I have a catalytic converter that is "ticking" once the engine is hot. Anyone know of a way to check for clogged cats? Just pull them off and take a peek? If it is clogged, I'm putting on LT's in about a month, so what do you suggest for a replacement?
-Dave

 

I was questioning whether my catalytic converter on my 1990 six-speed was clogged. I removed the rear exhaust pipes and aimed a bright flash light on mine. It's hard to tell by looking. Probably, an exhaust test is the best way.

Without a doubt, catalytic converters are the biggest screw that the federal government ever put on automakers and car owners. Like many catalytic converters, the holes in the ceramic honeycomb are no bigger than needles and yet all of a V-8 engine's exhaust is supposed to flow through there? Do we know how many catalytic converters have caught cars on fire? How much property damage has been done when catalytic converters set dry debris on fire?

Someday, our great grandchildren will look back and see how stupid it was to require this type of catalytic converter. When I bought my second woodstove, it came with a catalytic converter. All it ever did was release smoke into our house. There must be a better way to build a catalytic converter.

If I had the money, I'd rip the converters off all four of my vehicles and hire a team of lawyers and file lawsuits against the EPA as they dare to charge me with hefty fines. Otherwise, I'll have to live with my catalytic converters.

 

Short of hiring a team of lawyers to sue the EPA, is there a way to check my cats to make sure there is not a restriction?

 

drochau,

I have gone through 2 sets! on my 96... you will hear like a tapping at idle as you rev it will genreally go away, if you do not pull them out you will start to see like gold flakes coming out the tail pipes...

When we pulled my first set of it looked like gravel in the cat .

Beware it will cause the car to back fire...

Also any repituble muffler shop can check by putting a pressure guage on your exhasut to better determine...

Mine went a 92, 00 and the last set at 134,000 the supercharger doesnt help much... :P

Mo

 

Thanks Mo, I'll cruise by the muffler shop tommorow morning and have them check it out.
I know it's not really environmentally sound, but can I gut the cats to get me by until I put the LT's on in about a months time? What is the process for gutting them, as I under stand it, a big screwdriver right?
-Dave

 

lol, rant off!

 

To check for plugged cat on my '91, I unscrewed the A.I.R. check valve on the driver side header, then screwed on a reducing elbow fitting (street ell) to clear accessory brackets, then added a tubing fitting, several feet of poly tubing, and a pressure gauge.

Shop manual gives specs for allowable back pressure. Mine was WAY high, 25 PSIG at 1,400 RPM, beyond which the engine would not rev.

This test would not tell me if the blockage was in the left pre-cat or the main cat. I did not repeat the test using the passenger side A.I.R. check valve connection, I just threw the baby out with the bath water.

 

Being a green froggie, I will not suggest using a screwdriver to gut a cat... you may find pulling it off that it may just empty out HEH...

For an OBD1 car they are pretty cheap... not like 480 dollars like mine are EACH...


Mo

 

Well I guess I'll pull them off and check it out. I'm getting some symptoms of a seriously clogged cat and with the LT's coming I don't want to replace these cats with new ones since I'll be putting the high flows on anyway. Please forgive me mother earth....