Victorian issues

[BenzBoy]

To sell a registered car in Victoria, the seller must now provide a roadworthy certificate.
The Certificate of Roadworthiness requires, amongst other things that:
"Vehicles manufactured to comply with emission control
ADRs must have all pipes, hoses, valves, sensors, fuel
and air control devices and any other emission control
equipment originally fitted by the vehicle manufacturer
properly located and connected and not apparently
damaged, deteriorated or altered in any way so as to
appear ineffective."
Since most W116s have the air pump disconnected, this will mean that such pump will need to be repaired and reconnected. Interesting...
There is no set price for a Roadworhtiness inspection and the seller is advised by Vic Roads to ask for a quote from an authorised inspections station. This is starting to sound like nightmare material.
Have a look at this which is a good summary - http://mechaniccity.com.au/rwc roadworthy certificates victoria.html
Regards,
Brian

 

[Oversize]

The emission requirements have not changed and it's never been acceptable to disconnect these devices. The problem is that no-one bothers replacing these components when they fail, so demand is low and the prices skyrocket. There will come a time when these parts are NLA and I'd love to know how the standards can be enforced then..... The standards have changed significantly over the years and ADR 27A (one of the first emissions requirements) has been repealed. Vehicle Standards Information 8 changed significantly as recently as October 2011. Despite this, it seems the EPA require vehicles to continue to comply even if the original standard no longer exists. In addition, in Victoria it's illegal to modify your vehicle unless you have an Engineer's (VASS) Certificate, or you do it according to VicRoads guidelines. If it ain't in the guidelines then it isn't allowed; and they've never said you can disconnect these items.

There has been some major changes to the way Licenced Vehicle Testers conduct Roadworthy Certificate Inspections and it seems they now have to take before and after pictures. And keep them for at least 7 years. As a result, costs have almost doubled from around $100, to $200. And that doesn't include any repairs that are likely to be required....

 

[BenzBoy]

Interesting stuff - so here in NSW I don't know anyone with an air pump that is connected yet we all pass the roadworthy certificate. I wonder how long that will last?
So, are you saying that Victorians do have their air pumps connected? Maybe just at the point of a RWC?
Regards,
Brian

 

[Oversize]

I'd doubt many in Victoria still have their airpump connected. It MAY become an issue if the vehicle receives a Defect Notice from the police or other authorized agency, or at any time that it needs a RWC. That's if the person doing the inspection has a clue what they're looking at; many do not. It's further complicated by the fact that many private imports don't have these devices fitted and to the untrained eye the vehicle looks identical to it's Aussie counterpart.

Moral of the story is that if you're thinking of heavily modifying your vehicle and don't want legality headaches, it's better to purchase something built before 1976 (when the emission controls were introduced in Australia).

 

[Michel]

Always felt for the poor Victorians: draconian speeding laws, draconian roadworthy laws and many more.

And now there is talk that you will be having annual roadworthy requirements like in NSW!

 

[Oversize]

With the cost of a RWC, hopefully that'll never happen. It doesn't appear to be working in NSW with more Defect Notices issued than in VIC and from what I here it's nothing more than a kick of the tyres.... The cost to the community would be huge; there's about 4.5M vehicles registered and even with a lowish fee of say $50ea, you do the math! And that doesn't include the loss of time (ie income) in getting the car to the garage and back again. Particularly infuriating if you have several cars which you know ARE roadworthy and every time a car goes to a garage there's the risk of some careless idiot doing damage!!!!

 

[BenzBoy]

If an RWC is properly done in NSW, and many are, then it involves a bit more than a kick of the tyres. I mean, they are so stringent on oil leaks that inspectors will fail a car where the sump gasket is even damp. Of course, you might argue that a damp sump gasket has little to do with how well a car steers and stops in an emergency but then you would not be entering into the spirit of the game!
Downtime? Just order you pinkslip over the phone......(oh. did I say that?)
Regards,
Brian

 

[Tony66_au]

Always felt for the poor Victorians: draconian speeding laws, draconian roadworthy laws and many more.

And now there is talk that you will be having annual roadworthy requirements like in NSW!

Michel there has been talk of this in Vic for a while mate and the conclusion is that there is not enough infrastructure in place to make this a reality so it wont happen in the near future.

As someone who has done RWC inspections I can say that they are not unlike NSW Blue slip checks and a Roadworthy mainly covers lights, Brake efficiency and structural checks as well as ensuring that safety equipment such as seatbelts are in good order and that pollution control gear appears intact.

Apart from using a decellerometer on the test drive there is no requirement to use a gas analyser to check emissions and quite honestly most workshops wouldn't have a 4 gas unit anyway unless they tune LPG.

As for the requirement to sell a registered car with a RWC?

