most cats don't get 100% blocked, they break up and part of the honeycomb goes sideways and partailly blocks the exhaust.


Causing the problem where the car witll start and idle fine, even cruise fine but if you really romp on it, it seals up the exhaust and bogs it down.

 

once more. I didn't say that they will not get partialy blocked. You need to actualy red what I do type instead of just seeing what you want. Unhooking the cat is NOT a test. test it right or don't test it at all. your not going to get any results otherwise. the ONLY time thatwill work AS I SAID is if the car will not start. Even then it's recomeded that the 02's are removed instead of droping the exhaust. there are reasons for this that we as professionals understand. You coming in and saying otherwise does not make it right. your looking to allow enough exhaust gas to exit without dumping all of it direcly after that manifolds or Y pipe.

 

You forget...

she is not in a shop...


I doubt she has a o2 sensor socket.


If we had money to do full diagnostic tests, we woudln't be doing it ourselves we woudl get it checked out professionally. but assuming she and others are trying to save some bucks... I try to offer some solutions that are free...

is my way the best most scientific way? nope. Will you walk away spending no money with my way... yeah...


we are v6ers, not looking to dump tons of money into our cars, if we were, we woudl have bought v8s instead.

 

that has zero to do with it. I could care less about how much money one has. If they want answers to car repair questions then they need to be able to get them. Spend the money at a shop to have the cat tested or test it yourself. It's all there is to it. Same goes for anything repair related. if your ABS light comes on. Take it to a shop or fix it yourself. If you AC goes out, take it to a shop or fix it your self. Want to save money and fix it yourself? great! don't have the tools to diagnose the problem? thats an issue. Good luck fixing any problem on your first attempt without knowing what teh case is. Same goes for this. there are only a few options.

Test the cat 1 of the 3 ways that I suegested.
replace the cat.
gut the cat.
Take it to a shop to diagnose.


It's pretty simple. Telling someone to test the cat by pulling the pipe off is like telling someone to see if your getting gas by dropping the tank. It doesn't tell you the problem.

Like I told you. hit the cat. if it rattles it's bad. If not then testing is beyond a DIY'er without more tools and testing equipment.

Just because "you are V6ers" doesn't mean that you are not held to the same rules of car rapair as anyone else.

 

Its not about "being a v6er" its about being on a budget.


We will use your example of an ABS INOP light, you said take it to a shop to get it inspected. Probably $50-120 jsut to see the problem not including repairs.


when in reality what you should check your brake lifghts, if they are good then what you do is take your car to autozone, get the alternator tested for free(or use a multimeter if you have one, handy tool for DIYers, $20) and see if its working right. Good chance its out, since our cars throw a ABS INOP light when the alternator/battery is charging low.

Saved yourself a $50-120 diagnostic fee. More money to mod, race, or just gas.


My way has worked on one of my cars, and a few local guys cars, and even others on this board.

In my opinion, you should exhaust all free methods of deciphering problems before you start throwing money at a car.

 

And what happens when the Alt is good (BTW you can't test that by hooking up a scaner or using a DVOM) and the 3rd brake lights are good. Where do they go from there? Aside from checking fuses, wheel speed sensors for good contact ect ect?


Stop changing your stroy. First it's "us V6 guys" then it's "us guys on a budget". make up your mind on what excuse you would like to use to shoot down the correct way to repair a car.


So whats next. you have now wasted a lot of time "testing" for the cause of the ABS light. Whats your next move?

 

Guess your right...

we should take our cars to you the professional and give you our money...

question is... what if it was one of the simple problems I did list? if so you saved money on a diagnostic fee.


If you haven't tracked your problem down after those, then consider taking it ot a professional. There was no harm done you didn't waste any money testing those things out.


PS autozones generally have a little cart that wheels out and scan and load test s your bat and alt. So they do have a "scanner"

 

It's not a scanner, i just was pointing out that a DTC scan as well as DVOM will not test a battery or alt...

.. but this is what I am saying. without the correct tools, equipment and know how you can be pissing into the wind. Sure some stuff is easy. Anyone can change parts and solve minor issues. But when your actualy looking to find an answer to a problem it can be complex. Thats when you either throw parts at it untill it's fixed or take it to someone that can do it the first time.


That brings me back to the cat.

DIY test. Hit it, does it rattle?
yes, cat is bad
no, cat passed rattle test but might still be bad.


Now what? you can either replace it anyway or have a shop find out if it's bad and go from there.

 

Well, im blessed to have some knowledge about cars, plus i have a bf thats a mechanic. But hes a ford guy and doenst really mess with chevy's lol! But the cat is cloged. Its VERY loud and we are getting it fixed today. The fuel pump is going bad, when it gets down right below half tank its making a humming noise. So I'll replace that myself, we are taking the car to get the cats fixed only because we dont have a lift at the house. lol

 

The duel of knowledge between MustangEater and HBH....who shall win?

If/when you take your cat off, start it and drive around with no cat. It sounds sooooo gooooood, ahhhhhhh...

 

Jsut to warn you for the fuel pump you will have to drop the tank...


Or its commone for peopel to cut an access hatch to get to it. Do a search on it if you want more info. Makes it alot easier, though never done it myself.

 

yeah we'll just jack it up and do it, the cat is a lot harder to do. but fuel pump isnt going to be so bad.

 

it would??some ppl tell me doing that or putting exhaust on the car would make it sound crapy....

 

Well, when my cat went bad, I took it off and replaced it with a high flow one. But in between the process, I put the jack down and took it for a spin with no cat. It was LOUD, but very beefy in my opinion. Probably scared the **** out of some of my neighbors.

 

hmmmmmm, (lightbulb) gave me some ideas to try for a bit hahaha :wink: