Can some of you guys give me all the symptons that your car would have if you had a bad/clogged/failing catalytic converter, I need to find out if maybe mine is bad and need to replace, but dont want to change it if I dont have to. Thanks!

 

it usually sounds like crap. probably smells too.

 

Yeah it will smell like rotten eggs also. You will usually notice crap flying out the exhaust if it is gutting itself also.

-Nick

 

hmm doesnt smell..so i guess my cat is fine =/

 

look under the car while it's running. you'll hear it if it's done.

 

well my engine is acting retarded, i dunno if its my cat causing it or not, thats why im asking the question. I dunno

 

would age and mileage also determine if the catalytic converter is bad or about to go bad?

I have a '98 SE w/ close to 105K, would it be time for a new one?

 

OEM cats are warranted for 8 years/80K which ever comes first.
Now if the cat fails before that it could be caused by few reasons: either the engine is not running in manner it should be ( burning oil ,misfires, rich fuel mixture-excess fuel in exhaust will "meltdown" the cat, you could also "poison" your car with CO

or your cat could be phisically damaged if you run over a curb or etc...

cats degrade with time - some cars out there with high miles have highly functional cats and there are ones out there with low miles and severely degraded cats.

you can compare the cat converter to your own digestive system - if you feed it right it will function properly - if you feed it crap it will die early!

remember - engines kill cats - not vice versa

Nick.

 

Devo! If you think you're having trouble with your cat, GUT IT! We're in Florida, we don't have emission laws anymore (thank u Jeb Bush :-)). I gutted my cat while installing the CE short throw shifter with Luke this January.

As far as how you can tell, well if you don't smell rotten eggs, like felix822 said, get under the car while it's running ad listen for anything loose in the exhaust. Another thing, turn off the engine and get under the car again and just bang the cat with your fist and listen for anything loose in there.

Peace, Eddie

zT

 

well i dont want to gut it cause im not a fan of lots of noise, i love the sleeper sound it had now...

Nick, you said this:

Now if the cat fails before that it could be caused by few reasons: either the engine is not running in manner it should be ( burning oil ,misfires, rich fuel mixture-excess fuel in exhaust will "meltdown" the cat, you could also "poison" your car with CO

Im basically having all those problems =/

 

If the cat has broken up and is clogging the piping then try feeling how the exhaust comes out of the muffler. It should come out in pulses. If it does not then your cat may have fallen apart and is blocking the pipe.

 

well when i hear my exhaust...you can actually hear the engine misfire, its a very irregular noise

 

how much does it cost to get a new one

 

$120 good? thats what this muffler shor quoted me