The trade needs to attract the kids who are heading off to be engineers, (not doctors) but it needs to evolve in order to have something to attract them with
That ain't ever gonna happen, and I say this as someone with a Master's degree in EE and over 45 years experience designing high tech stuff.
First of all, techs are troubleshooters, not designers. They troubleshoot and fix problems involving systems that are already in the field, being used by regular consumers. Only engineers that I know of that do that kind of work are Field Service Engineers.
Second, most engineers like to design things; to create new products to fulfill a need; to solve challenging engineering/technical problems; to be at the cutting edge. Not to day in and day out troubleshoot P0420 OBD II codes, and not to work on systems that were designed 10 or 15 years ago.
The financial rewards and working conditions for engineers are much better than they are for the average automotive tech, even given the large amount of outsourcing that has taken place over the years.
Finally, and don't take this the wrong way, you have to have an above average intelligence to be an engineer, and be especially good in math and science. Just take a gander at some of the math courses involved: - 3 semesters of calculus - 2 semesters of complex variables - Linear differential equations - Partial differential equations - Discrete structures - Statistic - Linear algebra - Stochastic processes
Like you alluded to - the automotive repair industry has to significantly increase the rewards and working conditions to have even a glimmer of hope to attract these kinds of people to the field.
That ain't ever gonna happen, and I say this as someone with a Master's degree in EE and over 45 years experience designing high tech stuff
Nice. I have an associates in DEI. My original plans coming out of high school would have seen me in Aerospace Engineering, but a spinal cord injury ended my one and only chance at that.
First of all, techs are troubleshooters, not designers. They troubleshoot and fix problems involving systems that are already in the field, being used by regular consumers. Only engineers that I know of that do that kind of work are Field Service Engineers.
They are precisely what you need to find in shops today. There are quite a few scattered about in the trade but we need many more.
Like you alluded to - the automotive repair industry has to significantly increase the rewards and working conditions to have even a glimmer of hope to attract these kinds of people to the field.
There are going to be some growing pains along the way. It is a bit ironic in that consumer perspectives and attitudes are one of the biggest roadblocks to the changes that need to occur.
- the automotive repair industry has to significantly increase the rewards and working conditions to have even a glimmer of hope to attract these kinds of people to the field.
IMO, its even more basic than that... The US needs to re-evaluate how we train/educate our society, and move away from the "everyone needs to go to college" model and more towards a multi-tier approach that offers alternative educational structures, including apprenticing, traditional college, and other approaches. Simply having vo-tech schools isn't going to get us the educated pool of workers we need placed into the trades that need non-traditional college-educated people.
When someone doesn't know the difference between the two repairs and they hear one person get a quote of $500 and then see that they could buy just a bulb for around $60-80 what kind of an impression would you expect them to come away with?
I did bulbs in a Mazda 3 recently. The bumper cover has to be removed to remove the lamp assemblies and every bolt was corroded and seized in its clip nut. To disassemble they had to be either drilled out, or cut off with a cut-off tool while constantly flowing water to cool the metal to prevent melting any of the plastics. Both ballasts were OK and all the fasteners were replaced.
It is a bit ironic in that consumer perspectives and attitudes are one of the biggest roadblocks to the changes that need to occur.
And how would those be uniquely different in the auto repair field as compared to other industries, such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, computer/automated equipment maintenance, etc.?
I met Cliff Hudson. I used to work for Talkeetna Air Taxi doing ground logistics and packing the planes. Those pilots were very safe. Most crashes were out-of-state people or "hot dog" locals. But the Talkeetna pilots were totally pro.
It is interesting that the level of mistrust between pilots and A&P guys was very similar to what we experience here between car owner and mechanic.
Even when I go to my friend's shop, I ask 'which mechanic is working on my car'? I feel I have the right to choose.
"2002 VW Cabrio...This is going to sound nuts but when you open passenger door the engine dies. Does it every time?
