from the virginia state inspection procedure handbook-

• Exhaust line-manifold, gaskets, pipes, mufflers, connections, etc.
• Leakage of gases at any point from motor to point discharged from system.

• Operating condition of hood latch.

youre correct about the exhaust not being able to leak, but mufflers are required in va. what they told us about the hoods was that fiberglass hoods by nature dont latch properly and are prone to come open, so they automatically failed the latch condition part of the inspection unless they were OEM hoods or had hood pins. if they had hood pins they couldnt be over something like 1.5" cowl lift.

im not going to argue about the cops in va not liking me or my cousins cars though lol. we used to do quite a bit of drag racing over there before they let us race at bristol drag way. we even found a 1/2 mile stretch of straight road, measured off a 1/4 mile and spray painted a start/finish line

 

From page 54 of the Va inspection manual:

NOTE: if a vehicle is inspected that does not have a muffler,the inspector should explain to the customer that although the vehicle will pass inspection without a muffler,it is a violation of state law for the vehicle to be operated on the highway without it.

makes sense right ?

That being said,I am a Va. state inspector (23 yrs.).

I will add this; during these 23 yrs. the manual has changed numerous times.
The only thing consistent about it is--- a vast majority of it is interpretation.
Have had different inspecting troopers give me different answers to the same question. I guess they do this to keep every one guessing.

I would say automatic failure of fiberglass hoods would be included.
Some stations make up their own interpretations.
I have never automatically rejected any fiberglass hood.
If somebody rejected mine, I would contact the state police ,meet the trooper at the station,and get a sticker.Happens all the time.
(taxpayer is always right)

Maybe it is just a Va. law that prohibits tampering w/ emissions.
I thought it was country wide.

 

yeah, i get what youre saying. they do make it confusing over there when it comes to inspections. we were always told that off road vehicles didnt need an inspection sticker and that if it was coming in for an inspection then it was obviously going to be an on road vehicle, so the muffler was required. the way the rule is written, you could give them a sticker, but they would have to have the vehicle towed to a muffler shop for the exhaust to be fixed. because as soon as they pull out onto the highway, they are in an illegal vehicle.

the way ive always heard it is that states can make the new car emissions laws stricter, but not looser. like the california emissions. but once the car is sold it is up to the individual state to enforce or make the emissions laws. like in tennessee. a few counties have emissions laws, but most dont. i live in one that doesnt. i can buy an 09 truck and take it home and immediately cut the cats off, take the O2/egr stuff off, put a carb, headers, straight pipes, etc on it and the only thing it will do is void my warranty.

 

Lincoln Mark VIII came standard with a Fiberglas hood..... now what Virginia?

 

thats what i was saying. they told us it was fine as long as it was an OEM hood. but aftermarket hoods had to be less than 1.5" and had to have hood pins.

 

Emissions law is far too complicated to accurately discuss. However, just because a state doesn't specifically require it or enforce it does not make it legal. Not having emissions inspections does not make it legal, it's illegal and you are just getting away with it.

Because my trans am has no converters and full headers, but "lies" to the scanner at the inspection station about it's emissions readiness does not make it legal. It still violates federal law.

inspection maintenance (I/M) checks have to at least meet federal standards, but may exceed them as in CA and the North East, and are only required, generally, in areas identified by the Federal EPA to be high population or emissions areas.

I don't fully understand it, but it is on both a state and federal level and the state cannot nullify or reverse a federal regulation. The Feds do actively pursue and regulate emissions violations after the factory, they just usually have to be on a large scale. The states are delegated to enforce and comply with the I/M program on the local level.

 

It may not be specifically illegal to unhook it, but the issue is defrauding Ford and most likely the potential next owner.

 

i agree that he shouldnt try to defraud anyone with it. thats why i said he was looking at warranty fraud if he tried to fool ford with the warranty. i was just clarifying that its not illegal just to unhook it, but if he sold it he needed to check the "not actual mileage" box on the title. ive got a mustang that my speedo/odometer cable got burned in half by my exhaust and it hasnt worked in 6 years, but im not too concerned about it. i have no desire to pull the dash out to fix it and i wont be selling it, so it makes no difference to me how many miles it says it has. but just the fact that its not hooked up doesnt make it illegal. on a side note, if you like your speedo cable, dont drive 5 miles to the exhaust shop with open headers.......lol.

 

i dont think anyone fully understands the laws, even those that make them. but take va for example. if i have a car like yours that "lies" to the sniffer and i can drive it on the street, thats one thing. but if i trade the car in, the dealer that sells it is required by law to have it pass inspection and emissions before he can sell it. that means it not only has to pass the sniffer test, but it must be visually checked as well. in tn, car lots, both new and used, can sell a used car with headers, no cats, etc. i havent found anything concrete, but this was listed on a california emissions faq page-
Important Note: Emission laws vary from state-to-state and are constantly changing. We suggest you contact your local and state authorities for laws and requirements for your specific application.

in the city i live in its illegal to fire a gun of any kind. hunting inside city limits is illegal. shooting ranges are illegal. city law says you cant fire a gun for any reason. i got caught hunting inside city limits and the city police were raking me over the coals, threatening to take my gun, arrest me, etc. he called in three other cars as back up. for me hunting on my own land. i called a twra agent and he showed up and told the cop that the state law superceded the city law, i could hunt where ever i wanted to in the state, etc. the cop said he knew that, but he figured i wouldnt and his boss wanted them to arrest people for it anyways. so that they could use it as a "scare tactic" to keep people from doing it anyways. so when it comes to state vs city vs federal, etc, who knows whats right.

 

HMMMMMMMM...and there are so many folks who think their dealership is dishonest!!! These clowns should be banned from FTE!!!

 

ummm....whats a obometer? do I gots one of those? I got the Lariet package so I should right?

If I had to guess i'd say it's probably connected to the piston return springs...

 

besides the OP asking how to commit warranty fraud, who else in here is being dishonest and a "clown"?

 

Might want to re-read some of your posts (slowly)

You may be confused or misinformed on some issues.

 

The OP has made only 1 post (ever) and this thread is 3 pages long now. You people sure know how to get mileage out of this discussion!

 

ok, so in my posts i told the guy that its not illegal to unhook his odometer unless he tries to sell the truck and pass it off as actual mileage or tries to commit warranty fraud. am i correct here?

i said mufflers arent required in tn unless its to prevent excessive noise. i do not run mufflers on half of my vehicles and the only ticket ive ever gotten was a noise ordinance violation. our state law book backs me up on this.

i said mufflers are required on cars in va. the va state inspection handbook says that in a visual inspection mufflers are required.

i said emissions parts like cats, egr, dpf, etc arent required in parts of tn. in our state handbooks faq section is specifically says that emissions are not required in all counties.

i said emissions laws vary state by state. on the CARB page it said emissions laws vary state by state, so check your states laws, etc.

if im confused or wrong on something here, id like to know. because i dont like getting tickets anymore than anyone else on here. the way i look at it is, if its not in the lawbooks and you cant get a ticket for it, then its not illegal.