I havnt had a ticket in almost a year! and no moving violations in almost 2yrs!! So ive been doing good till 2 days ago. Got an inspection ticket then AGAIN today. So thats two tickets within 72hrs. Car wont pass inspection now due to the check engine light which i thought was an o2 sensor and its apparently not. I need to get to the bottom of this CEL deal… or does anyone have a 'TIP" on getting a sticker PM me. I clear the code and it takes a week to come back. Bullshit…I officially hate obd2…
no tips. people (being shops) that I know have been getting caught handing out illegal tickets. What’s thec ar, what’s the code?(p code)
yah i figured no luck. I am/was a NYS Inspector so i know the deal…
98 jetta 2.0
Code: P0172
This is just a ranting thread…needed to vent somewheres before i blow the car up. The code usually pertains to a bad o2 sensor, well its not that cause i replaced both for shits and it came back a week later. Everytime i clear it, it takes about a week to come back. I think at 10yrs old the car should be exempt from that aspect of the inspection, just do the normal OBD1 inspection instead (lights,brakes,wipers,horn,susp etc).
that sucks man…you go mad long with out getting and a ticket and now 2…sorry to hear :headbang
Can’t just get an inspection sticker for obd2 man… when its completed the inspection is sent directly to DMV… and if you don’t get your obd2 vehicle inspected you cannot reregister it.
Ah the lovely 2.0 dubs and P0172…common issue. Take the MAS off the car and clean it with a CRC electronics cleaner. Don’t use anything like brake cleaner or chemicals like that. Electronics cleaner is a fast evaporating degreaser. You should be able to pick it up at Napa. Red white can, black top.
Common issue on 2.0 dubs is oil misted air getting on the MAS filament from the shitty PCV valve location on the intake of those cars. MAS get’s oily and sends off signal to PCM for fuel. Give that a shot. I’ve fixed this on a handful of Mk3’s in the past.
and if you can for the future, bypass the PCV into a catch can system( in line with PCV system) to prevent this from happening again.
catch cans ftw! im gettinng one to fix my torn pcv valve
That’s why you’re the king.
:bowdown
pm me. i have a way “around” your inspection
boxer: one step ahead of you, this is my 100th mk3, so im used to this code ha. Anyhow i have cleaned the MAF many times, and yes as you said oil does get in there. I posted up on another site about a catch can but no one wrote back. Im looking into a catchcan setup, is there anyway to bypass the PCV all together or do i have to just run lines off the 2 outlets on the PCV and into a can??
ahha another dub guru ;D Sounds like you’ve been on this one for awhile now…
You should never bypass a pcv system from it’s normal route, otherwise the crankcase/block will not be purged and you’ll have seriously contaminated oil.
Two ways to properly run CC systems…one for street cars and the other for race cars/pre OBD2
Street car…run split catch can or two small catch cans. First run the intake tube pre-throttle to a catch can, and then from the CC back to the valve cover breather port. This is the fresh air inlet for the system. Then run a line from the itnake manifold to the PCV valve, then from the valve to the second CC(or other side of the slit tank CC) and then back to the other PCV port. Both tanks catch the oil vapor and film in both directions. It must be hooked up this way on a street car to A) properly work…needs a fresh air inlet and B) pass any sort of visual emissions inspection if applicable. this is EXACTLY how it’s hooked up on Eric Smiths Evo here(EJEVO) two small cans plumbed in this way. I forget who the manufacturer of this setup was, but you can contact him to find out. It’s definitely nice, no cheap parts here.
Race car…or non-OBD2…Run a line from intake tube/turbo inlet to a large(1/2" ID) check valve and back to the valve cover breather port. Cap off PCV port in intake manifold. Run line from block/valve cover PCV port to another large metal check valve, then run a large metal line from this valve down to a tube welded into your downpipe/exhaust. Tube in the exhaust must protrude into the exhaust flow about 1-1.5" and have a 45 degree slash cut end facing the exhaust flow direction. Creates vacuum and draws out the case vapors and burns them off. Totally emissions legal, but totally my way to go on track cars.
that seems like an idea. thanks for all the info. Quick question, for a temporary fix couldnt i just put a little filter on the end of the PCV that is fed from intake tube? Then just plug up the hole on the intake tube. Wouldnt this be the same effect cause its still getting ‘fresh’ air correct??
If you feel like getting oil and oil fume all over that area then yea, but I’d gather that’s not something you’d want to be cleaning up all the time. The VC breather pukes a water vapor/oil mixture in a normal fashion, hence the reason for a catch can there as well as in the actually PCV line to the plenum.
go to old state road car repair, they’ll get it inspected, my buddy always seems to get people to pass
OBII is fucking bullshit. The Gov’t are a bunch of fuck ups and just make it harder for people to get around it. BTW, thanks for the slow as a dick protocol!
Anyhow, you can’t just clear your CEL. You need to get an OBDII scanner and go through the car’s drive cycle until you start getting your readiness monitors set. It’s a pain in the balls.
yah the only way i could try to get “get around it” for customers was id clear the codes and drive around w. the snap-on scanner watching the readyness monitors. Once they all came on but one id start heading to the shop, and by the time i got there it usually was just turning on and i could plug it in fast enough to where it would pass. Ive seen many occasions like this and then the CEL came on 5min later 
however i tried it w. mine already and it doesnt work out to smoothly. Im going to give the catchcan idea a go. Ill keep you posted. Thanks everyone!
you can clean the maf for even cheaper with isopropyl alcohol. dump some in a ziploc bag with the maf and shake it. take it out and let it dry, works the same.
yah ive done that too… i know all the mk3 tricks… well apparently not enough of them cause the thing runs shitty
Adam is tha man! :nod
G.M.C and Crisone…just so you guys know…isopropyl alcohol still leaves behind a residue when it drys. Not that it affects the sensor directly but the residue tends to attract dust and crap quicker than normal so you’ll end up cleaning the sensor more often than not. Best to use either an electronics cleaner or a fast evaporating cleaner like PPG’s stuff for body work. It’s why body shops don’t use alcohol to clean car stuff they need to paint, but rather a fast evaporating cleaner
CRC makes a MAS Cleaner right in a spray can, about $6 at Napa. LEaves zero residue. Can is actually gray and white labled, not the red/white/black like I previously mentioned.