My mav has lost a ton of power has a funny idle and kinda seems like one side of the engin is making more power than the other . I havent got to do a comp. test on the right side but I did on the drivers side , all looks good on that side so I think that I have a blown head gasket on the right side or the right cat is plugged up . How can I see if the right cat is plugged up I was thinking about cutting the exhaust right before the cat and see if it runns better ? BTW it seems more quiet than it used to thats why I`m thinking that its the cat.
Yes, if you get a cat stuck up your exhaust it will make it quiet (well the exhaust anyhow, the cat might yell).
hold your hand up behind the exhaust pipes and check to see if more exhaust blows out one side than the other if you can barely feels exhaust coming out it can be backed up in the cat
All plug wires are good and on tight it has a new cap/rotor a new dist. I just rebuilt the carb , new plugs gapped @ .45 too. I don`t have dual exhaust , I have dual cats then a Y pipe into single exhuast (sounds crappy but I made it for 20 bux ) so thats why I was asking if there was any way of testing to see if its the cat.
Take the temperature of the exhaust in front of the cats and after the cats. A plugged convertor will have less difference in the temperature than the one that is working. To do the test you will have to run the car under a load until it is warm and then quickly take the temp readings. PaulS
no offense guys but i hate all of your ideas! I say cut the damn cats off of there then weld pipes in there place! more power and it will sound louder. if you cut you cats off then you can eliminate the idea of a plugged one.
PaulS- Not quite. A plugged converter will be much hotter in the front than in the rear. I take readings with the engine held at about 2000rpm no load. More than about 100 degrees hotter upstream indicates a plugged converter. If it's a lot hotter downstream, the converter is doing its job, but it also means it's having to work pretty hard due to improper fuel mix and will eventually melt or break up. Elliot- If you do end up replacing one or both converters(you should only have one by the way), don't let anyone sell you a "high flow" unit. They are all the same inside.
nickriede what you said was quite rude , I need a cat to get my car leagal I am going to weld in some exhaust cut outs later but for now I just want to get it leagal. If my other cat is good (I`m sure it is) then I`ll just make a "H" pipe to go infront of both the cats that way I can just use the one that isn`t plugged up I know it will cost me a little power but I don`t care the 302 isn`t gonna stay in there for long any way .
sorry elliot.... didnt mean to piss you off. im from iowa and cops or whom ever dont check out your car for missing cats or other emission stuff. ive got about 10 friends who drive 80's caprices, monte carlos, thunder birds, sunfires, a diplomat... and various others and they took off there cats and nobody said ne thing. the caprice, diplomat, thnderbird, and a bronco are all straight piped also- no mufflers of ne kind.
