Sunday, October 30, 2011

Check Engine Code P0170 & Vacuum Leaks

Code P0170 indicates a lean mixture condition.  Before replacing expensive components such as the Mass Airflow Sensor it is wise to check for vacuum leaks as this is the most likely culprit.  Shown here is a vacuum line that goes to the Fuel Pressure Regulator of my 1.8 turbo Golf:
As you can see the vacuum line is extreme frayed and air that is not accounted for by the computer is leaking into the intake manifold causing the lean mixture condition.  The line above is short and connects to the underside of the intake.  It's fairly easy to remove with some needle nosed pliers.  The new installed vacuum line is shown below:

Here is a picture of the old line, the pliers :-), and the new hose:

Both ends of the hose were completely frayed.  A useful tip is to install a longer hose on the underside of the intake to make sure you have enough length as you route it through the maze of other hoses.  You then cut the hose to the appropriate length.  If you cut it first you may run into difficulties.

14 comments:

  1. Move over Rodent. Time to get the big picture.

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  2. Time for the people to Occupy Rodent Blog.

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  3. We (the other 99%) plan to occupy this blog until the Rodent drops his anti-progressive flat-tax proposals.

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  4. @Outlander: you are welcome to occupy this blog. Your comments are most appreciated. But what is wrong with a flat tax? I know: perhaps we should have a fixed dollar amount tax. Everyone pays $1000 per year for the military and a small administration.

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  5. Thank you Mr Rodent.

    From a purely economic point of view, spending for any income level stabilizes at a certain point. Those at lower levels of income spend a higher proportion of income for food and housing, and so easing their tax burden means that they support the economy with almost all of their income. Those at higher income levels can save some proportion of their income, while still supporting the economy through consumption, so a tiered tax makes sense for them as well. But for those at the very highest levels of income spend a very small part of their income, so taxing them at a higher rate does not in any way affect their spending. And since they benefit from societal stability more than anyone, they should pay a higher tax rate. Call it income redistribution if you like, but the taxes collected from the wealthiest can do more economic work by subsidizing education and infrastructure for society as a whole. As one example, that tax money means greater opportunity for poorer citizens by subsidizing tuitions.

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  6. Proponents of a flat tax make the false argument that it will "encourage" the already well-off to either spend more or create more jobs, when in fact business spending is driven by consumer demand. And so the biggest winners in terms of tax savings will not do anything but pocket the additional savings. In the meantime, tax revenues will fall drastically which will force even more cutbacks in gov't spending which will further depress consumer demand. How many jobs are bond traders and investment bankers with huge commissions ? The answer: none. How many jobs are corporate CEOs plotting to move jobs out of the country creating? Well, none in the USA thats for sure.

    The flat tax sounds good to some but under further analysis it is found wanting for the majority of citizens (ie lower and middle class).

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  7. Theres a very balanced (and pessimistic) article in the NYT Magazine today (Sunday Nov 6) that says that since the US economy is primarily driven by consumer spending that neither party has the capability to jump start consumer demand. The Obama stimulus was too small (also said repeatedly by economist PAul Krugman), and Republican government spending cuts strategy will eliminate 23 million gov't jobs, further dampening consumer demand.

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  8. The rodent has material prepared but he is very busy.

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  9. It may sound strange, but Outlander's comment fits this post. Rodent wrote how to fix a condition in his car where too much air got into the supply system. Too much air causes engine to burn out.

    If we "look at the big picture" as Outlander suggests, we can compare air, gas and engine of Rodent's golf to US money, jobs and economy.

    There are leaks, inserting too much money into the US economy which will burn out if the leaks won't get fixed.

    Now, what is the frayed pipe that should be replaced in US economic system?

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  10. I think the frayed pipe is too much government spending. Even taxes are not such a huge problem in my opinion because they are not that high historically. There are no quick solutions and the solution should be long term but that's not what people and therefore politicians want. In the short term the US is cornered: Raising taxes will slow the economy as will cutting spending. In the long term I am very confident in the US because Americans have to some extent learned to live within their means. I am fairly young (34) and so I don't know what recessions were like before the dot com bubble. If this recession is not much worse that what happened around the early 80s I guess then people will just go back to their old habits quickly :-). I know Outlander has lived through those recessions as an adult so perhaps he could provide a first hand account.

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  11. Tax levels have been constant and at almost historical lows for 8 years, have not lead to significant additional growth and instead turned the Clinton surplus into the Bush deficit.

    Meanwhile the housing bubble helped mask the continued off-shoring or jobs to China and elsewhere in Asia (mostly). With the bubble bursting, a significant portion of the population lost buying power, which decreased demand for goods, which drove unemployment in an ever-decreasing downward spiral.

    Thus the argument for federal (deficit) spending to fund temporary jobs for permanent improvement in infrastructure to put more people to work, to increase demand for goods, and as a result, create private sector jobs.

    So I respectfully I disagree about the "leaky pipes" theory, and suggest "prime the pumps" in its place.

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  12. I wonder if Rodent has any musical interests? I have heard it said that listening to excessive amounts of Beastie boys can turn someone towards Ron Paul.

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  13. As a tattoo enthusiast, does Mr. Rodent object to the portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" in Silence of The Lambs whose heavily tattooed and pierced body seemed to portray owners of these adornments in a generally negative light?

    Also what effect (if any) has Hannibal Lector had on your feeling towards the field of psychology?

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