Inspection Rant

EdJonesJeeper

EdJonesJeeper

The Stig's NC cousin
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Location
Pisgah Forest, NC
I made the mistake of going to the closest inspection station to my house (Midas) instead of going to my old trusty.

Failed.
Reason 1. My upgraded tie rod end 3/4" heim joint has a hair of play in it.

Reason 2. My exhaust does not extend out the rear of the vehicle. It was broke off years ago and I have the exhaust tip down turned after muffler and before the axle.

So I try to take it to my old trusty and he can't because now I'm in the system as failed!

Midas I'm sure is going to force me to extend my exhaust which I am adamant about cutting it off the second I get it home. Just pissed I have to wait to have these dumbasses at Midas that have never seen a heim joint take hours to work on my junk.



I'm 2 seconds away from saying duck it and taking insurance and tag off of it, but damnit I love driving on the road.
 
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Note to self.... don't go to Midas.
 
As bad as it sounds, I never go somewhere where I don't know them. It's not because my crap is illegal or I'm trying to get away with anything, but it's because I know they realize that I build my trucks and take care of them. He doesn't need to verify my cats are still there because I told him they were (and they are and fully functional), he also doesn't need to fail me for tires when I have new ones on order, or give me crap about my 86 1-ton diesel being straight piped. That last one may be slightly frowned upon, but who doesn't love the sound of a straight piped Cummins?


Anyway, my point is...I'm sure there are a lot of places that would fail me in a heart beat for stupid stuff. There's no reason to though. My vehicles are safe and sound because I have to drive them and also drive near thousands and thousands of other people that I also don't want to hurt.


Personally, I'd just say eff it and get a new heim for the steering. As for the exhaust, I'd tell them to cram it. I'm trying to dig up the laws about exhaust, but can't quite find them. Obviously, if it came with certain emissions equipment, you must retain it. Muffler, catalytic converter(s), EGR....what ever it may be. However, the only thing I can remember about exhaust exiting is it's supposed to be within a certain distance of the body. Perhaps just slide a tail pipe section on it for show purposes? Then take it back off when you get home?
 
For what it's worth, in a soft top jeep it's pretty dumb to have the exhaust dump under the tub. Been there, done that...you will get sleepy. Sounds like they weren't too full of shit if that's all they found wrong. Usually you would hear "brakes need replacing" "balljoints bad" "tie rod ends need replacing" etc.
 
1-Flip your tie rod around. The "loose" heim will now be the "tight" one
2-State inspection regulations do require the tailpipe to exit past the body, behind the passenger compartment. Have them extend it then have someone weld a flange on it if you are set on it being removed.
I'll try to snatch you a heim at my shop Monday.
 
Im not in NC obviously but isnt the exhaust thing a big distinction between trucks and jeeps?

As I recall the exhaust has to extend "beyond the passenger compartment" SO a truck can dump under the bed in front of the rear axle...but since a jeep/suv has passenger area above that is not kosher....WTF do I know its midnight Im exhausted and talking about state laws in a state I dont live in...carry on
 
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No, that's exactly right. The exhaust on the CUCV dumps in front of the axle, never been a problem. The Bronco failed one year because it stopped 8" short of the rear bumper.
 
X2 on a local mom and pop inspection shop. I took mine to a very small muffler shop to have custom exhaust made so I could pass inspection. He looked at it for about 2 minutes then passed it without a muffler. :rockon:
 
The little local shop that I get my rig inspected at looked kinda funny when I was chirping tires turning into the bay. Just told him it was a full spool. He walked past the 58 buick gasser to the computer and passed me.
 
As far as exhaust is concerned...you can see my Bronco comes out right behind the doors...which means the front seats are sitting right on top of it and it exits before the rear seat...but it is inspected at a mom and pop

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UTfball68 said:
As far as exhaust is concerned...you can see my Bronco comes out right behind the doors...which means the front seats are sitting right on top of it and it exits before the rear seat...but it is inspected at a mom and pop

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yours extends beyond the edge of the vehicle, its cool. His dumps underneath, its not
 
Gotcha...I didn't know there was such a law in the first place, and what was being discussed here, sounded like any exhaust had to be routed behind passengers.
 
Vehicle inspections are a fucking scam! Some states don't even require them.
 
drkelly said:
Vehicle inspections are a fucking scam! Some states don't even require them.
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Including SC...one reason why Ive stayed so long
 
I think they're a scam too, but every time I drive through SC and AL and see cars littering the shoulder everywhere...I dislike them at least a little less. That being said, I only have safety inspection to deal with.
 
frankenyoter said:
I think the fail stays in the system until it passes. That's is how shops who look the other way get busted sometimes.
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The (small) shop I go to will use his handheld scanner to check for any computer problems that may cause it to fail before he starts the inspection process. That way the failure isn't logged.
 
Jody Treadway said:
1-Flip your tie rod around. The "loose" heim will now be the "tight" one
2-State inspection regulations do require the tailpipe to exit past the body, behind the passenger compartment. Have them extend it then have someone weld a flange on it if you are set on it being removed.
I'll try to snatch you a heim at my shop Monday.
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I'm picking up a heim Monday but I need to go ahead and grab a tie rod from you before tellico next weekend.
 
strange1 said:
The (small) shop I go to will use his handheld scanner to check for any computer problems that may cause it to fail before he starts the inspection process. That way the failure isn't logged.
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As far as I know, failures are logged in the system but are not visible to the inspection station. that is how inspectors get caught. of course, if you are failed for some reason that is not in the inspection rules.. then the shop failing you gets cited not the one passing you.
 
strange1 said:
The (small) shop I go to will use his handheld scanner to check for any computer problems that may cause it to fail before he starts the inspection process. That way the failure isn't logged.
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And this isn't legal... Inspector has to do the inspection completely and fail it for everything it needs at that time. Even if you pull up with a check engine light asking for a inspection, it has to be entered in the computer and failed for check engine light on. I can't just tell you its not going to pass because of that light.

Just putting it out there. I would hope a shop would be nice enough to notice you have a light on when you meant to say you need a brake inspection.
 
a_kelley said:
As far as I know, failures are logged in the system but are not visible to the inspection station.
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So they do not know why you fail, just that you failed?

tireburner1975 said:
I would hope a shop would be nice enough to notice you have a light on when you meant to say you need a brake inspection.
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Isn't that the same as saying "you probably arent going to pass if I start inspecting it"?
 
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