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| Boxster smog test failed... MarcW - 9 years ago |
then passed!
At the beginning: It is time to smog test the Boxster. I'm required to take it to a Star station this time. I have no idea what the differences are between a Star station and the other stations. (I guess I could look it up online.)
Anyhow, I drove the Boxster around quite a bit before taking it in and the car failed! The HC readings at both 15mph and 25mph were over the limit by a few points. Afterwards I drove to the Porsche dealer to tell the techs and ask what I should do. Both responded with "Really?" when I told them the car failed smog.
Both suggested I need to drive the car "like I stole it". Well, I pride myself on my usage of my cars, believing that I do not baby them but of course do not abuse them either but what the heck. While I couldn't drive very aggressively and at very high speed I took a 50 mile or so trip driving at mostly freeway speeds with a few hard accelerations when conditions permitted it. Back to the test station and a retest and the car passed with very good numbers, less than half the failing readings.
Whew! Dodged a bullet. Oh, 279K miles.
Thank goodness that's over with for 2 years. All I have do now is send in the registration money.
At the beginning: It is time to smog test the Boxster. I'm required to take it to a Star station this time. I have no idea what the differences are between a Star station and the other stations. (I guess I could look it up online.)
Anyhow, I drove the Boxster around quite a bit before taking it in and the car failed! The HC readings at both 15mph and 25mph were over the limit by a few points. Afterwards I drove to the Porsche dealer to tell the techs and ask what I should do. Both responded with "Really?" when I told them the car failed smog.
Both suggested I need to drive the car "like I stole it". Well, I pride myself on my usage of my cars, believing that I do not baby them but of course do not abuse them either but what the heck. While I couldn't drive very aggressively and at very high speed I took a 50 mile or so trip driving at mostly freeway speeds with a few hard accelerations when conditions permitted it. Back to the test station and a retest and the car passed with very good numbers, less than half the failing readings.
Whew! Dodged a bullet. Oh, 279K miles.
Thank goodness that's over with for 2 years. All I have do now is send in the registration money.
| Well I guess that shows the value of Guenter in Ontario - 9 years ago |
| I resorted to a half-assed Italian tuneup in that I was pressed for time. I wanted to eat lunch... MarcW - 9 years ago |
before I had to take my Mom to a doctor appointment later in the afternoon. Also, I was hampered by traffic and couldn't just put the cruise control on say 70mph and drive for 15 minutes or so then make a u-turn and drive back. Had I more time I would have done this.
As I've mentioned before I've noticed after a drive at freeway speeds from my house to my sister's house in San Jose, maybe 50 miles, the car is running noticeably better. Many of these drives -- I made a lot when I was driving down to take care of her house or visit her in the hospital (she was hospitalized almost a year) -- were made with the cruise control on and the speed constant at around 70mph. No Italian tune up shenanigans involved.
As I've mentioned before I've noticed after a drive at freeway speeds from my house to my sister's house in San Jose, maybe 50 miles, the car is running noticeably better. Many of these drives -- I made a lot when I was driving down to take care of her house or visit her in the hospital (she was hospitalized almost a year) -- were made with the cruise control on and the speed constant at around 70mph. No Italian tune up shenanigans involved.
| Do you have access to a Durametric or the Porsche system? Bruce In Philly (2000 S Boxster, now '09 C2S) - 9 years ago |
My 54 year old memory is starting to go...... but my indy hooked up the Porsche computer to my Boxster and we were watching live values. The values were swinging in a sine wave and he said this was showing weak and failing catalytic converters. He said the swing should be a straight line or very tight if they were healthy. When and if the values crested some threshold, the dash light would pop.
I guess the converters use up their platinum as they work and then they are just done for. Maybe getting them real hot liberates some residue and exposes some good surface...... (hey I got an imagination).
But regardless, you get two more years out of them. This incident got me thinking what I would do if they were dead..... I think I would try a dismantler first before I would by a new part to go 10 more years.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
I guess the converters use up their platinum as they work and then they are just done for. Maybe getting them real hot liberates some residue and exposes some good surface...... (hey I got an imagination).
But regardless, you get two more years out of them. This incident got me thinking what I would do if they were dead..... I think I would try a dismantler first before I would by a new part to go 10 more years.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
viewer. I didn't bother to connect it though as I was sure the car would pass. I figured with no CEL and with all the readiness monitors set to complete -- I didn't even bother to confirm this before the test as I had checked often enough in the past to have a high degree of confidence they were set to complete this time -- it would be an in and out done thing.
