OT: I think it’s time to let go of my audi…sniff….

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]If it’s an old Porsche, isn’t that a feature, not a bug? Or perhaps it was a semi-retired German secret agent testing the cloaking systems on his car…[/quote]Yes, it was probably an ’80’s model. But this one quite obviously blew a head gasket.

[spdrun]

Or an oil hose and it was leaking on the exhaust. Remember that the aircooled Porsches are actually oil-cooled, which makes for a LOT of oil flow, more so than “normal” car motors.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Or an oil hose and it was leaking on the exhaust. Remember that the aircooled Porsches are actually oil-cooled, which makes for a LOT of oil flow, more so than “normal” car motors.[/quote] Interesting spdun. Didn’t know that. I knew their engines were in the rear.

[Hobie]

Small nuance here. Oil leak onto hot exhaust will produce a ‘white’ smoke with a slight blue tinge. But that is easy to smell and track down looking at the engine. But, if it coming directly through the exhaust pipe and is white. That is coolant.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=flu]
I wasn’t going to cheat the system, I’m just merely pointing out that the system itself isn’t exactly taking gross polluters off the road.[/quote]

Not exactly, but short of banning old cars, it’s a good attempt. Some history… CAL EPA was an innovator which led to the federal government developing national standards. We got rid of all the smog and acid rain of the 70s and 80s. Some said it couldn’t be done.

Banning old cars would really rile up Americans’ sense of freedom to do what they want.

[spdrun]

Not really — smog has decreased even in non-smog states. Cars get replaced by attrition anyway and post 1990 or so cars all have catalytic converters and electronic fuel injection.

Old, old cars are really an edge case and not subject to smog in most places anyway.

[Coronita]

[quote=Hobie]Small nuance here. Oil leak onto hot exhaust will produce a ‘white’ smoke with a slight blue tinge. But that is easy to smell and track down looking at the engine. But, if it coming directly through the exhaust pipe and is white. That is coolant.[/quote]

Thanks. It was coming from the exhaust.

I just switched to a thicker oil (rotella t6/for turbo diesels). Its not a vw spec oil, but someone on bobtheoilguy ran it on the same engine on a vw and had an oil analysis done. it did as well if not better than most vw speced oils. Besides, it’s a last ditch effort for this car, so things like coming the turbo is probably not on the top of list things I should be concerned about.

Amazon is selling it for $18/4 quarts woth a subscription, which is cheap for synthetic. Its the same oil I put on my sc miata, so if this works, I don’t need to maintain a big stock of different oils. I also topped off my coolant but I am pretty sure the leak is external, since I did see a drip. The coolant didn’t look dirty, and the oil looked fine.

I’ll post my finds in a week.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Not really — smog has decreased even in non-smog states. Cars get replaced by attrition anyway and post 1990 or so cars all have catalytic converters and electronic fuel injection.

Old, old cars are really an edge case and not subject to smog in most places anyway.[/quote]

In CA, vehicles which are 1975 model year or older are not required to be smogged (or Diesels 1997 model year or older):

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/smogfaq

[spdrun]

Hence, most places. CA stopped moving the cutoff sometime around y2k.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=flu][quote=Hobie]Small nuance here. Oil leak onto hot exhaust will produce a ‘white’ smoke with a slight blue tinge. But that is easy to smell and track down looking at the engine. But, if it coming directly through the exhaust pipe and is white. That is coolant.[/quote]

Thanks. It was coming from the exhaust.

I just switched to a thicker oil (rotella t6/for turbo diesels). Its not a vw spec oil, but someone on bobtheoilguy ran it on the same engine on a vw and had an oil analysis done. it did as well if not better than most vw speced oils. Besides, it’s a last ditch effort for this car, so things like coming the turbo is probably not on the top of list things I should be concerned about.

