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Clogged up Cats on 99 SVT...where to get

N

naujcdl

No, I'm not the coffee guy
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Joined
Mar 9, 2007
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Glenview
new cats?

Well, the car just fell out of the emissions warranty by 2 months...:mad: and i have to replace those. The front one by the firewall is clogged up, as it is trying to pass the exhaust it began clogging the second one. Yes, it is code P0420.

Then, ford quoted me $1350 for parts, $1470 with labor. So with all these facts where could i go to get not so expensive replacement cats?

The car is a 99 svt, 62500 miles and it rides excellent(i could be so wrong) but with that code and the cats clogged.

Any recommendations, tips, are all appreciated.

Thanks.
 
headers, mil eliminators. Should be able to pass inspection with those according to alot of people, for about 1/4th of the price they quoted you.
 
hotdimmes said:
headers, mil eliminators. Should be able to pass inspection with those according to alot of people, for about 1/4th of the price they quoted you.
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Depends on where he lives. If they have visual inspections where he lives, that idea won't fly. $1470 is about what it runs to get them changed out at a dealer. That's what I paid, give or take a few bucks.
Karl
 
Ok.

Thanks to all. In Chicago, they put the smoke tube on the exhaust and drive it on the rolling thingy and measure up the signals (ODB1). Also, they read the computer if you are ODB2 and see sup from there.

Thanks.
 
Also make sure to warm up your car vigorously before testing, cats need lots of heat to work effectively.
 
Are you sure that the cats are clogged or do you just have codes?

Very often the cat codes on our cars are false codes. There may not be anything wrong.

Also there are aftermarket cats available if you really want to pursue that route.
 
Thanks to all. I am sure of it. Well, the guy at the dealership was honest and he said he looked at the one by the firewall and it was clogged. He not only read the code we already knew about, but also checked the components.

They tried every way to get me under the warranty bu the damn thing ran out back in may the 3rd...wth.

I mean, besides being clogged up, what happens if they are all clogged up, like nothing pretty much passing through? The car won't run or i won't pass anything at all?

This i ask as i have no idea on what happens if this occurs.

Thanks.
 
When they are clogged the engine power is greatly reduced, especially on hard acceleration and at high revs. It isn't subtle. It can be bad enough that the engine won't run.

I wonder how he checked to see if it was plugged. I can't imagine that he took the exhaust manifold off to look inside. Maybe he removed an oxygen sensor and looked in with a bore scope. Even that doesn't seem likely.

My opinion from this side is that your cats are fine. It is just the narrow parameter of the original programming that sometimes sets the code. If the engine runs fine, reset the codes and see if it comes back. It may take a week or two of driving even if the cat is inefficient.

My own car would set the code for bad precats intermittently, sometimes in about 6 months, sometime a year or two between episodes. As long as the check engine light is off, it easily passed smog with readings very near zero.

It may be too soon to tell, but it has not come back on since I replaced the upstream oxygen sensors about two years ago due to a failed upstream sensor.

I have nearly 238,000 miles on it and no sign that the precats are failing other than the occasional false codes.
 
Well, i couldn't go into the shop to see what they actually tested, but who knows...

Other than that, i cleared the code twice, in a span of about a month and it came back and has been on since.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.
 
naujcdl said:
...Any recommendations?

Thanks.
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Take it to Midas or something. Have them change the main catalytic converter with a high flow type (about $300). Then install the mileliminators for Bank 1 (firewall side) Lower O2 sensor and Bank 2 (radiator side lower O2 sensor).

Chances are your Bank 1 (firewall side cat) converter is not plugged.
 
Tony2005 said:
Take it to Midas or something. Have them change the main catalytic converter with a high flow type (about $300). Then install the mileliminators for Bank 1 (firewall side) Lower O2 sensor and Bank 2 (radiator side lower O2 sensor).

