Episode 740 – EPA Calls Out Worst Polluters
This Week In Jeep
EPA Calls Out GM and Stellantis – “Worst Polluters”
Well the EPA is not holding Jeep in very high regard these days. In a report released Monday, the US Environmental Protection Agency says that the Detroit auto maker’s vehicle fleet ranked among the least efficient and most polluting in the U.S. automotive industry. Ouch, shots fired. GM over the last few years has held the top spot (if you will) for the worst of the US-based automakers as far as pollution goes. Specifically measured in Co2 output. That is until now. The only other automaker that has now ranked worse than GM…. was Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company. Both automakers decreased their fuel economy and increased C02 emissions since the 2016 model year, according to the EPA, as did Hyundai, Mazda, and Volkswagen. Ford, which ranked just above GM, slightly improved during the five-year timeframe but remained below the industry averages. The report comes as the Biden administration is forcing the U.S. auto industry to transition away from gas-powered cars and toward electric vehicles. Because the government knows what’s best for you and you will obey. “We’re the government, we’re here to help!” …words that should forever terrify you. The White House has set a goal for EVs to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030.
GM, most notably, has said it plans to sell ONLY Electric Vehicles by 2035. I’m really curious to see what a 2035 GMC 3500 looks like. According to the EPA, the transportation sector represents about one-third of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions each year. All vehicle types are at record-low CO2 emissions, which is why the EPA had its balls snipped last year restricting its powers over the economy and its unfounded claims of Co2 emissions. Hence why all it can really do at this point is make reports, whine, cry and bitch about how people aren’t sucking at the teet of EVs.
Of course, if they were paying attention to economic trends instead of pushing a specific agenda, they’d have seen that over the last three years there has been a marked and measurable shift in the market away from compact cars and toward SUVs and pickups. Obviously, with the people wanting what they want, this will have an offset effect on some of the fleetwide benefits. Jeep in fact, in response to this EPA report, cited the rising demand among consumers for SUVs and pickups equates to a direct correlation to its lower rankings, claiming that they do not reflect Jeep’s current or future product plans.
Which we already know consists of Jeep planning for every vehicle in its lineup to offer some form of “electrification” by 2025. That could include hybrid, plug-in hybrid electric, or all-electric models. The company has declined to forecast what part of its sales will be powered by traditional gasoline-powered engines by 2025 or 2030. To which I say good! keep playing it close to the vest Jeep. I think the EPA has gotten too big for its britches anyways.
Speaking Of Detroit
A man is recovering after his Jeep ran into a massive sinkhole on Tuesday.
The incident happened near Eastlawn and Scripps street on the city’s east side.
It has since been patched up, but there are concerns that another one could come back.
According to neighbors, this area has been a problem for years. The city says contractors have been replacing water and service lines but calls the construction site unacceptable. The owner of the Jeep swallowed by the earth, says he was leaving his grandmother’s house and had to drive over the icy road that was flooded just days before. He was coming home and was trying to figure out which way to go when the Jeep started sliding to the left. Once he gained control of the Jeep, he ended up going onto the sidewalk trying to get back to the street. That’s when the vehicle went into the sinkhole. The driver of the Jeep was taken to the hospital with back injuries but is now at home recovering. Since the incident, the city has patched up the massive sinkhole but those who live in the area say this problem is nothing new. It’s been a problem for years and every time they try to fix it, the problem comes right back, they say. Some local residents are claiming that the city used the cheapest contractor that they could get to do the job and it’s not going to be a long-term solution but a short-term problem.
Now in my own research, I was very quickly able to look up several other news stories of these sinkholes in Detroit all around the same area. And in fact, just one block away, in April of 2014, the same street swallowed a Jeep Cherokee XJ. So what is with these Detroit sinkholes and their taste for Jeeps anyways?
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
TOPIC/QUESTION: Braided Brake Lines and Banjo Bolt Pro-Tip
There is no shortage of episodes where we here on the Jeep Talk Show have covered a topic related to brakes. Whether it’s interviewing someone from brake companies like Black Magic Brakes, or diving deep into how your brakes work, and how to troubleshoot issues with them in our Tech Talk Segments. In this installment of Tech Talk, I wanted to talk to you about a component of your braking system that we haven’t really looked at in much depth before. And that’s brake lines. There is a whole industry dedicated just to the length of the hose that goes from the fender to the caliper. Millions are spent every year on upgrading brake systems and one of the most common and oftentimes needed modifications to Jeeps is upgraded brake lines. For many, this modification is a 
necessity. Once you start to lift your Jeep either with suspension upgrades, lift kits, or body spacers, you are increasing the distance from the hard brake line to the brake caliper, the thing that actually does the work of stopping your Jeep. When you press the brake pedal, that pressure is transmitted through a series of subsystems that include things like the brake fluid reservoir, a brake booster to increase the pressure applied, a proportioning valve to ensure most of the braking force is being applied to the front wheels, and finally the lines and calipers themselves. Most of the Jeep is plumbed with what are called hard lines. These are steel metal tubing that is bent and shaped to contour around the frame and other components and mate up to the aforementioned components of your brake system. Save for one. As the hardline terminates at the fender, there is a soft line that connects the hard line to the caliper. The soft rubber line allows for suspension travel, and as you make upgrades to the suspension, that travel increases.
