Never thought I be washing out a Cat Converter

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  • Witsend
    Banned
    • Nov 2012
    • 2942

    Never thought I be washing out a Cat Converter

    I Was doing a Timing cover gasket on a 144k 2004 Ford Taurus and had my brother get a complete package, new cover, water pump, and timing chain. I pull the timing cover and the black rtv is stuck real good to the oil pan gasket and The oil pan gasket gets kind of compromised, separating so I look underneath and it looks easy to drop pan , but it gets hung up on the front dual cat cross over pipe that is supposed to be removed, but you just need to remove 3 of the 4 flange bolts and leave the top bolt on bank 1 in but loosened to pivot pipe down enough to get the oil pan in and out. However his car had a P0420 bank 1 cat efficiency code and I figured now would be the time to take a look at the substrate and give my brother the option to replace the cat. With the timing cover and oil pan off I easily removed the assembly, and inspection showed the honeycomb on both sides looks ok ,(forgot I Could have just looked through the O2 sensor bung holes with my HF snake camera) The emission testing isn't for another year, so rather than drop $400 for an aftermarket cat with only a 25K mile warranty, figure I'll soak both side cats agitate through a bucket with hot water and Tide laundry detergent then soak overnight with most of the soaking time for bank one side. The removal is a PITA, so I hope I don't have to do this again a year from now.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Witsend; 04-02-2017, 03:59 PM.
  • Witsend
    Banned
    • Nov 2012
    • 2942

    #2
    Took the Taurus for a 10 mile spin and completed all monitors except the evap monitor. Looks good for the Cat problem being resolved for the time being. If the car was actually due for the emission test right now it would pass and be fine to plate it for a couple more years till the next test , but it will be due for testing in a year and I have a feeling the P0420 code will likely come back by next winter in cooler temps. Colder weather and longer warm up times (especially if T-stat is questionable )requires a well functioning converter with as much functioning precious metal as possible. This Dual cat pipe lists for about $2000 at the dealer, and I'm sure an aftermarket $400 one only has half the precious metal as the OE setup that only has a 25k efficiency warranty.
    Attached Files

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    • Witsend
      Banned
      • Nov 2012
      • 2942

      #3
      Fast forward 7months and 10k

      My brother couldn't get the car tested back in April back when I had the Cat y pipe off doing the oil pan and timing cover and soaked the manifold Cats back then overnight in detergent, so the P0420 and P0430 codes returned in less than a month. Fast forward 7 months to november and I told him to order the new y pipe cat assy from rockauto, with fresh upstream O2 sensors , and a new starter because the old one was turning to Russian Roulette after engine is hot. Told him in the mean time he could try the lacquer thinner trick using the proportion that Scottie Kilmer suggested, and maybe giving it a try, and after putting on 150 miles and clearing codes twice, he got lucky the 3rd time around and got it through for a pass and the next day the P0420 and P0430 codes are pending again, but the original isn't corked up so the new aftermarket ones is getting returned for a refund. He doesn't think he'll have the car in 2 years and thinks it would s@ck to put on a aftermarket assy that could go bad before the 2 year passed by , so that's $400 he saved that he can use for something else.
      The long term fix on the cleaning and lacquer thinner tricks I believe is slim to none , but for a band aid quick fix for cash strapped folk to get it through and pass the test the first time the P0420 and P0430 still pops up despite car is tuned and all other issues fixed to pass emission lane so you can defer the cat replacement a few more years down the road, for your own, family, or close friends car , it is worth a shot.LOL I would never have removed it for cleaning, if it wasn't for the oil pan job 7 months ago.

      Last edited by Witsend; 11-18-2017, 04:01 PM.

      Comment

      • SnapOnKid
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2011
        • 869

        #4
        Thanks for posting the info of the vehicle. Now the smog police will be at his door when they discover this post...

        Comment

        • Witsend
          Banned
          • Nov 2012
          • 2942

          #5
          Thanks for posting the info of the vehicle. Now the smog police will be at his door when they discover this post...
          Reply With Quote
          Lol, Thanks, Guess I'll be hitting the Cheap Bastard for the labor I lost out on to put the new one on he ordered.

          Comment

          • SnapOnKid
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2011
            • 869

            #6
            You may want to remove the certificate with the vin number from your post...

            Comment

            • Witsend
              Banned
              • Nov 2012
              • 2942

              #7
              Yeah, I agree, you never know.No shortage of Politically Correctness and Eco Nazis these days.
              Last edited by Witsend; 11-19-2017, 02:45 PM.

              Comment

              • Witsend
                Banned
                • Nov 2012
                • 2942

                #8
                No lean codes but fuel trims are high on bank 2

                (Same 2004 Ford Taurus 3.0 12V OHV that passed test lane) No plenum to lower intake gasket vacuum leaks detected with propane or carb spray , No TSBs other than flashing ECMs when cars were new, so I cleaned MAF sensor and fuel injectors on the car and put in the new upstream O2 sensors in this 155K 2004 Taurus,and now seeing faster o2 response times and Long term fuel trim % on bank 2 came down some but still looks high. Don't have a decent smoke machine at home so I checked You Tube and found out that at the back of the plenum it is common to find leaking intake runner control o ring and an EGR tube bracket O-ring, but nothing about it on TSBs , Car is 13 years old though , the problem is pretty common and you still got to get these damn seals online or through Ford which hopefully hasn't made these parts obsolete already I do have to give a big thumbs up to sharp folk that have gone before us and have taken their time to post their repair experiences on you tube so other people don't waste as much time looking .More useful than TSBs for older stuffI Keep telling myself I need to get a smoke machine but haven't yet . Didn't even think of spraying way in back there, LOL
                thumbs up

                Comment

                • SnapOnKid
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2011
                  • 869

                  #9
                  Is there a support group for your machine if it smokes to much...

                  Comment

                  • Witsend
                    Banned
                    • Nov 2012
                    • 2942

                    #10
                    Is there a support group for your machine if it smokes to much...
                    Reply With Quote
                    Yeah, it's a group of steel racks that they put the cars up on at the salvage yard to reclaim the fluids and chop off the Cats.
                    Last edited by Witsend; 11-22-2017, 08:40 AM.

                    Comment

                    • khouji
                      Junior Member
                      • Nov 2017
                      • 5

                      #11
                      Your post is really helpful. Thanks!

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