Chances are your Bank 1 (firewall side cat) converter is not plugged.
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When I had the CEL, I took the car to the dealer and also had them smog test it. I was hoping that I could get the recall done but the car had too many miles on it. At least it got fixed and passed the smog test. I noticed a difference in performance as well. IF a manifold is clogged and the reason for the CEL, all the MIL eliminators and main cat replacements in the world aren't going to unclog it. There were many so called "fixes" put forth in this thread and if the OP wants to roll the dice, that's his call. Personally, I'd do what I did and be done with it.
Karl
 
Ok, I don't want to extend the issue more than it is already explained, but when it comes to manifolds, and cats and o2 sensors, what do you recommend replacing? Some people go with MIL, others don't.

Well, what is the most recommended as far as longetivity issues with the engine is concerned i could do to this car?

Thanks.
 
naujcdl said:
Ok, I don't want to extend the issue more than it is already explained, but when it comes to manifolds, and cats and o2 sensors, what do you recommend replacing? Some people go with MIL, others don't.

Well, what is the most recommended as far as longetivity issues with the engine is concerned i could do to this car?

Thanks.
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I thought I explained your solution in my last post. Here's what it boils down to: According to the dealer, the manifolds need to be replaced. So is the code caused by a clogged manifold or a bad precat? Who knows? One thing is certain, if the manifolds are replaced, the problem should be fixed. If you want to dick around with those other "solutions", that's your prerogative but if they don't ultimately fix the problem, you'll still need to spend the money on new manifolds and the labor to replace them unless you want to do it yourself. So now you've possibly spent ~$300 or more for nothing. Maybe you've got $300 to experiment with. I don't know. But you could buy ~8 tanks of gas for that money. If a manifold is clogged it is costing you both performance and gas mileage. So, it's going to cost you even more money down the road. It's your choice. Get it fixed right first or fool around and maybe "fix" it and then have to spend more money on it at a later time. It seems like an easy choice to me.
Karl
 
my 2 cents. Were there any performance problems on the car. If the cats are clogged there will be a performance hit as said earlier. If there is a performance problem the only choice is replacement cats, either ford or aftermarket.

If performance is normal then you can probably pass the tailpipe test "as is" and use MIL eliminators to turn the light off.
 
On my wifes old mystique and my SVT all I did to fix these codes was replace the upper 02 sensor this has completly solved the problem on my SVT and fixed it twice on the mystquie. The mystique had to be done at 60k and 110k.
 
I wouldn't want to have a clogged cat under my car. My cousin had a prelude that had one clogged and as he was driving down the highway it shut off. He popped the hood and his manifold was cherry red from the exhaust not traveling through too well. He is very lucky that his car didn't catch fire.

I would find out if the cats are clogged. If they arent then I would either relpace the sensors or go the mil route.
 
Ok.

I am back after a while. After removing the first o2 Sensor located right under the coil pack, i still kept on getting the error code P0420, so i researched a bit more and after careful, see and listen, to my car's performance, i replaced the o2 sensor that is right by the catalytic converter, and this time i got it to clear the codes and it has been almost a week and nothing.

Previous to removing and replacing that o2 sensor, the error code came back every two or three days and cleared it out and nothing.

But anyway, thanks to all.

Juan Delgado
 
Well, after replacing all o2 sensors and cleaning the EGR and IAC valves and apparently no leaks so far in any of the systems tubing and such, i still have the P0420 code.

At the shop where i am having some stuff done to the car, the mechanic keeps on saying it is the cat clogged, BUT i myself don't feel performance losses, but then again i haven't driven any other stock SVT as mine is.

Which leaves me to think two things:
1. DPFE sensor could also be bad, someone i pm'ed said this and I was surprised by the suggestion.
2. MIL thingys, which will of course do the bypass work, but i would still get left behind with the wondering of whether the car is getting good performance out.
3. JUST DO BOTH HEADERS, FRONT AND REAR and leave the rest of the exhaust intact, but what would be the point in that?

I think the second option sounds a bit better but i have you guys here as all helpful to give in two cents in to troubleshoot with...:laugh:
 
naujcdl said:
3. JUST DO BOTH HEADERS, FRONT AND REAR and leave the rest of the exhaust intact, but what would be the point in that?
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Well, the car will run better, and sound sexy as all get out. :laugh:
Seriously, I had the same issues (clogged precats), called Marty at MSDS, and got a set of headers. Much cheaper than buying new manifolds, with a performance gain to boot.
 
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