would a clogged cat cause my SES to come on?
the car does fine for about 10 or so miles, than it starts missing hardcore. its shakes and bucks all over the place. if i keep driving it, and than open the hood after a few miles the steam is just pouring out. i never looked to see if the exhaust was hot. if i let it cool down for a few hours, its good to go another 10 or so miles.
if its the cat, what should i do with it? its welded on both ends, and the nearest exhaust place is 50 miles.

 

You should scan it to see what the SES is trying to tell you. Steam? Is it overheating?

 

If it's your cat you're gonna either have to remove it completely or take it off and bang all the stuff out of it. Either way your still removing it and if you don't have a welder your gonna have to have the muffler shop take care of it anyway. Go to Autozone and have em run a scan to see what the problem is first, then go from there.

 

A clogged cat will cause it to run bad (no power) right from the start (i.e. your first 10 miles). Like Rob suggested, have the code read and take it from there.

 

i cant get it anywhere to have the code read though. the nearest place is like 50 miles away.
finished plug wires today. started car, it idled great for 25 or so minutes. than it started idling a little rough. tapped the gas a little than it started the same old thing with the bucking and not revving past 1K. could hear something rattling around in the cat. and it smelled like something was hot, but the temp gauge only read 160.

 

ahh, found a place to scan it 20 miles away. if its the opti, would the scan tell?

 

Does it overheat?

 

no, the temp guage reads about 170 or so.

 

So... if its not overheating, why (or where) is there ".... steam .... just pouring out. "????

The optical sensor section of the Opti will set codes..... the high voltage section will not. Putting it on an ignition 'scope is the best way to check the high voltage side.

 

the steam is coming from the back of the engine. smells like oil burning. mechganic said its probably a leak gettin on the exhaust. i havent seen any oil on the floor though. it is dripping some water though. out the tailpipes, and by the radiator.

it wasnt steaming today, but something smelled hot. engine temp only read 160 though.