possible bad cat?

[rstewart1737]

I have a 94 SE 2.3 that I just bought. The person sold it to me for $1.00 because of the following problem:

The car idles perfectly, it revs fine in P and N and it seems to run OK up to 20 to 30 mph. After that it takes forever to get up to speed. You mash on the throttle and it doesn't change a thing, maybe it gets a little louder. There's no missing or hesitation, just very poor acceleration. I put my hand at the tail pipe at idle and it feels really weak and the exhaust smells bad as well. I'm thinking the cat is clogged. Anybody had this problem before or have any idea what it might be?

Thanks-
Rick Stewart
Proud new GA owner

[JAFO2RHh]

sounds exactly like the problem I had with my 91, although it got repoed before I could fix it. The car had no power, I couldn't get it over 30mph on a level surface. By the time I got it home from where my Ex had left it sit for 3 months (without making her payments) the cat was glowing red and I could smell it burning. It was definitely plugged up. However after that drive I couldn't ever get it started again.

[sunrunner_pei]

You say it smells 'bad'.. Does it have a Sulfur smell (rotten eggs)?

[rstewart1737]

yes, it has the (in)famous sulphur smell.

I just remembered something else. The previous owner said that the cruise control won't hold on a hill. Sounds like there might be a leaky emmisions hose somewhere that's making it run lean. That probably burned up the cat...

[rstewart1737]

Well, I took my car up to Meineke yesterday to have my cat replaced. So first they cut the old cat off. Lo and behold the catalyst was in pieces. So they welded on a new hi flow cat and started the car. There was still a rattling sound. So they turned the car off and cut the new cat back off and found a huge chunk of catalyst blocking the resonator entrance. Once that was cleared out they welded everything back together and started the car. Perfect!! Runs like a new car again.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by rstewart1737
Well, I took my car up to Meineke ..... Perfect!! Runs like a new car again.
Great deal on a $1 car!!

Anybody that neglected the cat that badly prolly didn't have the rest of the car properly serviced, either.

Auto tranny? Get a regular service at a reputable shop (not a stealership).
Plan on a pre-season coolant flush next spring.
Add a bottle or two of 'Fuel System Conditioner' to the tank to clean neglected injectors.

IMO, Meineke does good work.

-Rick

[rstewart1737]

Yup, you would think so but she had every record of everything ever done to it from 1994 to the present. Oil changes every 3,000 miles, it's got a new starter, alternator, ignition system, brakes & rotors, and many others. She only had the tranny fluid changed once and if there's one thing I learned from my $1900.00 truck tranny rebuild last summer was ALWAYS KEEP YOUR TRANNY FLUID CLEAN!!! The interior is spotless and so is the exterior (except for the paint on the hood) so the only things about the car that are problems are the CHECK OIL light is always on even though it has plenty of oil, and that blasted sqeak in the dashboard. Seems to be a pretty common problem on these things so I'll let the group know if I'm able to track it down and fix it. I'm thinking about finding the source of the squeak and spraying some of that canned insulation foam up into it. I'll keep folks posted...

[30thAnnGAGT]

Glad to see you got it worked out! I'll give you whatever it cost you to have it fixed....6 bucks and a jawbreaker for it :)

[Solarboy]

Ha...reminded me of a car I fixed years ago for a guy at work...went into work, and his car was there when it usually wasn't that early. He said he was in Milwaukee, and the car didnt' run well at all after leaving the parking lot, so he just drove it into the shop. This was January...
I started it up..it had no guts at all..it would run, but didn't respond to throttle much...wouldn't rev. Seemed like it was running super rich...I ran around to stick my finger in the exhaust pipe...expecting black and sooty...and found cold and hard. Seems he had backed into a snowbank in Milwaukee, plugging up the exhaust pipe.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by Solarboy
Seems he had backed into a snowbank in Milwaukee, plugging up the exhaust pipe.
I'll try to avoid that next time it snows in Phoenix!! :biggrin:

BTW, predicted 102*F here today. :eek:

[Solarboy]

Funny as it may seem...I prefer cold to hot. I can always put more on, but I can only take so much off.
Yes..it gets cold in Wisconsin...but it's a "dry" cold.