Hey guys,

I'm due for a smog check with my next California DMV registration. It's every other year that my car is required to get one. I have removed the pre-heater hose due to the fear of frying my AMM, and I think that fear may be justified as I don't think my airbox thermostat works properly--last time I checked many years ago. So each time I have to do a smog check, I replace the hose just to be on the safe side. One thing about putting it back on is having to remove the belly pan and just the hassle of it all. So I was wondering if leaving it out this time is a big deal. Do smog places actually check for things like this? The other day I was cleaning my engine bay and thought maybe I could just fit the top end of the hose to the heat shield of the manifold, but can't do it without having to snake the bottom hose down the engine bay, which is impossible.

Anyone leave their pre-heater hose off when doing a smog check?