Cat Converter Problem???????

Hi

I need to replace my Cat under the car does any one know where I could locate one Expect from the dealer I have a 1998 Protege ES 1.8L A/T

Thanks for any information

Reply to
Eddie DeStafney
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Begin Eddie DeStafney quote:

; I need to replace my Cat under the car does any one know where I could ; locate one Expect from the dealer

You could try the ASPCA. Although I think they frown on keeping animals under cars.

Reply to
Jeffrey Kaplan

Here are a few places that sell universal cats:

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0 42949234294294921547 303187 You would have to get an exhaust shop to cut out your old one and weld in this one, probably cost about $30 for that..

Reply to
Jonathon

I am curious to know why you believe it needs to be changed. Most common reason seems to be that the insides are falling out and restricting exhaust flow. Is this the case with yours?

Ken

Reply to
KWS

its actually becoming a common problem with the protoge's also the intake gaskes leak and cause a lean condition so excess amount of fuel is being dumped into the motor which damages the catalyst and therefore renders it useless and it will not perform ts job anymore. And the check engine light will stay on.

Reply to
alex

I am in the process of waiting for a new cat converter to be delivered for my 2000 Protégé (1.6L). It appears to not be working all that well, according to the test report the other week when it failed CA emissions testing.

Of course, I am curious as to why it failed. It clearly does not have it's guts rattling about; it merely isn't the little furnace it used to be. Obviously, I would prefer to not have to replace it again soon (or ever) once this exercise is complete.

So thanks for the input, Alex. I thought about it a little and decided to pull one of the spark plugs out and see what it might tell me about the condition of the mixture. This is a new car for me, so anything I do like this is total discovery. First plug was really loose. It was a Splitfire (which, frankly, I think is an example of what happens when marketing folks get a little too close to the real product). Good news was that the color, shape, etc was a fairly decent representation of a "good" plug. Second plug was a something or other....but not a Splitfire. Hmmm. Wonder why? It also appeared to have good burn characteristics and was in there kind of loose. Third plug, another Splitfire, was probably the most correctly torqued of the bunch. It also looked good and the final Splitfire required almost zero torque to get it moving. It also looked OK.

So now there are four, new Densos in there, all happily seated at 15 lb/ft and lubed with anti-seize from my lifetime supply tube.

I did not do a compression check of the engine, but I am pretty certain, based on the way it performs, that none of the valves are bad. All in all, I don't see any evidence that the head is running either rich or lean. Like the little bear's bed: it seems just right.

Of course, I still don't know for certain why the converter crapped out. Let me be careful with that statement: If the new converter solves the emission problem, thereby demonstrating that the one I just took out is bad, then I will not know for certain why the converter failed.

Ken

Reply to
KWS

another simple test that can be conducted for the common problem is to do an artificial enrichment. What this means is to introduce another course of fuel to the gasket areas. Buy yourself a good qulaity brake clean product and spray at the base of the intake where it meets the head and if it makes a slight increase in rpm the gasket is leaking and has un metered air entering the engine and therefore will cause a lean condition.

Reply to
alex

Excellent suggestion, Alex. Thanks!

Ken

Reply to
KWS

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