i am not opposed to spending some money on tools. I feel like I am getting the run around on this particular issue. You said it best when you said few mechanics have the patience to diagnose the problem. Yes, it could be my CC that is the problem, or it could be four other things that are wrong. cost me $90 just to have car hooked up and codes ran at dealership.... I googled MAF scanner and the only thing that came up was MAF sensors. is there a specificc name to the scanner or guage I need?
Catalytic Converter
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JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have been driving all my vehicles now for many years with the P0430/P0420 code disabled and to the best of my knowledge, no harm has been done so far.
Just out of curiosity; Disabled how?
Joel
I have been driving all my vehicles now for many years with the P0430/P0420 code disabled and to the best of my knowledge, no harm has been done so far.
Just out of curiosity; Disabled how?
Joel
Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2026
Seems I would go with Oxy sensors before a CC..
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have been driving all my vehicles now for many years with the P0430/P0420 code disabled and to the best of my knowledge, no harm has been done so far.
Just out of curiosity; Disabled how?
Joel
There are tuners (people in brick and mortar buildings with hardware & software to get in and actually re-write your ECM, NOT 'hand held' devices) who can do this, without leaving a trace, 'footprint', or 'ghost' that it was done, and it also does not effect the readiness monitors.
It IS however, HIGHLY illegal for public road driven vehicles, IF one was actually caught in the act of doing this, or if it could somehow be irrefutably proven that it was done. (How likely is that, even in 'The Republik Of California'??).
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have been driving all my vehicles now for many years with the P0430/P0420 code disabled and to the best of my knowledge, no harm has been done so far.
Just out of curiosity; Disabled how?
Joel
There are tuners (people in brick and mortar buildings with hardware & software to get in and actually re-write your ECM, NOT 'hand held' devices) who can do this, without leaving a trace, 'footprint', or 'ghost' that it was done, and it also does not effect the readiness monitors.
It IS however, HIGHLY illegal for public road driven vehicles, IF one was actually caught in the act of doing this, or if it could somehow be irrefutably proven that it was done. (How likely is that, even in 'The Republik Of California'??).
Originally Posted By: outoforder
Just saw an advertisement on youtube for a product called cataclean which is sold at Pep Boys. Anyone have experience with this?
I'm not sure if I can attribute it solely to the catalytic converter cleaner or not, but I purchased a product of that nature at Pep Boys when I first got my car (and I was naive about cars) and added it to my tank.
After driving it a while, I got a misfire. Took it to the dealership (car was under warranty) and they diagnosed it as fouled spark plugs. Now was it the cleaner? Hard to say but the car was running perfectly before adding that to the tank.
Just saw an advertisement on youtube for a product called cataclean which is sold at Pep Boys. Anyone have experience with this?
I'm not sure if I can attribute it solely to the catalytic converter cleaner or not, but I purchased a product of that nature at Pep Boys when I first got my car (and I was naive about cars) and added it to my tank.
After driving it a while, I got a misfire. Took it to the dealership (car was under warranty) and they diagnosed it as fouled spark plugs. Now was it the cleaner? Hard to say but the car was running perfectly before adding that to the tank.
I had a '96 FORD Windstar that had a pretty similar cat.....list price was $1600.....lowest price I could find online was $1200 plus shipping.
It was a "Y" pipe with 2 converters.
I bought a Walker "Direct Fit" unit for just over $321 through RockAuto.
As mentioned, they are not as good as the FORD unit, but I got years of service and NO CEL with it.
The only downside is that it did take much longer for the OBDII system to "complete" the test cycle than it did with the original unit.
The catalyst test is the last test to complete in the cycle....
It did complete, just took longer.
I had about 100K miles on the Walker unit (over 229K on the vehicle) when I sold it.
If you are doing the work yourself, use care to support the flex pipe that will be connected to the rear of the "Y" pipe....if you let it dangle, or flex it too much, you will be needing to replace it......was about $100 last I looked.
Also, in my picture, on the left side of the original converter assembly, you will see a oxygen sensor mounted into the rear of the converter body.....that is the rear-most converter on the vehicle.
When I went to turn the sensor out......with very little turning force.....the whole bung broke out of the converter.
I am talking about the threaded nut that is mounted into the converter body that the sensor screws into.
The metal of the converter body was thin.
In my case, I was changing the converter anyhow, so it was not a big deal.
I used my original oxygen sensors as they were still in good working order.