The converters do shed their outer grains of catalytic metal over time. But my belief is the stock converters have a good "heavy" layer of these metals and a large surface are and can tolerate this loss. I note the converters on my car have now covered over 279K miles and both work just fine, albeit one side occasionally triggers a P0430 error which does suggest it is wearing out. (It also could arise from a loose converter "brick" that shifts position slightly and as a result the exhaust gas flow through the shifted and out of place converter is not optimum.) The problem converter has never been off the car, well, not since at 25K miles when both were removed to replace the RMS, so I have not had a chance to give the exhaust manifold with the suspected bad/loose converter a shake to test for a loose converter.
A "killer" of converters is ZDDP. The phosphate in this additive leaves a layer of deposits on the working surfaces of the converter and effectively renders an otherwise good converter bad. This is why I inwardly cringe when someone elects to run an oil with a large amount of ZDDP in it with the mistaken belief this will prolong the engine's life. Zinc is an anti-scuff additive and even Mobil 1 0w-40 has IIRC 1000 (or 1100) PPM of this stuff, but without the phosphate. There is the risk to the converters, but there is really no benefit to engine life and in fact there is some risk of shortening engine life. Large amounts of ZDDP, the phosphate in it, besides being harmful to the converters also contribute to oil break down at the ring/cylinder interface at high RPMs (my references indicate this can happen at over 6K RPMs) which can actually work to shorten the engine's life.
I second that dismantler's idea. I was prepared to source a pair of converters from Parts Heaven in Hayward and have the tech swap them with the ones on the car in the hopes the "new" converters would do the trick. At some point I considered a new converter for the suspected bad one but at this stage I think installing a new converter with an old converter on the other bank would result in an engine fueling imbalance of some sort. Thus I would drawn to replacing both converters, and possible all 4 O2 sensors, at the same time. But factory converters are very expensive, on the order of $1000 or more per part. Toss in the cost of new sensors and the labor and ouch!
Anyhow, the car passed its emissions test but I can't help but wonder a little bit what this failure will bring with it next time? I wonder will the car have to be retested a year from now, or will the DMV let it go two years as before? Will it have to be tested at a Star station again, or will just the plain test station suffice?
Oh, the tech made a half hearted inspection of the car's exhaust system from behind the car and down low. There was no lift to put the car in the air. In fact the tech didn't even expose the engine compartment to confirm the engine was stock at least on top. (It is stock through and through though.)
The converters do shed their outer grains of catalytic metal over time. But my belief is the stock converters have a good "heavy" layer of these metals and a large surface are and can tolerate this loss. I note the converters on my car have now covered over 279K miles and both work just fine, albeit one side occasionally triggers a P0430 error which does suggest it is wearing out. (It also could arise from a loose converter "brick" that shifts position slightly and as a result the exhaust gas flow through the shifted and out of place converter is not optimum.) The problem converter has never been off the car, well, not since at 25K miles when both were removed to replace the RMS, so I have not had a chance to give the exhaust manifold with the suspected bad/loose converter a shake to test for a loose converter.
A "killer" of converters is ZDDP. The phosphate in this additive leaves a layer of deposits on the working surfaces of the converter and effectively renders an otherwise good converter bad. This is why I inwardly cringe when someone elects to run an oil with a large amount of ZDDP in it with the mistaken belief this will prolong the engine's life. Zinc is an anti-scuff additive and even Mobil 1 0w-40 has IIRC 1000 (or 1100) PPM of this stuff, but without the phosphate. There is the risk to the converters, but there is really no benefit to engine life and in fact there is some risk of shortening engine life. Large amounts of ZDDP, the phosphate in it, besides being harmful to the converters also contribute to oil break down at the ring/cylinder interface at high RPMs (my references indicate this can happen at over 6K RPMs) which can actually work to shorten the engine's life.
I second that dismantler's idea. I was prepared to source a pair of converters from Parts Heaven in Hayward and have the tech swap them with the ones on the car in the hopes the "new" converters would do the trick. At some point I considered a new converter for the suspected bad one but at this stage I think installing a new converter with an old converter on the other bank would result in an engine fueling imbalance of some sort. Thus I would drawn to replacing both converters, and possible all 4 O2 sensors, at the same time. But factory converters are very expensive, on the order of $1000 or more per part. Toss in the cost of new sensors and the labor and ouch!
Anyhow, the car passed its emissions test but I can't help but wonder a little bit what this failure will bring with it next time? I wonder will the car have to be retested a year from now, or will the DMV let it go two years as before? Will it have to be tested at a Star station again, or will just the plain test station suffice?
Oh, the tech made a half hearted inspection of the car's exhaust system from behind the car and down low. There was no lift to put the car in the air. In fact the tech didn't even expose the engine compartment to confirm the engine was stock at least on top. (It is stock through and through though.)
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