Amazon is selling it for $18/4 quarts woth a subscription, which is cheap for synthetic. Its the same oil I put on my sc miata, so if this works, I don’t need to maintain a big stock of different oils. I also topped off my coolant but I am pretty sure the leak is external, since I did see a drip. The coolant didn’t look dirty, and the oil looked fine.

I’ll post my finds in a week.[/quote]Sounds good, flu. It wouldn’t hurt to run that “CRC 05063 Guaranteed To Pass Emissions Test Formula” from Amazon thru a full tank of gas before retesting as well (preferably mostly at higher speed freeway driving).

Let us know how your retest comes out.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Hence, most places. CA stopped moving the cutoff sometime around y2k.[/quote]Uh, yeah. flu’s “mid-2000” vehicle apparently got caught up in the “STAR-directed” inspection quagmire.

I never would have thunk it until he posted this thread but I’m not surprised in the least.

[spdrun]

Or he just encountered an inspector who wanted to be a dick that day.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]Not really — smog has decreased even in non-smog states. Cars get replaced by attrition anyway and post 1990 or so cars all have catalytic converters and electronic fuel injection.

Old, old cars are really an edge case and not subject to smog in most places anyway.[/quote]

Cleaning the environment is a process.

Eventually, cars will have wireless communications and send data to the smog test machine… or maybe in the future, smog testing will go away completely — cars will send data to the manufacturers who will report to the appropriate state DMVs, just like insurance companies now do. I know, I know, big brother is coming to take away our freedoms. But driving cars is a privilege, not a right (unlike guns).

BTW, manufacturers have been working with the states to reduce inconvenience and improve the ownership experience… so now, newer cars (6 years new, which is reasonable for most people) don’t have to be smogged because they have better smarter computers that alert drivers of things that are wrong. California is the most populous state, and what we do eventually gets adopted as the national standard.

Bottom line, don’t like the hassle of smog testing or repair issues? Replace your car every 6 years (or maybe 8 years as smog is biennial). A younger fleet is cleaner, safer, and good for business and the economy as new technologies get adopted. Aiming for a 6 to 10 year replacement cycle is pretty reasonable, no?

[bearishgurl]

FIH, are you suggesting everyone spend $25K++ (cash or credit) every 6-8 years just to drive the latest model? That would really decimate most people’s budgets and a huge portion of the population isn’t able to do this due to lack of funds or lack or credit (or good enough credit not be taken for a ride by a shyster auto dealer).

In my case, it would cost $60-70K to update my vehicle to the newest (same or similar) model. I can think of so many ways that money could be better spent (assuming it is even spent at all). I don’t drive that much around town (5K miles annually?). If I’m planning on going on an extended road trip, I know where my shop is located and how to make an appt there to have my vehicle checked out. My current reg fee is the minimum $89 year. I realize there is a current bill pending to raise that another $65-75 year for “road and infrastructure improvements.” We’ll see what happens there but I suspect it will pass.

I’ve been driving without a backup camera and heated seats for ~45 years. Why don’t you try to convince me (just another Suzy Q Public) why I need these things now?

[spdrun]

FIH —
(1) Car production is not a welfare program for union auto workers and auto dealers. If it’s not needed, no need to force people to buy it, especially since making a new car takes a lot of energy. Ending is NOT always better than mending.
(2) We’ve reached a point of diminishing returns as far as gasoline internal combustion tech. Efficiency and emissions wise. Most of the advances were made in the 80s and 90s. The goal should be increased adoption of electric cars. We do that by making gas more expensive and electric car tech cheaper. And by building out longer-distance electric trains combined with Zipcar type programs to provide a “last 30 miles service.” This combination would get around the range limits of electric tech.
(3) Some states are actually scaling back smog testing since their air is clean enough by Federal standards, and edge cases are not worth catching. Or moving to an OBD2 only program and exempting pre-OBD2 cars (cheaper).
(4) I doubt that CA would go with internal combustion cars not being inspected, but rather only phoning home. Too easy to cheat since there’d be no visual.

[Author]

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