1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi, J.
#1: My two cents worth on the ELCD/ charcoal canister, is don't bother with the silly thing. A lot of people don't understand what it really does, but here's the fact: it traps fuel vapors from your fuel tank in the charcoal when the car is shut off, rather than having gasoline vapors leak directly out into the atmosphere. Then, when the car is running and the vacuum is high enough to open the ELCD valve, air is drawn into the engine through the charcoal filter, allowing those evil gas tank vapors stored earlier to go through the combustion process in your engine.
The thing is, your gas tank doesn't really bleed off that many fumes in the first place, even on a hot day. If it did (like you left your Saab out in the middle of the Mojave all afternoon one sunny July day), the vapors would soon saturate the charcoal and escape through the bottom of the canister anyway.
My ELCD experience: I was doing systematic vacuum checks and discovered the little valve on top of the canister was bad -- a busted diaphram. I dutifully bought a new ELCD, struggled with the installation of it, and it worked... for about a week. Then the new one's valve diaphram started leaking, too. It made absolutely no difference in how my engine ran, either way, and I haven't noticed (before or since) any bad gasoline fumes emanating from my car. My personal, bottom line advice: ignore the stupid thing.
#2. Quick test: see if there are checkvalves on your washer lines. They may be the problem. Pull the tubing off before the checkvalves and test your washer pump... if it shoots fluid out the hose, then either replace or bypass the valves. We had a discussion on here some months back about bypassing (removing) those little plastic valves, and the consensus was inconclusive. Some opined the valves prevent fluid from dribbling out on your hood. I've had mine removed for 10 years and never missed them or noticed significant "dribblage." But check to see if that's your problem.
#3. Arrrgh. Troopers with radar guns. You touched a raw nerve with me. I have ranted about this for many, many years... that here in the US, we ticket people who safely operate a vehicle at over the posted limit. They specifically want to stop someone who is cruising all alone on a clear day, not endangering anyone but perhaps himself.
You can have a car made for cruising the Autobahn at 120mph all day long, running on properly-inflated speed-rated tires, with all systems impeccably maintained, and a sober, alert driver at the controls under ideal daylight/dry road conditions (maybe even a former Navy test pilot who has a racing license)... but if he does 70 on a straight highway posted for 65mph, he's a criminal and pays a fine! But YET, (and this is particularly true here in Florida, where there are no annual vehicle inspections) some moron can drive along on bald tires, with burned out brake lights, dragging exhaust components which are ready to fall off the jalopy at any second, and he gets a wave and a smile from the trooper as he passes by at a "safe" speed. The cops don't stop people from tailgating, making unsafe lane changes, refusing to yield (the Left Lane Loafers who don't move over and aren't passing), stopping at the base of long onramps instead of matching speeds and merging properly, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
I see so much stupidity on the roads -- like a couple of weeks ago, an overloaded minivan (kids in back, luggage on roof, stuffed to the gills for a holiday vacation to DisneyWorld, probably) which was racing down I-95 doing over 80 mph, passing cars left and right(!), weaving in and out of traffic without signalling lane changes, tailgating, braking suddenly on people's rear bumpers, etc. AND THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE ON THE VAN WAS A TINY SPACE-SAVER SPARE!!! That asshole was going to end up killing his kids and probably other innocents on the road. He passed me; I was in cruise control mode in the right lane. Up ahead was a speed trap -- a cop on the side of the highway with a radar gun. The van driver braked hard when he saw him, moved suddenly over to the rightmost lane, then innocently slipped by at 60 mph (5 mph below the limit) while the cop watched him. The cop HAD to see that tiny front tire on there -- you know, the ones that say "emergency use only," and not to operate them over 45 mph? I passed him, still in cruise control. In another half mile, Van Idiot's foot was to the floor again and he pulled away from me at over 80. I wondered if he was going to reach his destination alive. Now THAT's an idiot who should have been pulled over! But radar traps don't catch those buffoons. Because, as you point out, J, it isn't about making highways safer. It's only about generating revenue. And I think it stinks.
Whew. Okay, enough ranting. I just wanted to let you know that at least one other Saab driver out there shares your frustration and anger at the new Massachusetts policy, and at radar traps in general. It's (almost) enough to make you want to move to Wyoming!
Cheers!
- = M = -
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