Checking catalytic converter
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
Checking catalytic converter
This is nothing more than a simple question. Have no thought that my converter is not functioning properly. But, if a cat were starting to become clogged, would not the inlet portion be hotter than the outlet side ant the inlet portion hotter than the input pipe. Using a laser light tester. Just wondering.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
Maybe answered my own question. Found below via google
"Still, you can test your catalytic converter efficiency using a suitable kitchen thermometer, or better yet, an infrared thermometer like this one (recommended).
Start the engine and let it idle for about 20 minutes to bring it up to operating temperature. Or take your car to the highway and then come back home.
Park your car on a flat surface, set your transmission to Park (automatic) or Neutral (manual).
If you don't have easy access to the front or rear of the catalytic converter, raise your vehicle using a floor jack and safely support it on jack stands.
Take a temperature reading of the inlet pipe that connects to the front of the catalytic converter, and take a note of the reading.
Then, take a temperature reading of the outlet pipe that connects to the rear of the catalytic converter and take a note of the reading.
If the catalyst has stopped working, the front temperature will be about the same as or higher than the rear temperature.
In a good catalytic converter, the rear of the converter will be 20 F degrees or more hotter than the front."
"Still, you can test your catalytic converter efficiency using a suitable kitchen thermometer, or better yet, an infrared thermometer like this one (recommended).
Start the engine and let it idle for about 20 minutes to bring it up to operating temperature. Or take your car to the highway and then come back home.
Park your car on a flat surface, set your transmission to Park (automatic) or Neutral (manual).
If you don't have easy access to the front or rear of the catalytic converter, raise your vehicle using a floor jack and safely support it on jack stands.
Take a temperature reading of the inlet pipe that connects to the front of the catalytic converter, and take a note of the reading.
Then, take a temperature reading of the outlet pipe that connects to the rear of the catalytic converter and take a note of the reading.
If the catalyst has stopped working, the front temperature will be about the same as or higher than the rear temperature.
In a good catalytic converter, the rear of the converter will be 20 F degrees or more hotter than the front."
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
Maybe answered my own question. Found below via google
"Still, you can test your catalytic converter efficiency using a suitable kitchen thermometer, or better yet, an infrared thermometer like this one (recommended).
Start the engine and let it idle for about 20 minutes to bring it up to operating temperature. Or take your car to the highway and then come back home.
Park your car on a flat surface, set your transmission to Park (automatic) or Neutral (manual).
If you don't have easy access to the front or rear of the catalytic converter, raise your vehicle using a floor jack and safely support it on jack stands.
Take a temperature reading of the inlet pipe that connects to the front of the catalytic converter, and take a note of the reading.
Then, take a temperature reading of the outlet pipe that connects to the rear of the catalytic converter and take a note of the reading.
If the catalyst has stopped working, the front temperature will be about the same as or higher than the rear temperature.
In a good catalytic converter, the rear of the converter will be 20 F degrees or more hotter than the front."
"Still, you can test your catalytic converter efficiency using a suitable kitchen thermometer, or better yet, an infrared thermometer like this one (recommended).
Start the engine and let it idle for about 20 minutes to bring it up to operating temperature. Or take your car to the highway and then come back home.
Park your car on a flat surface, set your transmission to Park (automatic) or Neutral (manual).
If you don't have easy access to the front or rear of the catalytic converter, raise your vehicle using a floor jack and safely support it on jack stands.
Take a temperature reading of the inlet pipe that connects to the front of the catalytic converter, and take a note of the reading.
Then, take a temperature reading of the outlet pipe that connects to the rear of the catalytic converter and take a note of the reading.
If the catalyst has stopped working, the front temperature will be about the same as or higher than the rear temperature.
In a good catalytic converter, the rear of the converter will be 20 F degrees or more hotter than the front."
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,124
Likes: 140
From: Western New York
You do know that people who talk to themselves aren't crazy, but those who answer themselves are? Just kidding! Glad you answered your question. It's fun when you figure something out.
Duane
Duane
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
I recently read that someone was having a Magnaflow cat installed and noticed the box said "made by Catco" and even had the same part number as the Catco box sitting nearby. Who knows.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,837
Likes: 1,028
I have been there with Richard Waitas. They make all their own cats. mufflers, and even the pipes from strip steel.
Its rolled and formed on site.
I even have the test "cat back" prototype on my car.
Last edited by Big2Bird; Nov 28, 2017 at 10:27 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
Your most certainly correct. Only reporting what I read in another recent post on another site. A lot of product gets rebranded but part numbers stay the same. OP of that post probably wrong. Take your word for it.