Don't get me started on engine longevity! My Volvo 240 engine has never been
rebuilt. It sails through the 24 month emissions test
"better 'n some 6 month-old cars" yet it has more than 300,000 miles on it. It
burns zero oil between changes which occur as Volvo
recommends, at 5,000 miles. (Not a typo!)
A co-worker has been failing emissions for years and he skirts the edge of the
law by applying x number of dollars on the car,
without rebuilding the engine. After that he is allowed to pollute the air for
another 2 years.
I asked him why he bought a low-ball Toyota Tercel in the first place. A
former physics major, Chris said, I swear to God he said
this:
"I figured if I bought a small car, it wouldn't mess up the air too much."
Lama
PS, I have to admit, I've replace a few parts on the Volvo. Some kid put the
wrong air filter on it, then tried to man-handle the
cover closed: $60 worth of Swedish plastic.
On general principle I changed all of the turnsignal, brake, and parking lamps.
My Beetles and 914 had zinc-plated steel contacts
for the lamps inside the sockets and they rusted over time.
On the Volvo, I reached into the socket with a Q-Tip soaked in WD-40, swabbing
for corrosion. None. (?) I swabbed again. No
corrosion at all. I pulled out a Mag-Lite and had a look: All of the contacts
for the lamps are made of stainless steel. After 15
years in the rust belt, always stored outside: no corrosion.
If you want to make a *real* improvement on those GM parts, STP ain't gonna do
it. I suggest you replace the GM parts, all of them,
all at once, with Volvo parts.
From: "Walt Wayman" <hiwayman@xxxxxxxxx>
> I think, as often as not, they
> may be kind of like what a GM engineer years ago said to me about
> using STP Oil Treatment: Well, it won't hurt nothin'.
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