This was doing this for a few days. After trying it again today to see if it would crank with the door open (and it does) the check engine light came on and the following codes are now throwing. P1225, P1226, P1227, P1228, P1451, P1425, P1472. This shouldn't be running at all but runs fine. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. "
I was wondering if this was not causation but rather correlation. I can't imagine a situation where the car stalls with the door opening, but can also immediately crank and re-start. Momentary interrupt of the fuel pump relay? ??
I briefly checked the SAE code descriptions and while I should write it all down to better cross reference the information, the initial appearance is that all of those components are fed power from the fuel pump relay. That suggests that it was either commanded open, or the control circuit for it failed in some fashion. That's what diagnostics look like in the discovery phase, gather information, research to look for any possible correlation and then test to prove or disprove the initial impressions. That allows the tech to narrow down the focus in a rapid fashion.
BTW most of the codes are "short to ground", which means when one of those circuits is turned off the PCM should see power at those terminals and it isn't. With that many codes, the suggestion arises that it is a common loss of power to all of them.
When someone doesn't know the difference between the two repairs and they hear one person get a quote of $500 and then see that they could buy just a bulb for around $60-80 what kind of an impression would you expect them to come away with?
On the board where the $500 bulb replacement was discussed it was established that the number quoted was for the bulb only. Other participants asked if the ignitor or control unit were included in the quote.
I did bulbs in a Mazda 3 recently. The bumper cover has to be removed to remove the lamp assemblies
Tell me something I don't know. I'm hoping I won't have to be pulling the fascia off any time soon...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
So are you thinking PCM failure or something ugly in the wiring harness?
None of the above,, yet,,
I want to know first if there are other codes in any of the modules onboard, then are we in fact losing power through the fuel pump relay, and then we are onto are we losing command for the relay if so which side of the circuit and then "why".
Fun, got to fly with Cliff once and landed on the Kahiltna Glacier flightseeing with TAT back in 80ish. Lowell Thomas Jr. was the pilot. Never flew with Geeting and Don Shelton was before my time.
Back to wrenching (and shades of the oil wars), some GM SUV owners are extolling the merits of additives, like Lucas, SeaFoam, Techron, etc., just as a part of their normal "maintenance".
Not having Chevron stations around here, I pour a bottle of Techron in the tank maybe once every year or two. But the other stuff seems like they'd cause more issues than just following the manual.
. It is a bit ironic in that consumer perspectives and attitudes are one of the biggest roadblocks to the changes that need to occur.
Bull. You think someone with high intelligence is going to give up a nice cushy air conditioned engineering career to crawl under under a hot dirty stinking automobile? That's basically what it boils down to.
Being an automotive mechanic isn't exactly a prestigious career, which is probably why you are a bit bitter and defensive over what you think is a lack of respect to the industry. It's a physically demanding, getting your hands dirty, sometimes
dangerous line of work. That's the biggest "roadblock". The money, management and all that other stuff is secondary.
You don't get corrosion like we do in the rust belt, but I'd be pulling some of the fasteners and coating them in lubricant/protector if I were you.
Thanks, that's a good idea. Mazda issued a TSB for corrosion on the fasteners that secure the plastic tray under the engine compartment, but I haven't had any problems with them.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
You don't get corrosion like we do in the rust belt, but I'd be pulling some of the fasteners and coating them in lubricant/protector if I were you.
Thanks, that's a good idea. Mazda issued a TSB for corrosion on the fasteners that secure the plastic tray under the engine compartment, but I haven't had any problems with them.
That's what I try to do whenever I have to pull any of the under-the-engine pans or splash guards off - coat the bolts with something before I put things back together again. I've rung off a number of those fasteners in my lifetime because of rust. Luckily, most of those pans have enough fasteners that missing one or two (or 6 :P ) doesn't seem to cause any major problems.
