bl75vette

Can catalytic converters become clogged over time, either with rust or broken parts inside. I know the heat riser is not frozen, but hear a great deal of pressure on the right side of the car. The car is running exceptionally hot and lacks power.

Cookwithvette

Yes. :yesnod:

RJR99SS

yeah, that could be a cause of lack of power and overheating. whats the exhaust sound like?

basically....some fail over time....some dont. all depends on what kind of junk is flowing through each particular cars exhaust and the quality of the converter.

tnt76vette

When I took mine off and put a straight pipe in, (before my current set up), it was like the car had been given an enema :jester :jester :jester

Stevo81

Yes..they can clog but I think it is more residue than rust or parts. It will run poorly, even enough to stop completely. For example, oil blow-by can clog up the cat "honeycomb"...so be sure there is not a second problem...they can test them easily. Heat should be greater behind the cat. And yes, the enema analogy is good.

bl75vette

Thought it was the trans, so I took it to my local trans shop. He road tested it with his other partner. Verdict was the exhaust is clogged somewhere. He said once you fix this the car will run like new. Didn't know whether or not to believe them. Anyway, I ordered true-duals from C.Central. Hope to see an improvement. Thanks for you input guys.

Fevre

I bet when you get those true duals you'll think you got a new engine especially if the cat is clogged like you suspect.

68shark

Friend of mine just had his converter clog in a '91 Caprice with high miles. Car overheated and ran with no power. Sounds similar to your situation.

You will free up a lot of pent up horsepower with your true duals!!


[Modified by 68shark, 10:08 AM 7/3/2002]

vettesite

Wait a minute. I just read your sig and it says you have a 1975. I thought cat converters where not installed until 1976???? :confused:

Yes they can become clogged. You can try banging on it :smash: with a rubber mallet to try to loosen the pellets. This is a short term fix and may or may not help. It's best to get a new high flow cat or go true duals. :yesnod:


[Modified by vettesite, 11:11 AM 7/3/2002]

JIM

hit the cat with a baseball bat or similiar object. If it rattles its toast. A clogged cat will cause a loss of power.

Cookwithvette

Cats started in '75.

hiyosilver

Any reputable ex shop can test converter .all they do is drill small hole upstream in front of converter and use vac gauge

The Money Pit

Had a TranAm plug one up. It seems the ignition timing I ran was too agressive for the cat to handle. When the garage removed it they opened it up and it looked like a chunk of volcanic magma. What a difference the new non stock convertor made.