Bad cats? Car still bogging when hard acceleration
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 319
Likes: 2
From: TX
Bad cats? Car still bogging when hard acceleration
I've posted a few times. Well, my car starting running rough, bogging down when accelerating. At first if was periodically, then it got worse, and last week it amost has NO power.
Keep in mind that as the car warms up, it gets worse. It starts like a charm.
Well, during the past few weeks here is what I have done and the results:
Ignition Coils- changed one, no change moved that one to the other side, no change
Changed Fuel Filter- no change
Changed ECU- no change
Changed Spark Plugs and wires- huge difference, car doesn't shake anymore, power is back after start up, but after warming up, it boggs under harder acceleration. At idle, it is smooth.
I have narrowed it down to either the catalytic converters are clogged after running horrlbe and being 22 years old, or the MAF.
The check engine light turns on after driving for a bit and once I try and get on it. I did notice that after I drove it for a bit, I could see the heat waves comming from under my car. I checked one evening and I didn't see anything "glowing" but then again i didn't put it on a lift.
Bottom line is I think the next step is to check the cats. What happens if I just remove them all together? I live in Texas and emissions is not tested. Nobody will look under my car. Will my car be any louder, or what should I expect?
Any thoughts?
Keep in mind that as the car warms up, it gets worse. It starts like a charm.
Well, during the past few weeks here is what I have done and the results:
Ignition Coils- changed one, no change moved that one to the other side, no change
Changed Fuel Filter- no change
Changed ECU- no change
Changed Spark Plugs and wires- huge difference, car doesn't shake anymore, power is back after start up, but after warming up, it boggs under harder acceleration. At idle, it is smooth.
I have narrowed it down to either the catalytic converters are clogged after running horrlbe and being 22 years old, or the MAF.
The check engine light turns on after driving for a bit and once I try and get on it. I did notice that after I drove it for a bit, I could see the heat waves comming from under my car. I checked one evening and I didn't see anything "glowing" but then again i didn't put it on a lift.
Bottom line is I think the next step is to check the cats. What happens if I just remove them all together? I live in Texas and emissions is not tested. Nobody will look under my car. Will my car be any louder, or what should I expect?
Any thoughts?
Driver
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
From: ohio
The best way to test the cats is to dive around and let the car warm up. when its fully warmed up see what the temp is before the cats, on the cats, and after the cats. I had my cat on my pontiac go bad and the temp before was like 270, on the cat was 560, after was 390. That is not normal lol
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 319
Likes: 2
From: TX
There are 3 cats on our cars. Mos people have problem with flow through the large one under the console, no the two by the manifolds. Is it usually this large cat in the middle that is the problem?
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,089
Likes: 52
From: illinois
is it a lot of work to hollow out a cat, pretty sure my cat is going bad cz my center console gets pretty hot after driving for a while and there's a weird burning of something type of smell coming out of my exhausts. car runs fine but i want my car to be a little louder so i wanna do this anyways.
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did you check the rotors out or did you just check the coils and plug wires.
Most people forget the hidden away rotor, until it fails one day.
could also be an injector issue, maybe start pulling the clips one by one and see if it clears up = faulty injector.
Most people forget the hidden away rotor, until it fails one day.
could also be an injector issue, maybe start pulling the clips one by one and see if it clears up = faulty injector.
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Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 319
Likes: 2
From: TX
A couple of questions/comments?
1) How do I "pull the clips" to check the injectors?
2) I did not change the rotors. Do I change both sides? It seems like these are less than $10. Is there just one, or two? What about the distributor caps? Are they difficult to change?
I put a bottle of GumOut Injector Cleaner in to see if I notice a difference.
Keep in mind, each time I start it up, the Check Engine light is off. When I give it medium throttle or more, the Check Engine light goes on and stays on. As soon as I feel the first signs of bogging, the check engine light immediatly comes on. The car idles smooth and under light acceleration around town it feels normal.
So, whatever is wrong, has to cause the Check Engine light to come on. Will injector problems cause it to go on? How about the rotors? From what I understand, back preassure in the exhaust will immediatly cause them to go on as the gas/fuel mixture will go out of wack and that is what will cause it to come on.
1) How do I "pull the clips" to check the injectors?
2) I did not change the rotors. Do I change both sides? It seems like these are less than $10. Is there just one, or two? What about the distributor caps? Are they difficult to change?
I put a bottle of GumOut Injector Cleaner in to see if I notice a difference.
Keep in mind, each time I start it up, the Check Engine light is off. When I give it medium throttle or more, the Check Engine light goes on and stays on. As soon as I feel the first signs of bogging, the check engine light immediatly comes on. The car idles smooth and under light acceleration around town it feels normal.
So, whatever is wrong, has to cause the Check Engine light to come on. Will injector problems cause it to go on? How about the rotors? From what I understand, back preassure in the exhaust will immediatly cause them to go on as the gas/fuel mixture will go out of wack and that is what will cause it to come on.
1) you pull the clips by removing the injector clip from the injector, there is 1 tab you press then remove. you should wait to do this last its the least likely to be the problem.
2) Yes you change both sides there is one in each distributor cap, check the cap also for damage and if so replace also.
Why not pull the code the next time it comes on before you shut it off? Then I would be able to tell you what your problem is without making a bunch of likely guesses.
there is no injector code or rotor code or cat code that will come on in 1992, what will happen is it will say misfire, or lean or sometimes not even that, but at least knowing what the code is saying will point us in the right direction.
Ignore the check timing part, when you jumper these 2 pins TE1 and E1 the check engine light will start to blink out codes.
count them and write them down, it will pause inbetween the 2 numbers, and then a long pause when it starts all over again.
My recommendation is to pull the code and post back here before doing anything else, but really do go ahead and get new rotors there is no point replacing all the links in the ignition system and leave the rotor original it will only spark as good as the condition of the rotor then.
2) Yes you change both sides there is one in each distributor cap, check the cap also for damage and if so replace also.
Why not pull the code the next time it comes on before you shut it off? Then I would be able to tell you what your problem is without making a bunch of likely guesses.
there is no injector code or rotor code or cat code that will come on in 1992, what will happen is it will say misfire, or lean or sometimes not even that, but at least knowing what the code is saying will point us in the right direction.
Ignore the check timing part, when you jumper these 2 pins TE1 and E1 the check engine light will start to blink out codes.
count them and write them down, it will pause inbetween the 2 numbers, and then a long pause when it starts all over again.
My recommendation is to pull the code and post back here before doing anything else, but really do go ahead and get new rotors there is no point replacing all the links in the ignition system and leave the rotor original it will only spark as good as the condition of the rotor then.
Last edited by Ali SC3; Apr 17, 2014 at 01:43 PM.
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