California trying to screw truck drivers yet again

Several years ago, thanks to research published in California, it was mandated that trucks add a Diesel Particulate Filter, and Diesel Exhaust Fluid to their engines. The DPF is designed to trap soot as it travels through the exhaust, and the DEF breaks the exhaust down, so that what actually comes out of the pipe is as close to zero emission as you can get.

Then a couple of years ago, it came out that the research used to force this system (which causes a huge percentage of very expensive [a set of filters and housing for them runs $3500] problems and unpaid downtime) was largely faked, and the lead researcher had a mail order Phd from a "university" in NY that was based in a UPS store. This system has directly led to the death of several drivers, and destroyed more than a handful of trucks (it forces more oxygen and extremely high temperatures near where fuel lines run, so in the event of an impact fuel leaks down onto the hot housing and ignites, and the extra oxygen creates a blowtorch effect). In February of this year, the Alliance for California Business filed a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board over the filters, claiming that they have started 31 roadside fires in the last two years. In 2014, a FedEx truck hit a school bus, and reports of an explosion and fire prior to impact were ignored and hushed up quickly.

CARB stated previously that the filters would be cheap to install, and easy to maintain, and safe, as well as improving air quality in the LA and San Joaquin basins. Now CARB has admitted that the devices are expensive, hard to maintain, mechanically inadequate, clog and start engine fires.

Prior to passage by the California Legislature of AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, and the basis for all of the CARB regulations, Enstrom was on record with a peer-reviewed study in 2005, which showed that fine particulate matter does not kill California residents‚Äîthe basis of California’s restrictions on diesel engines because of their contributions to particulate air pollution health effects.

Enstrom’s studies are all peer-reviewed, unlike the CARB Diesel Particulate study by Hien Tran. Enstrom blew the whistle on Tran, but the majority of mainstream media in California tried to ignore the scandal, or participated in the cover up.

After Tran was exposed with a mail order Ph.D. from diploma mill Thornhill University with a mailing address at a New York UPS store, CARB Director Mary Nichols ordered a follow-up study but used non-peer-reviewed research, called “questionable” by a federal review panel.

In addition, Dr. Enstrom also proved that University of California science professors exaggerated the health effects of diesel particulate in California, knowing the results would be used by the CARB to regulate diesel-engine vehicles.

canadafreepress.com...

Now, CARB has acknowledged that the filters can cause engine damage, and that older filter systems need to be replaced to prevent the engines of those trucks from being damaged. In previous cases where presented evidence of the filters causing fires, CARB blamed the owners and truck drivers saying that they weren't maintaining the system properly. Now they say that the filter component can't stand up to the high temperatures in the system, and eventually disintigrates, and can lead to damage to the turbochargers, and excessive backpressure to the engine.

Their solution? Repeal the DPF requirement until it's better understood? (You can't go into California unless you have filters and DEF) Do more research into how to improve the system?

No. Come up with aftermarket parts that will replace the OEM components. So now, if we run the truck long enough, we'll have to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000 to replace filters that aren't shown to do anything like they claim it does. God I really hate that damn state most days.

In a dramatic reversal of its previous position, CARB explains that the potential for serious engine malfunction and damage arises as the DPF device ages on the engine. When the DPF becomes clogged with soot, it must go through repeating cycles of regeneration to burn off the soot. Over time, operating exactly as intended, the buildup of soot in the DPF and extremely high heat damages the filter and other components of the engine, and this, in turn, creates excessive heat buildup and backpressure in the engine, which eventually and inevitably causes engine damage. All of this is set forth in CARB’s Notice of Public Hearing for April 22, 2016, and supporting documentation, proposing to make aftermarket parts available for the repair of the 2007-2009 DPFs, including retrofitted and original equipment manufactured (OEM) DPFs.

In CARB’s own words:

“[T]he trapped soot in the wall-flow DPF builds up over time, increasing the backpressure in the engine as it continues to operate. Operating the engine at excessive backpressure for extended periods will impact engine performance and eventually cause engine damage.”

CARB further states:

“As these engines age, there is an increasing need to replace the OEM DPFs as the parts experience wear. Engine problems such as faulty turbochargers, bad fuel injectors, or malfunctioning EGR [Exhaust Gas Recirculation] valves can negatively impact DPFs in several ways including catalytic poisoning, fouling or overloading the DPF, or causing thermal damage due to more frequent regeneration.”

allianceforca.org...

They may as well stuff a potato up the tail pipe.
Probably work about the same.

a reply to: skunkape23

More than likely. This damn system was the cause of about 80% of the problems I had with my previous truck. The DEF nozzles become misaligned, or the sensor goes bad, and suddenly you're going down the road, and the engine light comes on, and after a little while the engine shuts off. Then you spend four days in the shop, for them to find nothing wrong, clean the nozzles out, and send you on your way, with a $1500 bill on your hands.

The trend to politically correct but utterly stupid legislation by law makers at every level is a result of the dumbing down of our education system along with the greed of corporations who seize any green sounding premise to sell crap that doesn't work but sounds green.....
Lawmakers just love a bandwagon and there you go....Joe Blow gets nearly run out of business, his equipment wrecked, and some even die from it...
All in the name of sales and pandering...

My pickup used to have a DPF & EGR system....


On a side note, are you a O-O trucker? I can see this becoming extremely expensive for them.

a reply to: charolais

It does. My previous truck cost me about $4,000 for the filters and assembly and another couple thousand for various DEF malfunctions. And that's just parts and work.

Once upon a time, the craze was for electric everything, but back then, the government wasn't so keen to mandate that everyone had to have green everything.

People bought into the craze or not and suffered for their stupidity when the products were bogus or not.

When government intervenes to compel you to buy in under the guise of making everything better for everyone and does so on faulty research, everyone suffers whether or not they want to. California is good at this. I don't understand why anyone bothers to still live out there unless they have to.

a reply to: ketsuko

It wouldn't be so bad if it stayed in California, but they've forced it down everyone's throat, across the country. Unless you don't want to go into California (which I really don't, honestly), which is a pretty big produce, and huge port market area, you have to have a newer truck with the filters and DEF.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I know a good deal about CARB, but I'm not sure what the specific issue you're referring to is. Does it have anything to do with the 2000 low-sulfur diesel mandate? I sympathize with you. The liars at VW/Audi have really put a damper on my diesel enthusiasm: got the first 'clean' American diesel in 2008 (VW) and bought another one in 2013 (Audi) only to find out they're not nearly as clean.

a reply to: BeefNoMeat

"Research" at the behest of CARB resulted in having additional filters added to the exhaust of trucks. The board said they'd be easy to add and maintain, and they've cost drivers, me included, thousands in maintenance, destroyed many trucks, and killed a few drivers for little to no effect.