When I grew up, bailing wire was always made out of something like jute (we didn't see much of the metal wire type). The "new" bailing wire is pretty tough stuff - plastic so it doesn't rot like the old. But it'd melt around the muffler. The [non-permissible content removed] Orioles back in Boise made some long lasting (and colorful) hanging nests using the new stuff.
When I grew up, bailing wire was always made out of something like jute (we didn't see much of the metal wire type),
I remember both, metal and jute. I didn't care for either. The metal cut into your fingers more, and the jute was more likely to burn if you let it slip. I haven't dealt with hay bales for many years, so I have no real experience with plastic wrappers on hay bales. I do know the plastic zip ties deteriorate in direct sunlight, they will fall apart after a couple of years. At my last house, I did some temporary repairs on a chain link fence using zip ties and then forgot about it. Two years later, I was redoing the job with metal parts.
Oh yeah, the zip ties hidden from the sun under my front end die now and then too. Probably good for ~4 years or so, or until I scrape yet another curb.
The testing of the product to meet Chryslers requirements has one phase that has the oil see a full calendar year of use. With formulations that can change every 3 to 6 months that presents a problem for them. AFAIK there are no plans to seek approval at this time.
You know how you buy house or car paint out of the machine? Punch up the computer code and then move the can under the nozzles as dribs of this and drabs of that get squirted into the can?
That's how we're going to buy motor oil in a few years. :P
>buy house or car paint out of the machine? Punch up the computer code and then move the can under the nozzles as dribs of this and drabs of that get squirted into the can?
Does this mean that hot rodders will be adding their own extra components to the mix to soup up the performance of the oil beyond the normal consumer's needs to withstand the demands of their perceived hotter, faster, better machine?
And will we recycle oil much as unused paint is recycled by donating to the Rebuild Center where they will mix unused new oil or run used oil through a machine to purify it and then resell for habitat type causes?
As complicated as the varying demands of the auto manufacturers has become, we're due for some standardization.
You got it. As near as I can tell, oil doesn't wear out. Just re-refine it and slap some new additives in there and you are good to go. Add an extra few grams of molybdenum to the standard formula per the Blackstone analysis you got.
Which begs the question of why we drain and fill instead of filter and add an additive pack, and top it up.
Today's project, if I can get moving, is to get some of Doc's thin silicone stuff and treat my leaky windshield.
>why we drain and fill instead of filter and add an additive pack
I occasionally listen to ATN, American Truckers Network, on WLW700. There is an advertiser of a continuous filter system that is ancillary to the truck engine's own. With this extra filtering along with some extra volume of oil, they never replace the oil at anything like the normal replacement intervals. Some truckers have indicated using this system after having it installed.
I see the difference between occasional short trip Honda driven by housewife to pick up kids and normal errands in that type of use and the continuous running of a truck for hours or days without stopping it. The truck engine is perfect for an extra fine filtering system to work.
Those semi engines can hold a lot of oil too; makes it pricey just to dump a few gallons. I'm thinking instead of an oil change, you just get an instant analysis and get it filtered every year at Jiffy Lube.
Friend of mine distributes big honking industrial filters so I only have a slight bias.
Which begs the question of why we drain and fill instead of filter and add an additive pack, and top it up.
But that wouldn't address the gas content and other spent/burnt contaminates that ends up in the oil, especially from an aging engine whose rings aren't sealing as well as they once did. Extra filtering can only do so much.
Sounds like that's all the refiners do to get rid of the contaminates. Dewater it, filter it, and heat it to remove sulfur and put some hydrogen back in. (Scientific American)
"By-pass filtration works differently. When this type of auxiliary system is installed, some of the sump oil by-passes the in-line filter system, passing continually though a by-pass filter and then returning to the oil sump. Using this method, sump oil is constantly being cleaned any time the engine is running, and it can be filtered down to a very fine size. All you have to do to maintain the system is occasionally change the by-pass filter.
