My car wont pass inspection because the check engine light is on, and the OBD II spits out a code that says "catalytic converters below efficiency".

Is there any around this? Im not sure if this means the cats are bad, or if the O2 sensors are.

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

For future reference,, please provide as much info as you have in order to get suggestions to your problem,, thanks.
In reference to your 96LS it seems to me that you may have a partially clogged cat. this is just my guess. Please provide code number, if you can, and we may be able to provide further assistance to narrow down the problem.

 

Thanks for the info. I will try to get the specific code this weekend.

 

Well I finally got the car to a mechanic. I had cleared the check engine light code out a week ago, and have put some considerable mileage on it since. The light has not come back on. Hopefully I am in the clear.

However, the car has a broken EGR pipe (cracked between exhaust manifold and EGR valve). That would explain the exhaust smell inside the car. He said this is a big job to fix. Has anyone seen this or have experience fixing it? I also checked the timing belt (via access cover) and its spidered and cracked everywhere. It is definetely the original one (224K, wow!). That will have to be done asap.

Thanks!

 

I would highly recommend getting some Lucas Injector Cleaner and using it regularly--it is fantastic! It cleared up my check engine light problem in ten miles! As for the timing belt and EGR pipe, there are a lot of posts on both subject in this club! Good luck!

 

Where is this cover located and what is the procedure for viewing the timing belt?