My neighbor was saying that a couple of months ago, but I ride my bike to work and don't drive the talon much, so I hadn't really worried about it. Until the other day when it decided to start shuddering.

I've got the car up high enough now that I can get to the cat (my car was lowered a couple of inches by a previous owner, so its just a little more difficult to get lifted). I've also arranged for other transportation for my son this week. I've got all weekend to get this working, so hopefully the AutoZone here will actually have parts in stock.

Also, when I say that the bolts are rusted, I mean that the bolts, brackets, cat, and both sides of the exhaust have fused together to form one big piece... I'll get a picture up as soon as I get back in. Wish me luck.

Here are a couple of pictures of what I am dealing with. The first is a view of the bracket on the upstream side of the cat. The second is the downstream side. I don't have a torch, so does anybody have any ideas for me other than that?

I am almost to the point of paying a shop to do it for me. If I do decide to go that route, can I have them fabricate new brackets, if say, one breaks while doing so? I live in a non emission county, so having a punched out cat for a couple of weeks wouldn't be a problem. Just until I get the money saved up for a new one.

What do you hear when you bang on the cat? Does it sound like a kid dropped rocks in the tailpipe and they made it up to the converter?

Actually, the bottom side sounds like its full of dirt, with a deep thud sound. The top side sounds hollow with a high pitched pinging sound.

Spend a little money. Grind off the nuts and bolts. Buy a grinder if you need to. Put a test pipe in there. Even if you had to make one, it's about $50. So now you're out $100, and you have a grinder now. That's about the price of a diagnostic fee from a serious shop. Then you will have eliminated the cat as a potential source of your problem. We'll proceed from there. You will have increased performance potential then, too, without a cat.

That's what the plan is as of now. Just have to wait until Tuesday for a space in the garage to open up, and a buddy of mine has a hack saw, torch, and a grinder. I'll be back in a couple of days with an update.

You'll figure it out. It sounds like it could be anything, but it also sounds like there's pea gravel in your cat! And your exhaust is about to snap in half over a RR crossing. Old cars... You gotta stay on 'em.

Good luck.

Measure between the single 'tab' on the gauge sending unit and ground. See attached for what readings should be. This is for a 2G turbo. (104 ohms at 158 degrees F)

I was driving about 75 when my thermostat gauge started to climb (it was running about 3/4 of the way for about 20 minutes). My gauge started to max out, and I was smoking really badly (car has set for a while, but this seemed like a lot still). I was getting ready to exit the freeway when something under the hood blew. Long story short, the inlet to the radiator (stock) completely broke away.
Any thoughts on what would cause the pressure to get so high that it fractured the inlet? I just replaced the water pump, and no I did not do a coolant system flush.
Thanks

Sounds like youre thermostat is stuck shut.

or the head gasket.

check the thermostat with a boil test and do a leakdown test to verify.

Time to upgrade the radiator, check the thermostat like stated and also you may want to look into a new radiator cap as it should have opened to release some of that built up pressure. This happened to mine on the ride home just after buying it but I found out I had multiple issues that contributed.

SkyGrowsCold said:

Time to upgrade the radiator, check the thermostat like stated and also you may want to look into a new radiator cap as it should have opened to release some of that built up pressure. This happened to mine on the ride home just after buying it but I found out I had multiple issues that contributed.

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Okay. Thanks.
What really sucks is I was going to replace the radiator, but wanted to get all of my insurance and tag crap situated first...
But it sounds like the car may not be complete scrap at this point...

I see that you have a safc. if you have it to lean it would make youre car overheat and blow a head gasket.

While my car was getting tested for emmsions the rad blew just like yours. I had to replace the rad.

just get a new rad i guess. but i would also say get a new thermostat just in case that was causing it

russell3123 said:

I see that you have a safc. if you have it to lean it would make youre car overheat and blow a head gasket.

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I see. Okay. Thanks all for the help!

What type of antifreeze do you run some types and brands can cause a build up in your water jackets

how about a bad water pump?

Also your radiator cap should be pressure checked, the fluid is under pressure thus increasing its boiling point. If the cap is faulty, your coolant system will not see the .9-1.1 bar of pressure, thus reducing its boiling point and not allowing for proper cooling of your engine. Pressure will build from the boiling of your coolant from engine temps, eventually something needs to relieve the pressure, radiator hose bursting.

I don't understamd why my aftermarket water temp. gauge(installed by previous owner) says my water temp is 220 at idle and my stock one says its normal or in the middle.I'm thinking the guy who had it before me mightve tapped the wrong source for water temp maybe, or installed it wrong some other way... just don't know. One of them is lying . The car idles fine, no smoke while idling or driving, no back fire. Car only has a turbo back. Anyone have any input? Thanks in advance.

Where is the sensor installed?

I'm not sure. I suppose what I should ask now is where should it be installed?

Its probably just the gauge, if the stock one reads normal I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes the aftermarket gauge sending unit are suspect. Some ground through the sensor and if someone put sealant on the threads to help it from leaking then it can mess up the readings.

Except for that fact that the stock one is pretty much useless. It should be as close to the Thermostat housing as possible.

"Middle" on the stock gauge doesn't mean very much, especially if someone messed with the needle for it. This typically happens when someone installs aftermarket gauge faces for the main gauge cluster. Personally I'd trust the aftermarket gauge saying 220 over your guess at what "middle" means on the stock gauge. If your water is measuring 220 anywhere in the cooling system you are running above the recommended operating range of the engine already.

As mentioned, the middle of the gauge can be for a wide range of values. As long as you aren't getting much hotter I wouldn't be too concerned where the stock needle is pointed. I would perhaps check to see if you have air in the system or your radiator is blocked a bit.

Thermostat working well?