"Not only do the by-pass filtration units cleanse the sump oil of blow-by and oxidation products, they also reduce wear metals and silicon accumulations, both of which are abrasive. Oil does not wear out. Its usefulness is limited by contamination. By-pass filtration removes most of the contaminants.
"How long can an oil fill be run using by-pass filtration? We've heard claims of large (Class 8) diesels going 1,000,000 miles on the same fill of oil with no harm done to the engines. We have analyzed oils which have been in service 240,000 miles and found nothing unusual in the analysis, other than higher than average iron and lead (from steel parts and bearings), and these wear accumulations were not intolerably high."
"We have analyzed oils which have been in service 240,000 miles and found nothing unusual in the analysis,..."
is pretty much factual.
>"we've heard claims"....that tells you a lot right there.
Not sure what picking out the one second-hand piece means. They weren't recommending 1,000,000 mi.
Blackstone and others do stand to benefit as trucks using these filtration systems are likely to do much better tracking of oil quality with regular oil analyses paid for to Blackstone.
I have a question for Cardoc or others here using their ability to analyze.
I have a spark plug in cylinder #6 that shows a deposits pattern and I don't find a picture of this in the internet examples of spark plug fouling. What are potential causes.
40 K mi on plugs on 150K 3800 engine leSabre. New plugs and new Belden wires at 110K approx. The 5 other plugs show lesser but similar deposits pattern.
Looks like oil burning..with those high miles probably sucking oil through the guides during high vacuum conditions? A cylinder leakdown test would tell you more.
I'm SURE these are good systems and not mickey-mouse.
What I was questioning was the cost of the system vs. the cost of regular oil changes vs. the risk to the engine statistically.
Just questioning it---I really don't know the answer.
It would be interesting to hear what big Diesel engine manufacturers, such as Caterpillar, have to say about the efficacy of these systems. Just guessing, I would think it would require some amount of extra oil in the system, along with some extra weight for the filtration system.
That looks like fuel additives if anything. If it wasn't giving you a driveability issue, and/or there is no other symptom associated with this I wouldn't worry about it at all.
Occasional rare misfire at idle that barely turned on flashing engine light. Then eventually would set the code misfire #6. Also gave rare flashing engine light at highway speed that often didn't last long enough to set code.
Moved all coils and ignition control module from my 1998 leSabre to this one: no change.
All that's left is fuel injector or intake coolant leak (original intake was replaced at 110K with APN metal-sleeved EGR and with Felpro metal sheathed lower intake gaskets--now at 150K mi).
>That looks like fuel additives if anything.
Is that the additives in the gas or in the Techron that I added 2 times a year?
The original plugs at 110K mi were evenly brown. I use Techron regularly. Use mostly Shell and Kroger fuels which is Shell in this area.
My theory on the plugs is the Belden wires are very low resistance. I theorize that affects the spark because the Belden box says low resistance gives a hotter spark. The resistance is about 1/6 of the new premium AC Delco wire I put back on: the #6 wire was 500 ohms Belden and 3000 ohms for Delco.
>with those high miles probably sucking oil through the guides during high vacuum conditions?
I use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic. Original plugs showed none of the uneven buildup at 110K when I took them out. Perfect tan plugs. That was about the time I switched to synthetic.
My theory on the plugs is the Belden wires are very low resistance. I theorize that affects the spark because the Belden box says low resistance gives a hotter spark. The resistance is about 1/6 of the new premium AC Delco wire I put back on: the #6 wire was 500 ohms Belden and 3000 ohms for Delco.
Spark plug wire resistance can make a difference in how long the coil can discharge across the gap of the plug, it has no impact on the firing demand voltage for the cylinder. That is a function of compression and the air/fuel ratio. The timing of the spark is part of the compression consideration, the earlier that the spark occurs before TDC the lower the Kv demand will be. With a greater the spark plug wire resistance, there will be a larger voltage drop across the wire while the plug is firing and current is flowing.
