stl92gpgtp Posted October 30, 2004 Report Posted October 30, 2004 WEll my Grand prix has been down for awhile i originally wanted to get it runing before i brought the talon home..well the talons home and its ripped apart for the head gasket it needs...and guess what...the GP isnt running and i would like to get it running so i can start fixing it up. well heres what happened we had finished. so we ran it to check it all out..well at first it was running GREAT better than ne thing. my dad got into it a little bit about half way down from a stop ....and it was going great but it got up to speed and it made a popping sound. and started running really shitty ..but we ran it down to my moms wok (mobil on patterson) and when we got there we opend the hood and i looked under the car. not to my supprize the catalatic converter was ...to say the least hot ...half way red.. nearly ORANGE. we cant figure out what is wrong with it NE help is appreciated thanks in advance JAMES JR Quote
LukeZ34 Posted October 30, 2004 Report Posted October 30, 2004 Sounds like the ceramic inside it just broke apart and plugged the exhaust system. Is this a new cat, or the original factory one? Either way, i'd just replace it. If it was new, It could just have been defective, and if it's the original one, time has taken it's toll on it. Quote
midnight rider Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 yep what he said. replace the cat. you can pick up a universal fit Catco brand at autozone for less than $70. They flow better than the stock unit and come with a warrenty. Quote
93CutlassSupreme Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 or, you could get some pipe for $10 and eliminate the cat Quote
Darksyde Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 Catco...good products. They also make a high flow catco cat for about $20 more. Good stuff though Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 .. if the Catalytic converter is glowing red, as I've stated many times, it may not be just the cat that's causing the problem. sure, it can sometimes be the cause, but typically it's some type of ignition/fuel problem. An overly rich condition in the exaust will cause a catalytic converter to glow red, if you have a cylinder misfiring for some reason (Ignition control module, coil, plug, wire) or a stuck open injector flooding the engine. The reason this is bad for so many reasons is not only will it foul out that one cylinder making the problem worse, it will also cause the O2 sensor to back the mixture down thinking it's running too rich - this will lean out the properly working cylinders, causing too much of a chance for problems. I would make sure the engine is running properly before you decide to change the cat/eliminate it. --Dave. Quote
stl92gpgtp Posted October 31, 2004 Author Report Posted October 31, 2004 what r the chances of something like that happening? with the Fuel injectors ...i just changed the spark plugs and the wires not even 75 miles ago.. Quote
93CutlassSupreme Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 is the engine hard to start? Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 the chances are better that you've got a bad plug/wire rather then a faulty injector, even with just 75 miles on the plugs/wires. You stated that the car started runnin' like crap - if I were to start looking for problem spots I'd guess that'd be an ignition coil that went bad and isn't firing two plugs all the time, and work my way up the system from there. --Dave. Quote
sonyman87 Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 i say Fuel in the exaust. i have seen vehicals run while the timeing was off 4.3L ran ok. it was off just enough to let unburned fuel or fresh injected fuel into the exaust where it heats it up to the melting point. not pretty. you might also be running very rich. check the 02 sensor Quote
DiscoStudd Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 The "it suddenly made a popping sound and started running shitty" part lead me to believe you dropped a coil pack (or the ignition module.) If that happens, as was pointed out earlier, you're dumping raw gas into the cat-con and could eventually start your exhaust system and/or your whole car on fire. I agree with Dave and sonyman, you probably have fuel in the exhaust. Have your engine (specifically the ignition) tested out before you rule out the converter... Quote
stl92gpgtp Posted October 31, 2004 Author Report Posted October 31, 2004 k thanks ill check the coil packs tonight well....it is hard tostart but i think that its because the plus are black...and the funny thing u say is that i might have drooped a coil. after it did this we pulled the plugs and all of them in the front were black but one its been sitting for a while ill pull the back plugs and see if theres another one not fouled could this mean that i dropped a pack for sure? Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted November 1, 2004 Report Posted November 1, 2004 based on the front three bein' trashed would make me believe you'll see the same in the rear - almost a certina sign that you dropped a coil, or the ICM (the thing under the coils) is bad. --Dave. Quote
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