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Topic: catalytic converter weirdness (Read 532 times) previous topic - next topic

catalytic converter weirdness

So I got a call from my dad the other night. His SHO died and the story he told had me shaking my head.  He had a back tire go down fast while on the freeway and rather than pull over and change it (he had lost his nerve after a blowout on the same freeway about a month before) he slowed down and rode the side for 5 or 6 miles til he could get off the highway.  He gets into a station and puts on his full-sized spare and as he's pulling back out the car starts dying out on him. It stalls and won't restart, so I come out and look it over and determine we need a hook. It gets to the shop today and I fight it to start and bring it in to the bay. The brake pedal is rock hard so I start by looking for vacuum leaks, then I pull codes and find P0430 bank 2 cat efficiency.  Up it goes on the lift and I find a hot bank 1 cat an hot downstream cat and an ice cold bank 2 cat.  Like almost anyone would, I disconnect the ypipe and try the whole start and run idea again.  After blowing out a cloud of raw fuel, we're off and running.  So I've nailed down the problem, but the question is could the radical shaking he claims to have put the car through have broke the cats loose and packed them into the outlets clogging the bank 2 upstream like a cork?
 

catalytic converter weirdness

Reply #1 –
Pull it apart and check it. Anything is possible Year and mileage would be nice to know. Degraded cats happen. Seen it several times.
I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

catalytic converter weirdness

Reply #2 –
It's a 97 SHO with 190k. Welded cams, all new stainless valves, chains, tensioners, and shims.  I bought it for my wife, put a bunch of work into the engine to un-buttshag it from the Billy-Bob shadetree that sold it to me.  Somebody must have had a good time with it, because the final drive in the trans was missing more teeth than the previous owner.  She hated it, so I sold it to the old man, who is head over heels for it.  I'm thinking the cats were on their way out, and the shaking was just too much.  Magnaflow makes one that's reasonably priced, so I think we'll be getting one of those. Depending, we may also replace the rear cat from them, also.