Measuring plug wire resistance is one of the tests that we were taught to do in the eighties that didn't help diagnose problems with the vehicles that we saw. The same goes for ignition coil primary and secondary resistance measurements.
>That looks like fuel additives if anything.
Is that the additives in the gas or in the Techron that I added 2 times a year?
The fuel.
Occasional rare misfire at idle that barely turned on flashing engine light. Then eventually would set the code misfire #6. Also gave rare flashing engine light at highway speed that often didn't last long enough to set code.
Are you using a generic scan tool? Or do you have access to a scan tool that can show you the live misfire counts? GM doesn't show you a P0306 on the enhanced side, you only find that on the global side. GM would set a P0300 on then enhanced side, and expect us to use scan data to see which cylinder(s) is/are producing the misfire(s).
GM also sets failure records along with the freeze frame data, have you pulled all of those?
Moved all coils and ignition control module from my 1998 LeSabre to this one: no change.
I'd want to see secondary waveforms, and injector current ramps during the misfires. From there a running compression test with the pressure transducer would be in order. Swapping parts often only leads to unanswered questions. We used to "check spark plugs" until we learned that simply pulling the plug wire off of a spark plug often damages the wire, as well as makes tiny scratches on the plug. That results in a carbon track and a failed plug and wire that weren't bad before you checked them. That BTW is why you must do plugs and wires together. The lean air/fuel ratios that today's engines run cause secondary demand voltages in the 18Kv range on the road, especially in a light throttle load such as encountering a grade while at cruising speed. That high secondary demand voltage will promote the spark to leak anywhere that the insulation is weak.
Autel AutoLine AL619 which gives a misfire #6 result. It does not have a freeze frame for this code, although it does freeze frame data for some codes. It also can show some live data for some sensors, but nothing that involves misfires. AutoLink 619
Comments
That ain't ever gonna happen, and I say this as someone with a Master's degree in EE and over 45 years experience designing high tech stuff.
First of all, techs are troubleshooters, not designers. They troubleshoot and fix problems involving systems that are already in the field, being used by regular consumers. Only engineers that I know of that do that kind of work are Field Service Engineers.
Second, most engineers like to design things; to create new products to fulfill a need; to solve challenging engineering/technical problems; to be at the cutting edge. Not to day in and day out troubleshoot P0420 OBD II codes, and not to work on systems that were designed 10 or 15 years ago.
The financial rewards and working conditions for engineers are much better than they are for the average automotive tech, even given the large amount of outsourcing that has taken place over the years.
Finally, and don't take this the wrong way, you have to have an above average intelligence to be an engineer, and be especially good in math and science. Just take a gander at some of the math courses involved:
- 3 semesters of calculus
- 2 semesters of complex variables
- Linear differential equations
- Partial differential equations
- Discrete structures
- Statistic
- Linear algebra
- Stochastic processes
Like you alluded to - the automotive repair industry has to significantly increase the rewards and working conditions to have even a glimmer of hope to attract these kinds of people to the field.
Nice. I have an associates in DEI. My original plans coming out of high school would have seen me in Aerospace Engineering, but a spinal cord injury ended my one and only chance at that.
First of all, techs are troubleshooters, not designers. They troubleshoot and fix problems involving systems that are already in the field, being used by regular consumers. Only engineers that I know of that do that kind of work are Field Service Engineers.
They are precisely what you need to find in shops today. There are quite a few scattered about in the trade but we need many more.
Like you alluded to - the automotive repair industry has to significantly increase the rewards and working conditions to have even a glimmer of hope to attract these kinds of people to the field.
There are going to be some growing pains along the way. It is a bit ironic in that consumer perspectives and attitudes are one of the biggest roadblocks to the changes that need to occur.
IMO, its even more basic than that... The US needs to re-evaluate how we train/educate our society, and move away from the "everyone needs to go to college" model and more towards a multi-tier approach that offers alternative educational structures, including apprenticing, traditional college, and other approaches. Simply having vo-tech schools isn't going to get us the educated pool of workers we need placed into the trades that need non-traditional college-educated people.
