Hey all

I was coming in to work this morning... my exhaust was making a rattling sound... Like a piece of metal is just running around in their, when I rev between 2200-3000 rpms. So I gun it in first and at around 4k my car bogs down and i have no more HP... at around 4500 rpms it feels like i've reached the rev limiter and infact my rpms get all bouncy and shake up and down a couple hundred rpms... I switch to second and am able to pickup more speed. But eventually I
get to the same rpm problem.

I take it out to the highway... At one point my exhaust is making a decent noise, but i can't pickup much speed. Then I hear a weird clang in my exhaust and sudennly I have tons of power back... But eventually it reverts back. infact my exhaust changed notes for a short period...

WTF is going on? When I went to park the car I idle rev it and smell blue smoke. sure enough blue smoke is coming out from my exhaust.

What would you guys say might be wrong?

This royally sucks!

 

You threw a valve or a ring broke?
MAF Sensor?
Flex section failed?

 

My car is also throwing 2 codes..
knock sensor and front o2 sensor....

Car has 100,000 miles on it.

Edit:

I also have a budget y-pipe and recently installed
budget b-pipe. with stock muffler. and stock cat.
I always use synth oil and have only had the car 1.5 years

 

Sounds similar to what happened to me when my RT cat broke down and plugged my b-pipe.

 

oh **** you just gave me an idea...

check this... you think maybe when my Y was installed the mechanic nipped the edge of the front o2 sensor and it broke off inside the Y?

It does sound like a piece of metal is just flying around in their...
maybe it clogged up the cat or something else? or... I dunno... maybe something broke in the cat....

or... ugh...

ejj did you also get blue smoke? or?

 

I didn't notice any strange colored smoke, but I can't say that I looked. I just lost all power and heard strange noises.

I limped home, thinking that it was my flex section. Took the entire exhaust apart only to find that the cat was gutted. I took the catback apart and found 4 chunks of the cat-brick plugging the b-pipe.

 

Side note, your the only person at the moment keeping my spirits up that's it's not an engine problem... lol

It could indeed be a cat problem when i ithink about it... that weird metal floating around sound is coming from the cat area... maybe it is indeed finished. dang.

 

The fact that it went back to normal for even a little while kinda makes me think that its not a serious engine problem (like a valve as suggested).

I'd start by pulling the exhaust apart. If its the cat it will be easy to see, if it is an O2 sensor or worse (engine problem), you'll see what's bouncing around in the y-pipe or front side of the cat, as it won't be able to get past it.

 

lol it's going to be a long weekend... Hopefully I have all the proper tools to take this all apart

But yeah I guess it couldn't really be an engine problem. I was able to go all up into 5th and still pickup alot of speed.

My friend also mentionned that if my cat had exploded, any bit of oil burning from the engine would surface and come out from the muffler... Since it wouldn't get caught by the cat.
Could that also be true?

 

I suppose your friends theory makes sense. However, you shouldn't be burning that much oil in the first place. Take the exhaust apart, and that should narrow down the cause of the problem. Do you have a compression guage? If you're still worried that it could be an engine problem a compression test could tell you a lot.

 

Actually no i don't have one...

I would ask for you to describe it and how it's done... But I have a feeling it's a complicated job, and if i don't know how to do it now, I probably shouldn't do it even if explained how... hehe

But If you feel like taking the time to explain, or point me to threads with explanations, I will readup and probably purchase a compression guage to see what my compression is like.



Stupid question, but can i remove the y-pipe/cat/b-pipe and start the car? I'm asuming it'll be loud as hell, but would it cause any sort of problem?

 

I have all the time in the world when I'm at work!

Its really quite simple, and you can get a guage at PepBoys or any auto store for under $30.

• Start the car.
• Pull the Fuel Pump fuse and let the car stall (kill fuel pressure much like when installing a new fuel filter.
• Take out all the spark plugs
• One cylinder at a time screw the guage into the spark plug opening
• Get in the car, hold the throttle open, and crank it 5-10 times
• Read the guage
• Repeat for each cylinder
• Put plugs back in (good time to change them!)
• Replace fuel pump fuse
• Start car...that's it!

If you messed up a valve of something you'll have one number that is much lower than the rest. They all should be in the 150-200 range. Stock claims to be 180psi. Several members here get 200psi. I get 175ish.


Shouldn't be a problem, I've done it before. You may get a O2 sensor code if you run it long enough or several times, but resetting the ECU should fix that.

 

Oh, that's not too hard at all actually...

Just to be sure, I remove ALL spark plugs right away? And not remove one spark plug, plug the compression tester in that plug. put the spark plug back in, remove the next plug... repeat?

thanks for taking the time
True though... once at work we have all the time in the world... hehe

 

I don't know that it matters. I've always pulled them all before I started.

 

Awesome Thanks for the info. I'll be giving it a try this weekend

 

little edit


I just took the max out to check again... plus went to lunch...
sound like something might actually be clogging the muffler...

also, i have a leak right after the cat.... Plugged into the cat is my new b-pipe. so i'm wondering if the clog from the muffler might have ended up making a hole in the cat/b-pipe connector area...

I floored it coming back to work. I had full power until my car got warmed up. After that when i tried again, I had no power again. Weird stuff...

anywho, i'm going to check the cat and the muffler tomorrow.

 

Update:

I got my exhaust checked out...

my CAT was empty!! literally empty!!!

Every single piece flew into my FORD muffler...

so i had to get the cat and muffler replaced.

back pressure = bad.... lol