And the saga continues....... (warning: LONG!)

[sl3196]

When I ran on the dyno before, they had no fans going. My car didn't overheat at all and that was 2 full dyno pulls. (not 60mph emmision crap)

 

I don't think you have much to blame on them since you said it was only going for a few minutes. Sounds like a part just failed on you. Good luck getting it fixed!

[Jeff M]

When I ran on the dyno before, they had no fans going. My car didn't overheat at all and that was 2 full dyno pulls. (not 60mph emmision crap)

 

I don't think you have much to blame on them since you said it was only going for a few minutes. Sounds like a part just failed on you. Good luck getting it fixed!

 

Sorry, just because your dyno did not have this and everything went fine, not good enough to make a statement of fact Do some research, doing things proper includes fans on dynos, I have seen this for over 30 years (old guys talking here ) and seen enough pro shops that always have fans on their dyno. I even read an article a few months back, Dinan stated he can run his tuned kits on a BMW and make an extra 50 ro 200 hp when there is enough of the proper amount of air moving, as it does when a car accelerates down a road :read: . Heat soak is nasty, just pop the hood on any car idling, feel the heat roll out, can't put your hand even on the manifold :shock: , and that is just idling, now make some power without air flowing over the radiator and engine bay, major heat .

 

Jeff M

[RareGMFan]

Yeeaah....that would have to be the first time I've heard a dyno facility not run ANY sort of fan, what so ever. Not to mention....was the car you took to the dyno a TGP? I think everyone keeps forgetting the turbo factor, and the immense amount of heat they produce over a n/a 3.1, and even superchargers. And the test may have only been going for a few minutes, but my car was operating for at least a good half hour prior to that, with 0 shut off time. How about those pulls? How long did that take you?

 

Please don't be so quick to condescend with a weak, apples to oranges comparison. For as much as some of you are siding with the EPA, I guarantee you, had it been you in my shoes, you wouldn't be so quick to hold that opinion and lay down and say "oh well, sucks to be me".

 

 

Jeff - Thanks for taking all the time to respond, and all the input. I really appreciate it. Most of it is stuff I've been calculating and planning on using, already, but the more opinions, the better. At the very least, if they can make the cars exempt from this ridiculous test, it will have been worth the fight.

[GP1138]

Actually, the test isn't so ridiculous if you consider that, for $20, you're getting a 5-gas done to your car, at least in Ohio, and if you fail it, they give you the results and you don't have to pay the $20 until you get the problem fixed.

 

The test keeps really shitty cars that actually pollute off the road, with a little hassle for those of us who do keep our cars in shape, but it's actually not as ridiculous as you think. A 5-gas readout can be very valuable and helpful in diagnosing possible problems.

[RareGMFan]

Oh I'm sure it can hold valuable info. I didn't mean it to be ridiculous in the sense that it's worthless. But there's really no point to it as far as their supposed purpose is concerned. I mean, first of all, about 90% of the state doesn't have to take it, like I said. Just the immediate Chicagoland area. And secondly, even IF you fail 3 times, there isn't jack they can do about it. If you've spendt X amount of dollars (I forget the actual, correct amount), and tried to fix this and that and it still doesn't pass, or you can't afford to fix it, they make your car exempt, anyway. So what exactly is the point, here? :?

[joberlee]

Oh I'm sure it can hold valuable info. I didn't mean it to be ridiculous in the sense that it's worthless. But there's really no point to it as far as their supposed purpose is concerned. I mean, first of all, about 90% of the state doesn't have to take it, like I said. Just the immediate Chicagoland area. And secondly, even IF you fail 3 times, there isn't jack they can do about it. If you've spendt X amount of dollars (I forget the actual, correct amount), and tried to fix this and that and it still doesn't pass, or you can't afford to fix it, they make your car exempt, anyway. So what exactly is the point, here? :?

That is exactly why michigan got rid of emissions testing about 10 years ago, it wasn't stopping anything, and it was only on cars less than 10 years old.

[90tgpblk]

Rare,

I think the amount is some where 300-600 dollars, if I recall correctly.

Still alot of money. You need to get them. I know they almost over heated my Integra earlier this summer and the A$$ testing my car could not drive a stick well at all, he had the car shaking and bouceing all over the rollers. I tought it was going to come flying off. Good luck

Ken

[sl3196]

Yeeaah....that would have to be the first time I've heard a dyno facility not run ANY sort of fan, what so ever. Not to mention....was the car you took to the dyno a TGP? I think everyone keeps forgetting the turbo factor, and the immense amount of heat they produce over a n/a 3.1, and even superchargers. And the test may have only been going for a few minutes, but my car was operating for at least a good half hour prior to that, with 0 shut off time. How about those pulls? How long did that take you?

 

No it was a gtp but the s/c's still put out a shitload of heat. I was 3rd in line and had a good 20 min drive to the dyno. So yeah it was still up at operating temp. Pulls were back to back, first one ran all the way to the top of 3rd. (damn dyno guy had it in wrong gear lol) We had quite a few turbo cars and even kenny and luke were there with their tgp's and I don't think either of them had the fan running during the pulls. All those cars drove off as well without problems.