I did bulbs in a Mazda 3 recently. The bumper cover has to be removed to remove the lamp assemblies and every bolt was corroded and seized in its clip nut. To disassemble they had to be either drilled out, or cut off with a cut-off tool while constantly flowing water to cool the metal to prevent melting any of the plastics. Both ballasts were OK and all the fasteners were replaced.
And how would those be uniquely different in the auto repair field as compared to other industries, such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, computer/automated equipment maintenance, etc.?
It is interesting that the level of mistrust between pilots and A&P guys was very similar to what we experience here between car owner and mechanic.
Even when I go to my friend's shop, I ask 'which mechanic is working on my car'? I feel I have the right to choose.
"2002 VW Cabrio...This is going to sound nuts but when you open passenger door the engine dies. Does it every time?
This was doing this for a few days. After trying it again today to see if it would crank with the door open (and it does) the check engine light came on and the following codes are now throwing. P1225, P1226, P1227, P1228, P1451, P1425, P1472. This shouldn't be running at all but runs fine. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. "
It also helps to have the VW 5 digit codes and not just the SAE versions.
I was wondering if this was not causation but rather correlation. I can't imagine a situation where the car stalls with the door opening, but can also immediately crank and re-start. Momentary interrupt of the fuel pump relay? ??
BTW most of the codes are "short to ground", which means when one of those circuits is turned off the PCM should see power at those terminals and it isn't. With that many codes, the suggestion arises that it is a common loss of power to all of them.
On the board where the $500 bulb replacement was discussed it was established that the number quoted was for the bulb only. Other participants asked if the ignitor or control unit were included in the quote.
I did bulbs in a Mazda 3 recently. The bumper cover has to be removed to remove the lamp assemblies
Tell me something I don't know. I'm hoping I won't have to be pulling the fascia off any time soon...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
None of the above,, yet,,
I want to know first if there are other codes in any of the modules onboard, then are we in fact losing power through the fuel pump relay, and then we are onto are we losing command for the relay if so which side of the circuit and then "why".
You don't get corrosion like we do in the rust belt, but I'd be pulling some of the fasteners and coating them in lubricant/protector if I were you.
Back to wrenching (and shades of the oil wars), some GM SUV owners are extolling the merits of additives, like Lucas, SeaFoam, Techron, etc., just as a part of their normal "maintenance".
Not having Chevron stations around here, I pour a bottle of Techron in the tank maybe once every year or two. But the other stuff seems like they'd cause more issues than just following the manual.
Bull. You think someone with high intelligence is going to give up a nice cushy air conditioned engineering career to crawl under under a hot dirty stinking automobile? That's basically what it boils down to.
Being an automotive mechanic isn't exactly a prestigious career, which is probably why you are a bit bitter and defensive over what you think is a lack of respect to the industry. It's a physically demanding, getting your hands dirty, sometimes
dangerous line of work. That's the biggest "roadblock". The money, management and all that other stuff is secondary.
Thanks, that's a good idea. Mazda issued a TSB for corrosion on the fasteners that secure the plastic tray under the engine compartment, but I haven't had any problems with them.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks, that's a good idea. Mazda issued a TSB for corrosion on the fasteners that secure the plastic tray under the engine compartment, but I haven't had any problems with them.
That's what I try to do whenever I have to pull any of the under-the-engine pans or splash guards off - coat the bolts with something before I put things back together again. I've rung off a number of those fasteners in my lifetime because of rust. Luckily, most of those pans have enough fasteners that missing one or two (or 6 :P ) doesn't seem to cause any major problems.
When I was a kid, the world was held together with baling wire. But technology marches onward, waiting for no man. Today it's duct tape and zip ties.
