I'm only acquainted with car inspection in Pa.and Md. but on TV I saw a woman who bougght a used car, found out that the heater core was leaking, and didn't take it for inspection until after she fixed the heater.
Is there any state where that would cause a car to fail inspection?
Not enough information. However, ANY leaks that were noticeable in any vehicle system would fail the Texas inspection. Texas does not take the car apart for inspections like in other states though. Nothing is removed.
Okay, that answers my question, there is at least one state.
She was in Massachusetts, which allows someone to get his money back if he takes it for inspectation within 7 days of purchase, it fails, and he tells the seller about this in 14 days. Even on an asis sale. But she never took if for inspection.
My mother lived in Pa. and for years had a heater core that leaked. I tried drilling a hole in the floor board and threading a wick through it, under the carpet, but it didn't work. Maybe antifreeze and water doesn't wick well, and anyway, the wick blew away after being in the wind for 1000 miles. Pa. had inspection twice a year thne and I'm sure this wouldn't have caused a failure, though Pa. does more than inspect for safety. If you've go
Maryland doesn't inspect the cooling system at all:
NJ, MV inspection doesn't care about leaks, it's emissions compliance only. I don't see how any state inspection would spot a leaking heater core, u nless it's pouring out. In warm weather, the coolant flow is off, there wo uld be no leaking. The state was MA, why don't you google for what they che ck at inspection?
Exception for fuel leaks? If oil drips or radiator leaks mattered, none of my cars in the 60's would have passed.
I don't see how any state inspection would spot a leaking heater core, unless it's pouring out. In warm weather, the coolant flow is off, there would be no leaking. The state was MA, why don't you google for what they check at inspection?
MA does not care if your heater core leaks or if you piss on the seat.
ide and the car interior is set to 70? Must be a unique car.
Thinking it through more, you're right. I was thinking valve off, no flow. But you're right, the return line is still open and going back to the cool ant loop, so it will leak. Probably not as much, but it would leak unless i t's some unusual design that cuts off both paths.
When my '61 Pontiac heater leaked, I took off the hoses from the heater and put a piece of copper tubing to join them. Of course today, I'm not sure if I could even find the hoses under the hood.
I was at a radiator shop when a guy came in with a leaking heater. Book time was 8 hours labor to get it out and then back in. Ford Taurus.
ly. I don't see how any state inspection would spot a leaking heater core , unless it's pouring out. In warm weather, the coolant flow is off, there would be no leaking. The state was MA, why don't you google for what they check at inspection?
Boy, that whole inspection thing is a classic cluster f* subject here. Orig inally, going back at least through the 60s,they tested ball joints, brakes test for stopping power, headlight aiming, horn, lights, all glass, tire tread, etc. But no emissions. Then I guess in 80s they started including emissions. By the time of Christie Whitman the federal EPA insisted that N J had to do a more extensive emissions test that included running the car o n a dyno, measuring the tailpipe emissions. This was mid 90s. It was going to cost the state several hundred million to totally overhaul the state ins pection stations to comply and install the new equipment that didn't even e xist.
Instead of fighting this classic EPA extremism, Whitman put up little fight and caved in. They awarded the contract to an out of state company. It wound up over budget, late and when they finally installed it, it didn't wo rk right, inspection times went through the roof, there were cars lined up for half a mile waiting hours. People were failing taking their cars to be fixed and finding out nothing was wrong. It took a few years to get it to work right. At that point that still tested everything, plus the epa dyno test.
Then, just a few years later EPA decides using the OBD data from the car is all that's required! So, NJ then tore out all that hundreds of millions i n east that never did a damn bit of good and junked it. This was mid 2000's . By around 2010 they decided to scrap all the other tests, except for emi ssions via OBD. Also, if you have an older car, pretty OBDII I think, you d on't have to ever go again. I have a classic Mercedes and that's one nice t hing, no more inspection at all.
That example is a classic of how the EPA can be extreme, out of control and really screw a lot of people and waste billions. They knew what Detroit wa s doing, that it wouldn't be too long before you could just use OBD, but th ey didn't care. Or were in bed with those that benefitted.
There will be flow too, in MOST cars still on the road. The vast majority do not control water flow through the heater core any more - they just control air flow, either through or around. This is particularly true of cars with "climate control" or automatic temperature control / AC
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.