Off to work now, I have a shop to run. A place where people actually pay me for my years of experience, and somehow they don't question me when I tell them they some thing isn't safe.

Remeber this folks, the internet is a jungle, where lots of dangerous misinformation is posted. For example, claiming the CO levels in a diesel do not rise during prolonged periods of idle.

As long as people read past the first post, they have been warned about the real dangers of diesel exhaust. They can draw their own conclusions and do their own research.

I'm done with this thread, and am putting a certain poster on ignore.

Thank you.;)

what is the DEAL with this guy? He reminds me of forcedinduction. Maybe they are related.

First of all, we are not talking clean room environments here. The girl is stuck on the side of the road in a SNOW STORM, not a pool of collecting CO in a vacuum environment.

There is this magical thing called wind and weather. Even if a tiny sniff of exhaust were to kill you instantly, the likelyhood of that happening in her circumstances would be remote.

Given the real world situation she was in, telling her to stay in the car and let it run until a tow truck showed up was absolutely the right one. She jumps out, checks the pipe to see if its blocked by snow, and sits it out.

The chances of her dying from CO poisoning in a snow storm with wind and weather are so remote as to be unbelievable, so why are we debating what was clearly the right advice for a father to give his daughter?

"Don't let the car run, get out and walk to shelter on the side of a road in a snow storm with plows and other motorists ect." That would have increased the chance of her being killed thousands of percent, especially since to be able to walk, she would have had to walk in the path of plows.

Mr. Wyatt, is that the advice you would give a daughter?

I'm with Tom W. on this issue. A lightly loaded diesel does not produce any significant amount of CO due to the excess O2 in the combustion process. CO is produced in the absence of sufficient O2.

When emission controls were first started in the '60's, the pollutants being controlled were CO and unburned hydrocarbons. This was accomplished with AIR pumps and retarded timing. Diesels of that era did not need emission controls since they did not produce these elements. Diesel engines did not start to see emission controls until NOX regulations started the advent of EGR, and we all know how that worked out, even to this day.

A shop to run? I thought that you were some sort of diplomat!

You feel strongly enough to sit in your car for an hour with the exhaust plumbed into it? I wouldn't. And if I wouldn't, why would I want to risk sitting in a running car should there be an exhaust leak? I just fixed an exhaust leak from where the cat joined up with the pipe.

Nobody has suggested hooking the exhaust into the passenger compartment except you.

And a diesel of this age has no cat.

Except FI usually had his facts straight.;)

Maybe not but if I wouldn't hook it into my cabin for an hour, I sure wouldn't want to have gasses flowing under my car if there is a possibility of a leak. Half an hour, maybe I will risk it but not all night long. I'd surely call a tow truck.

The point is that there can be a leak under the chassis and smoke could seep into the cabin from that leak. A few minutes, no problem. All night long, it could be an issue.

With a window or two cracked for fresh air, it really doesnt matter.
Keep the car running, the fan draws fresh air in from outside pushing air out of the passenger compartment.



Is this Oahu? I may be wrong but seems like Diamond head in the background.

Average temps of 70*F certainly make for perfect conditions for our cars....less the salt in the air. I saw many a rusted benz in Hawaii.

Not in a diesel....for carbon monoxide poisioning. You might get a headache though.

The individual hooked the exhaust directly to the passenger cabin to commit suicide.

The pathological results confirmed that he was not killed by CO.

Due to the very insidious effects of CO which can easily kill in low concentrations, it can be concluded, without any doubt, that the CO concentration in diesel exhaust, at idle, is insignificant.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to be harmed by the exhaust of a diesel that is vented to the rear of the vehicle while the occupant remains inside the closed vehicle.

1. Where are you located? The next 123 with a rusted out spare tire well I see as primary rust will be the first. In fact, in my experience (upstate NY for years), the cars this age often leak enough oil that the spare tire wells are pretty decently preserved, but its not the typical major rust location even if its leak free, neither is above the muffler.

I think you must have meant to say rear floor pans, wheel arches, front fenders behind the bumper, and jack points.

2. Additionally, in a 123, the trunk is separated from the cabin by a fuel tank and the body of the car. They are not linked, any more so than the engine bay and cabin of the vehicle.

3. What ventilation system are we talking about here in the trunk? Now if you said under the battery tray into the cabin, id be with you, but last I checked, I didn't see any "ventilation system" in the trunk apart from a fuel tank vent. Are you referring to the exhaust system?

So basically, Im pretty convinced you are not excessively familiar with the car he has here or its specific condition, so why take such a stand as an authority on it?

Ive sat in a car running all night couple of times, gas and diesel. I don't think that anyone disagrees that exhaust coming into the car is a potential hazard, but its the degree of the diesel hazard thats at question here.

Seems to me that the risk taken sitting in an idling diesel car to stay warm and out of harms way is remote, as supported by info posted, compared to the risk of freezing in the same car, or getting whacked by equipment or traffic in poor visibility. Kind of like telling someone not to swim in southern CA because a shark was reported off the beaches in Australia.

Thank you gentlemen.;)