I remember both, metal and jute. I didn't care for either. The metal cut into your fingers more, and the jute was more likely to burn if you let it slip. I haven't dealt with hay bales for many years, so I have no real experience with plastic wrappers on hay bales. I do know the plastic zip ties deteriorate in direct sunlight, they will fall apart after a couple of years. At my last house, I did some temporary repairs on a chain link fence using zip ties and then forgot about it. Two years later, I was redoing the job with metal parts.
The Mobil 1 0W40 would be the recommended product for your application.
Of course, the M1 0W-40 PDS doesn't mention Chrysler's spec...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Is that Baltimore's farm team? :P
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That's how we're going to buy motor oil in a few years. :P
Does this mean that hot rodders will be adding their own extra components to the mix to soup up the performance of the oil beyond the normal consumer's needs to withstand the demands of their perceived hotter, faster, better machine?
And will we recycle oil much as unused paint is recycled by donating to the Rebuild Center where they will mix unused new oil or run used oil through a machine to purify it and then resell for habitat type causes?
As complicated as the varying demands of the auto manufacturers has become, we're due for some standardization.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Which begs the question of why we drain and fill instead of filter and add an additive pack, and top it up.
Today's project, if I can get moving, is to get some of Doc's thin silicone stuff and treat my leaky windshield.
I occasionally listen to ATN, American Truckers Network, on WLW700. There is an advertiser of a continuous filter system that is ancillary to the truck engine's own. With this extra filtering along with some extra volume of oil, they never replace the oil at anything like the normal replacement intervals. Some truckers have indicated using this system after having it installed.
I see the difference between occasional short trip Honda driven by housewife to pick up kids and normal errands in that type of use and the continuous running of a truck for hours or days without stopping it. The truck engine is perfect for an extra fine filtering system to work.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Friend of mine distributes big honking industrial filters so I only have a slight bias.
But that wouldn't address the gas content and other spent/burnt contaminates that ends up in the oil, especially from an aging engine whose rings aren't sealing as well as they once did. Extra filtering can only do so much.
In terms of "risk assessment", it doesn't make much sense to me.
"By-pass filtration works differently. When this type of auxiliary system is installed, some of the sump oil by-passes the in-line filter system, passing continually though a by-pass filter and then returning to the oil sump. Using this method, sump oil is constantly being cleaned any time the engine is running, and it can be filtered down to a very fine size. All you have to do to maintain the system is occasionally change the by-pass filter.
"Not only do the by-pass filtration units cleanse the sump oil of blow-by and oxidation products, they also reduce wear metals and silicon accumulations, both of which are abrasive. Oil does not wear out. Its usefulness is limited by contamination. By-pass filtration removes most of the contaminants.
"How long can an oil fill be run using by-pass filtration? We've heard claims of large (Class 8) diesels going 1,000,000 miles on the same fill of oil with no harm done to the engines. We have analyzed oils which have been in service 240,000 miles and found nothing unusual in the analysis, other than higher than average iron and lead (from steel parts and bearings), and these wear accumulations were not intolerably high."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm SURE these are good systems and not mickey-mouse.
What I was questioning was the cost of the system vs. the cost of regular oil changes vs. the risk to the engine statistically.
Just questioning it---I really don't know the answer.
is pretty much factual.
>"we've heard claims"....that tells you a lot right there.
Not sure what picking out the one second-hand piece means. They weren't recommending 1,000,000 mi.
Blackstone and others do stand to benefit as trucks using these filtration systems are likely to do much better tracking of oil quality with regular oil analyses paid for to Blackstone.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I have a spark plug in cylinder #6 that shows a deposits pattern and I don't find a picture of this in the internet examples of spark plug fouling. What are potential causes.
40 K mi on plugs on 150K 3800 engine leSabre. New plugs and new Belden wires at 110K approx. The 5 other plugs show lesser but similar deposits pattern.
Larger picture -- click on pict after it loads to enlarge further
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What I was questioning was the cost of the system vs. the cost of regular oil changes vs. the risk to the engine statistically.
