my computer hates youtube for some reason and its hard for me to search... something with a setting on here... can anyone look and see if there are any Lexus LS400s shown on there with the CFC engine disablement and post the link here? Thanks!

Sodium silicate is nasty stuff. At 210–220 °F the sodium silicate loses water molecules to form a very powerful sealant that will not re-melt below 1500 °F.

Ironically, some online resources list sodium silicate as a method to repair cars with leaking head gaskets. It is put into the coolant where it circulates and come in contact with the hot area of the leak. Once it hits 210 deg it crystallizes and seals the leak.

All I can say is that I do not understand the merits of encouraging persons that drive a beatup car worth a grand or so to go buy a brand new car. If they were to buy a better used car, maybe. But this is encouraging presumably some people with little money to take on even more debt. Why? how is that socially responsible.

I just simply do not understand. ok, this is probably not appropriate for a tech post.

The point of the "Cash-For-Clunkers" program was totally bureaucratic. Jumpstart the stagnant auto industry and simultaneously phase out environmentally-inefficient vehicles on the road...all at the same time. A neat idea strategically.

This had nothing to do with the acquisition of more personal debt or fiscal responsibility...or the destruction of perfectly-usable vehicles. And with every well-intentioned program, some fringe scenarios make the whole thing seem insane.

My only suggestion with the program is that it should have worked on a sliding scale...that is, fewer dollars based on age, etc. The program got rid of a lot of nice 90's-era vehicles, but did nothing to rid the US highways of the decades-old vehicles still hanging in there, belching oil, held together with rust and duct tape....

Why 'clunkers' program won't take some of the most polluting cars

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-clunkers13-2009aug13,0,6098269.story

None. Any part that engine oil comes in contact with will be completely destroyed. Basically, the entire engine.

It was an incredibly dumb idea. The government wasted $3,000,000,000 of our tax money on a program that had a negligible effect on either the environment or the economy. In this time when everyone is yammering on about "healthcare reform," how many old/poor folks' prescriptions would that have paid for?

It would also have paid for an additional week (or less) in Iraq.

Lupin..., At least some things like throttle body/air meters, fuel distributers, other injection parts, radiators, etc. would be useable. I took the auxiliary fan temp sensor off one, air cleaner housing, and a new Behr radiator w/all the labels clean & still on it. ($45 for all!). It had a new water pump on it too but I had already just bought a new one ($150):mad:

As far as I know they don't try to destroy the transmissions either.

A Dallas MB dealer would give me $3K for my ride as trade-in for a $55K new E Class. On my question why every junk car can get $4500 with C4C, they said my car was not a clunker and did not qualify.
In that case a wreck car is worth more :)

Whoever turned in that ford, the benz(s), or that corvette is a dumbass. A lazy, stupid dumbass. I don't unserstand how those cars were worth less then $4500.

Hell so many of the super clean cars they killed out in California would be worth quite a bit in the rust belt!

-Jason

How fortunate that those new cars will soon be on the market again as reposessions, because the people who bought them couldn't come up with enough down-payment to buy until the Obama program.

And how did we get into this mess in the first place? Too much loaned money on depreciating assets? Hmm.

Yes, just imagine how cheap you'll be able to pick up a Kia or recycled, err, I mean new Focus!

-J

It is really sad to see the older V8 MB's being destroyed, but honestly they are not a viable option as a daily driver for most people, especially once fuel prices go back up to $4+ a gallon in the not too distant future.....I'm going to guess that the majority (while there are indeed exceptions) of MB's turned into the program were probably pretty beaten or far gone, and not viable as a restoration car or worth keeping as a classic. I still see just as many gasser W126's around here as I did before....

Yeah, I am hoping that one on the Youtube link above was an exception rather than a rule. They mentioned that it had 118K miles and it sure looked nice, but they sure blowed it up didnt they? :( I cant tell... was that a 420SEL or a 560SEL? They raised the hood after the engine seized, but I could not tell.

Has anyone been able to find a Lexus LS400 on youtube yet having this done to it? Mine wont do a search. I have a LS400 too and know a guy with a LS400 that he traded in on CFC with a perfect engine. These cars have silky and bulletproof engines and its a shame to see that done to those.