It has been so for years and is often ignored.

The big difference is that a registered car sold with a rwc requires no inspection at VicRoads and the transfer is done at the counter with an appointment.

An Unregistered car requires an inspection appointment at Vic roads with your roadworthy cert and this is a hairy exercise as the Inspector will be quite thorough in checking the Vin Number and Engine number before walking inside to complete the transfer, a scary 5 mins at worst lol

 

[mrkozzy]

I must be a dumbo on this topic!
Whats the 'airpump' that you guys are referring to?
Since nothing in my car is disconnected, I'm curious as to what the topic refers to.

 

[Oversize]

It's a belt driven air pump that injects air into the exhaust gasses and the system acts like an afterburner to clean up emissions. They should last about 10 years before they seize up and are expensive to replace, so many don't. They're hidden down low at the front of the engine, under the alternator or A/C compressor. If removed with all the brackets, pipes and other external valves, you'd never know one was supposed to be fitted unless you're very familiar with the model. Obviously the pump robs some power from the engine. Euro cars didn't have them as their emission laws weren't as tight as Australia, or the US. As a result, the Euro cars also had higher compression leading to more power and hence they're a little more desirable. Probably the easiest way to tell if a car originally had one is to look at the pulleys mounted on the front of the crankshaft. If there's an vacant small V belt pulley, there's your answer.... Another way to tell is there's a series of rubber air injection tubes on the cylinder heads, but they're a little harder to spot. An Australian compliance plate (including ADR 27A), also indicates it should have the system installed. I think the Aussie Owner's Manuals had some supplementary information on the systems (including pics), so you could have a read if you still have all the manuals. If not I can post a pic, as I scanned it a while ago. Hope this helps.

 

[Oversize]

There goes my theory! I just had a look at Blue Flame (Euro) and the main pulley has provision for an airpump belt! And yet very little in the way of pollution equipment. My only conclusion is MB used the same crankshaft pulley on all 6.9s to save costs. I doubt this would apply to all models.

 

[mrkozzy]

Oversize, I would appreciate it if you could post that diagram, so I know exactly what shape this contraption is, when I look for it.
Does this hold for all 116 versions? Mine is only a 280se.
I can only guess that I have one fitted, as the car was ordered through Lanes Motors back in 1974 and picked up in Germany by my father in 1975.
It was ordered to Australian design rules, so I gather they fitted one.
Hmmm .....getting curiousor and curiousor

 

[BenzBoy]

On a 450 it is about the size of an alternator and sits in the driver's side beside the motor - connected with a belt running from the fan pulley - and with hoses to the engine. Mosty have been removed as far as I know. With your handbook there should be a special supplement for Australia outlining how it works and is to be maintained. (Sorry, I don't have a scanner at home to post the schematic.)
I can only assume a 280 would have one as most cars of the 1970s were equipped with an air pump. However, I am told not all cars had them so maybe yours did not.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Oversize]

Funny that there's a vacant V belt drive on the crankshaft pulley, but it's not for the airpump. Perhaps something for the US market? And yes on a 6.9 the airpump is also driven off the waterpump pulley. I should be able to get a scanned pic of the system tomorrow...

 

[Oversize]

Well I had to scan the relevant pages all over again, but hopefully this'll answer a few questions and probably raise a few too:

 

[Tony66_au]

Re Vic roadworthies, if the decommissioning of the air injection is clean and tidy most mechanics who dont really know old Benz's would be ignorant of the fact that it was ever there.

I had this question pop up with an 80's Range Rover and they guy who did the RWC didnt even go looking for it even though the emissions were bloody awful (Zenith carbs) as the charcoal canister was intact and breathing.

And as far as I know emissions testing isnt a roadworthy requirement, particular emissions (Smoke) are.

 

[Oversize]

The police are the only ones that might pick the problem, but most of them know very little about cars and certainly less than a Licenced Vehicle Tester. And lets face it, unless you're doing something stupid, what's the likihood of getting pulled over in an old (clean and unmolested) MB? But then again, that may be the very reason you're pulled over; to have an admiring look? I know I would; even an old clunker!

 

[Tony66_au]

I know a few TMG guys and they wouldnt pick it, VicRoads guys might (Enforcement officers) but you can pull a Sgt Shultz and know nothing about it.

Most of the time when they ask a question they are fishing anyway.

 

[Oversize]

Here's a couple of pics of the disconnected (seized) airpump on Red Bull. I'll be pulling it off and stripping it down to see why it's seized and if it can be repaired.... The battery and tray have been removed to gain access.







More pics to follow (but it's a low priority at the moment).

 

[Tony66_au]

Wow, Well I checked both of mine today and there is no sign on the D or k jet cars!

Thank Dog!