clogged cat

[americanjebus]

what damage could a clogged cat done to my 90 laser rs turbo?

 

[trbotaln]

If you run for a while on a clogged cat it can be really bad for the car. Not only will it run crappy, but it can damage seals and whatnot. I work at Nissan, and the majority of the cars that come in with clogged cats get a whole new motor. You have no where for the hot exhaust gases to escape.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Depending on how clogged it is it could just add some back pressure or it could be bad enough te gas has to find another way out. First thing to go will probably be seals around the turbo. At least that was my experience with a clogged cat.

 

[steve]

I work at Nissan, and the majority of the cars that come in with clogged cats get a whole new motor.

Just how many clogged catalytic converter do you see?
I've never seen one, but perhaps I don't drive my cars in a way that leads to them clogging.

Steve

 

[trbotaln]

we get a lot of maximas and altimas that have this problem, but not really anything else. We get about one or two of them every couple of months. They seem to have a problem with the noble metals inside the cat fusing together under high exhaust temps and with too much unburn fuel. (people driving too long with their check engine lights on)

 

[steve]

I guess overheating the cat might be one way to clog one. Anyone ever seen one that didn't have impact damage or meltdown?

Steve

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

I bought a car at one point and was entirely oblivious to one cylinder not sparking completely and thus dumping extra fuel. (it was a beater...) As time went by it got harder and harder to boost and the car was noticeably slower. By the time I actually got in the thing to look around it was taking 4500rpm at WOT to keep up with traffic from a stop light. Turns out all that extra fuel being dumped pretty much melted the cat into a block of metal.


For those Maximas, Warpspeed will take care of them with a high flow for $100. Better than $600+ from the dealer.




*edit* Yes, I have seen one that just clogged from regular use. My dad had an old pick-up. 80's Chevy I think. It was short on power and getting poor mileage so he pulled the cat. You could only see through a couple of the holes. When i smashed it up for fun (I was probably 15 at the time) it threw nasty dust and dirt everywhere. It was in CO so maybe the elevation caused shitty burn.

 

[trbotaln]

a new cat from the dealer runs near 1000$ and technically that is the only type of replacement that is smog leagle besides and OBD2 aftermarket cat that is made for that application which is usually not very commen.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

What is the legal specification? I always thought that as long as you passed emissions it was legal. I know the Maxima guys pass emissions fine with the high flow. Is it just that there are retrictions about modifying your exhaust in general and if you do it has to be an approved piece? If that's the case how can all the custom exhaust shops get away with it?


I never had to tesst my maxima (MN doesn't test), but I'm surw with a Y-Pipe and high flow cat I would have passed fine.

 

[trbotaln]

Most cars will pass fine with an aftermarket cat, but as far as visual inspection goes, the cat must either be OEM or be an OBD2 cat that is specificaly for that application. They are supposed to run the CARB number in the computer and see if it is for the correct application if the cat has ever been replaced.Most smog shops do not usually go under the car and check the cat to see if it is original or has a CARB number on it, but they just check to make sure that a cat is on the vehicle. Their are only a couple of companies that even make OBD2 cats (magnaflow,Catco, possibly one other). Most other OBD2 cats sold are made by these two companies.

 

[theSicKness]

At one time my cat was clogged only way i even new was becuase of manifold glowing red. I just simply unclogged it...but i live in ohio (no emision inspections) so it worked fine 4 me.


Jesse