As your Jeep’s suspension articulates up and down, those brake lines will move and stretch, but if you haven’t upgraded those short factory soft rubber lines, you could be using them as limiting straps. Meaning, that the only thing keeping your suspension from articulating any further when offroad, is that soft rubber brake line…. And that’s NOT a good thing! Some Jeepers can get away with relocating the point where the hard line meets the soft line, and move it down to gain a few more inches of length out of the system. This of course is only going to work so far and is a temporary fix at best. Here is where the aftermarket steps in. Stainless steel braided brake lines are the most common go-to for an aftermarket solution to the need for extended brake lines for lifted Jeeps. They come in all sorts of diameters, colors, and finishes, but they all do the same thing extending the brake line and eliminating the bind, stretch, and bulging of the factory line. Braided lines are also far stronger than the OEM soft rubber lines. These aftermarket extended brake lines will also give you enhanced braking and better brake pedal response just by installing them. The main benefit of braided brake lines is that they help improve performance by reducing the issue of swelling, most commonly associated with standard rubber brake lines. Over time and extensive use, rubber lines can swell under the pressure caused by applying the brakes, and can eventually burst or split. Before that happens though the pressure that SHOULD be going to the caliper to press the pad against the rotor is instead, blowing up your brake line like a balloon, and NOT providing the stopping power you should be seeing.
Braided brake lines also dissipate heat better and provide better flow, which is important when choosing performance off-road parts. As we all know, heat is not good, and keeping your brakes, brake lines, and the fluid in them cool is one of the keys to better brakes. Additionally, braided lines are able to withstand more pressure than rubber lines. Installation is relatively easy depending on where you live. If you’re in the salt belt, then you already know you’re going to have to deal with at least some degree of rust and corrosion. Brake fittings are one of the most susceptible to salt corrosion too. Brake fluid is already not friendly to many materials, so it’s not uncommon to see severely degraded banjo bolts, locking clips, and other fittings. Using a good penetrating oil well in advance will work wonders, as will a couple of sets of locking vice grips, but just plan on running into issues no matter what. Now here is a pro tip for anyone replacing a brake line, and it doesn’t matter if you’re upgrading to stainless steel braided lines or not. Banjo bolts are the same around the world, and if you want to get the most out of the installation, I’m about to teach you a trick.
But first, what is a banjo bolt? Banjo bolts are bolts that hold banjo together of course! No… not really. They are essentially connectors that link brake-fluid lines to brake cylinders. Banjo bolts are built to handle extremely high pressures, which is critical for many fluid systems. A banjo fitting is a hydraulic fitting consisting of a hollow bolt with a hole going through the side of it, and a spherical union that it is screwed into for fluid transfer. It is typically used to connect a fluid line to a rigid, internally threaded hydraulic component, such as a brake line to the caliper of your Jeep. Usually, all you would do is take out the old, clean up the mating surfaces, and install the new hardware. Banjo bolts use a small crush washer made from soft metal to act as a gasket of sorts for the connection. These are usually copper and need to be replaced anytime the banjo bolt is removed. Typically, these 
washers should be replaced rather than re-used, as the act of deforming an annealed copper washer effectively “hardens” the material, making it more difficult to crush next time, therefore you may not get a good seal when re-using a copper washer. After you have replaced your brake line, and as you torque down the banjo bolt with the last turn or two, you will want to hit it with a hammer. Not super hard, but use a little force. What this does is help seat the crush washer further. The impact will allow you to get another turn or two out of the banjo bolt, further increasing its clamping force and further ensuring a better seal. Although this isn’t required, this pro-tip will help ensure that your calipers never leak from the brake line fitting. Now as far as those aftermarket extended stainless steel braided brake lines go, there are a million offerings out there, so how do you know if you’re looking at anything good? Reviews reviews reviews. At this point in time, you could search a hundred different companies and not get anywhere, so let the experience of other Jeeps help you out in choosing the right lines for your build. Typically, the cheap Chinese stuff you find on Amazon for $40 or less isn’t going to be very trustworthy. But that doesn’t mean you need to drop $250 on a set either. Your typical cost for extended brake lines for your Jeep will run you on average between $75 and $125. Let’s look at some of the best-rated brands out there like Rough Country, JKS, Power Stop, and others. These brands have been doing this for a long time and have great reviews, but there are other really good brands out there as well. So do some research and in no time at all, you’ll be stopping like the pros, and looking good while doing it. Just remember the hammer and banjo bolt trick when it’s time for the installation.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/
Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/
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