The reason that I changed the converter assembly was that the insides had broken loose in 1 and was making a nasty rattling noise.....I had already ruled out the heat shields as the cause of the sound.
It was a "Y" pipe with 2 converters.
I bought a Walker "Direct Fit" unit for just over $321 through RockAuto.
As mentioned, they are not as good as the FORD unit, but I got years of service and NO CEL with it.
The only downside is that it did take much longer for the OBDII system to "complete" the test cycle than it did with the original unit.
The catalyst test is the last test to complete in the cycle....
It did complete, just took longer.
I had about 100K miles on the Walker unit (over 229K on the vehicle) when I sold it.
If you are doing the work yourself, use care to support the flex pipe that will be connected to the rear of the "Y" pipe....if you let it dangle, or flex it too much, you will be needing to replace it......was about $100 last I looked.
Also, in my picture, on the left side of the original converter assembly, you will see a oxygen sensor mounted into the rear of the converter body.....that is the rear-most converter on the vehicle.
When I went to turn the sensor out......with very little turning force.....the whole bung broke out of the converter.
I am talking about the threaded nut that is mounted into the converter body that the sensor screws into.
The metal of the converter body was thin.
In my case, I was changing the converter anyhow, so it was not a big deal.
I used my original oxygen sensors as they were still in good working order.
The reason that I changed the converter assembly was that the insides had broken loose in 1 and was making a nasty rattling noise.....I had already ruled out the heat shields as the cause of the sound.
It sounds like you got your money's worth seeing it was 1/4th the price of OEM.
Originally Posted By: outoforder
You said it best when you said few mechanics have the patience to diagnose the problem. Yes, it could be my CC that is the problem, or it could be four other things that are wrong. cost me $90 just to have car hooked up and codes ran at dealership...
Yes and when you go to a dealer you get "triaged" by a rookie who will pull codes and then, like the game of "telephone", it will be mis-interpreted by layers of fluff staff before an invented and expensive diagnosis is placed in your hand.
If you resist the cat job, you'll be branded as "troublesome" or a "know it all" and have continued sparring issues.
You said it best when you said few mechanics have the patience to diagnose the problem. Yes, it could be my CC that is the problem, or it could be four other things that are wrong. cost me $90 just to have car hooked up and codes ran at dealership...
Yes and when you go to a dealer you get "triaged" by a rookie who will pull codes and then, like the game of "telephone", it will be mis-interpreted by layers of fluff staff before an invented and expensive diagnosis is placed in your hand.
If you resist the cat job, you'll be branded as "troublesome" or a "know it all" and have continued sparring issues.
Originally Posted By: wiswind
I had a '96 FORD Windstar that had a pretty similar cat.....list price was $1600.....lowest price I could find online was $1200 plus shipping.
It was a "Y" pipe with 2 converters.
I bought a Walker "Direct Fit" unit for just over $321 through RockAuto.
As mentioned, they are not as good as the FORD unit, but I got years of service and NO CEL with it.
The only downside is that it did take much longer for the OBDII system to "complete" the test cycle than it did with the original unit.
The catalyst test is the last test to complete in the cycle....
It did complete, just took longer.
I had about 100K miles on the Walker unit (over 229K on the vehicle) when I sold it.
.
I agree that if you use a reputable name brand of aftermarket catalytic converter like from from Walker (Tenneco) makes OEM for some brands or maybe Brosal (for German Imports) you will likely get a decent product that will serve you well for at least 5 to 10 years on average.
I would definitely stay away from mystery brands. LOL
I had a '96 FORD Windstar that had a pretty similar cat.....list price was $1600.....lowest price I could find online was $1200 plus shipping.
It was a "Y" pipe with 2 converters.
I bought a Walker "Direct Fit" unit for just over $321 through RockAuto.
As mentioned, they are not as good as the FORD unit, but I got years of service and NO CEL with it.
The only downside is that it did take much longer for the OBDII system to "complete" the test cycle than it did with the original unit.
The catalyst test is the last test to complete in the cycle....
It did complete, just took longer.
I had about 100K miles on the Walker unit (over 229K on the vehicle) when I sold it.
.
I agree that if you use a reputable name brand of aftermarket catalytic converter like from from Walker (Tenneco) makes OEM for some brands or maybe Brosal (for German Imports) you will likely get a decent product that will serve you well for at least 5 to 10 years on average.
I would definitely stay away from mystery brands. LOL
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