Just questioning it---I really don't know the answer.
It would be interesting to hear what big Diesel engine manufacturers, such as Caterpillar, have to say about the efficacy of these systems. Just guessing, I would think it would require some amount of extra oil in the system, along with some extra weight for the filtration system.
Like you, I really have no idea...
http://www.autolite.com/sites/default/a/uploads/en/plugtips.pdf
That looks like fuel additives if anything. If it wasn't giving you a driveability issue, and/or there is no other symptom associated with this I wouldn't worry about it at all.
Occasional rare misfire at idle that barely turned on flashing engine light. Then eventually would set the code misfire #6. Also gave rare flashing engine light at highway speed that often didn't last long enough to set code.
Moved all coils and ignition control module from my 1998 leSabre to this one: no change.
All that's left is fuel injector or intake coolant leak (original intake was replaced at 110K with APN metal-sleeved EGR and with Felpro metal sheathed lower intake gaskets--now at 150K mi).
>That looks like fuel additives if anything.
Is that the additives in the gas or in the Techron that I added 2 times a year?
The original plugs at 110K mi were evenly brown. I use Techron regularly. Use mostly Shell and Kroger fuels which is Shell in this area.
My theory on the plugs is the Belden wires are very low resistance. I theorize that affects the spark because the Belden box says low resistance gives a hotter spark. The resistance is about 1/6 of the new premium AC Delco wire I put back on: the #6 wire was 500 ohms Belden and 3000 ohms for Delco.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic. Original plugs showed none of the uneven buildup at 110K when I took them out. Perfect tan plugs. That was about the time I switched to synthetic.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Spark plug wire resistance can make a difference in how long the coil can discharge across the gap of the plug, it has no impact on the firing demand voltage for the cylinder. That is a function of compression and the air/fuel ratio. The timing of the spark is part of the compression consideration, the earlier that the spark occurs before TDC the lower the Kv demand will be. With a greater the spark plug wire resistance, there will be a larger voltage drop across the wire while the plug is firing and current is flowing.
Measuring plug wire resistance is one of the tests that we were taught to do in the eighties that didn't help diagnose problems with the vehicles that we saw. The same goes for ignition coil primary and secondary resistance measurements.
>That looks like fuel additives if anything.
Is that the additives in the gas or in the Techron that I added 2 times a year?
The fuel.
Occasional rare misfire at idle that barely turned on flashing engine light. Then eventually would set the code misfire #6. Also gave rare flashing engine light at highway speed that often didn't last long enough to set code.
Are you using a generic scan tool? Or do you have access to a scan tool that can show you the live misfire counts? GM doesn't show you a P0306 on the enhanced side, you only find that on the global side. GM would set a P0300 on then enhanced side, and expect us to use scan data to see which cylinder(s) is/are producing the misfire(s).
GM also sets failure records along with the freeze frame data, have you pulled all of those?
Moved all coils and ignition control module from my 1998 LeSabre to this one: no change.
I'd want to see secondary waveforms, and injector current ramps during the misfires. From there a running compression test with the pressure transducer would be in order. Swapping parts often only leads to unanswered questions. We used to "check spark plugs" until we learned that simply pulling the plug wire off of a spark plug often damages the wire, as well as makes tiny scratches on the plug. That results in a carbon track and a failed plug and wire that weren't bad before you checked them. That BTW
is why you must do plugs and wires together. The lean air/fuel ratios that today's engines run cause secondary demand voltages in the 18Kv range on the road, especially in a light throttle load such as encountering a grade while at cruising speed. That high secondary demand voltage will promote the spark to leak anywhere that the insulation is weak.
You should really get to bed earlier....
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Autel AutoLine AL619 which gives a misfire #6 result. It does not have a freeze frame for this code, although it does freeze frame data for some codes. It also can show some live data for some sensors, but nothing that involves misfires.
AutoLink 619
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,