[RareGMFan]

Rare,

I think the amount is some where 300-600 dollars, if I recall correctly.

Still alot of money. You need to get them. I know they almost over heated my Integra earlier this summer and the A$$ testing my car could not drive a stick well at all, he had the car shaking and bouceing all over the rollers. I tought it was going to come flying off. Good luck

Ken

 

Thanks for relating another story to the incopetence of these people, Ken. Yeah, I'm going to go after them as much as I can. We'll see what happens, though as Luke said, I'm not expecting much.

 

I think it was $400 to meet exemption. While I was filling out the complaint form, there was a lady that came in next to me, and an employee that came out to meet her there. She reviewed the results sheet with her, and said "yeah, there's definitely an improvement from last time, but it's still not passing. So I would go back to the people that did the repairs".

 

The lady got all flustered and said..."I've already spent......doesn't it say on the back of the sheet that the car is exempt if you've spent $400 in repairs??"

 

The employee flipped the sheet over, read through it (as if an employee doesn't already know this ), and started filling something out. I'm assuming to make it exempt.

 

 

 

**Anyway, update. I received a letter today saying that they had gotten the complaint, and need to investigate the car. I'm supposed to take it to one of the locations listed on the second sheet to look the car over. There's only one remotely near me. But.....

 

1. My plates are suspended.

2. My plate stickers are expired, and I can't buy new ones BECAUSE the plates are suspended.

3. I don't think driving the car any distance is a good idea, right now.

 

I'll have to call them on all this tomorrow, and see what they say. I'll keep everyone posted.

[gp90se]

All I think I can add is good luck.

[Pontiac6KSTEAWD]

Missouri law stipulates you can drive a car with no plates, no registration, no nothing, all you need is insurance. This only applies to and from testing emissions stations, and repair shops. Now, IL being they paired with MO on getting this rediculous dyno style emissions crap would have to have the same type of law I would think. They require you to drive the vehicle into the shop afterall. You cant do that on a tow truck. MO is also trying to get rid of the emissions crap. Alot of new cars were having problems passing, and MO also does the exempt thing. I hear what you are saying on all this stuff Rare, but, if IL is like MO, they have a sign in the station that states they arent responsible for blah blah blah blah. If they do, your screwed. And even thou they dont, they will simply state "you surrendered your car to us saying it was in full functional condition. And it isnt. We are sorry for the inconveince, and make sure to vote republican" garble.

 

My neighbor had her civic on that dyno machine a short while back. It blew out a tire, and they could prove it was a bearing for the rollers that made its way INTO her tire. they still wouldnt pay for a replacement.

[spacecadetz26]

In, IL you can get a 5 day temporary pass for $10 or so from the DMV.

[RareGMFan]

Brian - Unfortunately in IL, it doesn't work that way. Like I said at the beginning of the very first post, I had valid, registered plates with a CURRENT (at the time) sticker, when I got pulled over and told the plates were suspended. Typical of Naperville, I didn't do anything wrong. She was just bored, and behind me, so she ran the plates for the hell of it. Must have thought "BINGO! We got a live one, here!" So yeah....driving the car with the plates as is, is DEFINITELY out of the question.

 

Update on the situation. I finally made an appointment, and went to their "approved" mechanic/shop to get an "evaluation" done of the car. The evaluation didn't really consist of anything. I popped the hood, and he just stood there and stared. I told him what happened. He agreed that the fans must have been working if I left it running for around 30 minutes prior to the test, and it didn't overheat at that point. He did still say that he doesn't think the test would have anything to do with it (which I fully expected from him, of course). So.....that's the report he sent back to Envirotest, whom in return sent me another letter saying the car had been......"thoroughly" inspected, and they must come to the conclusion that the test had nothing to do with it, due to the mechanic's "expert" opinion. They also gave me several options, like talking to the Better Business Bureau, or calling the EPA directly (not the local branch) if I'm not satisfied with the "completeness" of their investigation (which, again, consisted of nothing). I'm more then likely going to get written documentation from several mechanics who agree that there is a chance (as opposed to THEIR mechanic, who said there's NO chance) that the test itself could have led up to this problem. After that, if it becomes a private legal battle, I'm more then prepared. My lawyers are free, because they're LITERALLY part of my job benefits. That's right. Two weeks paid vacation, six paid sick days.......free lawyers. I have nothing to loose.

 

The only good that came out of the trip to their approved mechanic was the TSTE didn't show any signs of overheating, or even getting to the point of needing to turn on the fans, for that matter. I guess thoroughly bleeding the system worked. When I opened the radiator cap, I again didn't see any coolant, but as soon as I poured some in, it showed itself, so that was ok, too. No more magically disappearing coolant.

 

By the way.....it's a 7 day temporary "trip permit" for $10, and you're only allowed 3 per year. So if it's going to take several trips to the mechanic, and several trips to the test in order to pass, you could very easily chew those up. Then you're screwed. There's no other alternatives.

 

I *may* be able to save the TGP from such torture. As long as they hold off the suspension long enough (just need another month and a half), I believe I can make it happen, so long as I am accurately understanding what happened to my sister's LeSabre T Type to make it exempt (we didn't ask for it, it was just a pleasant surprise). I'll update down the road.