3.5L w/ standard fuel injection.

[crazyfastman]

I'm not an expert on this, but your mixture may be off a bit. Maybe it's running a bit rich.

If you are really having trouble, wait until your tank is low and replace the gasoline with alcohol. That's how I passed the sniffer when we still had them in Ohio. Ethanol or propanol (rubbing alcohol) will work and shouldn't mess up any other systems, but try general tune-up stuff first.

[Mike W.]

What does the O2 sensor say, what are the readings off it? That is absolutely the first thing to check, do that and we can go from there. It controls mixture, so...