CEL Catalytic Converter

Check engine light is on for my catalytic converter. How exactly do I get this diagnosed.
My car might have 2 cats but Im not sure. Furthermore I cant see under my car but it looks like some pipe work was already done so a few other things might be wrong.
Before I buy a new cat (cheap $200) how do I get this diagnosed. I dont want to go to a dealership because I'll end up selling my first unborn child. Could I take this to a muffler shop. I heard they could install a new cat for cheap.

Don't DIY exhaust work. You'll end up with leaks and buying even more shit to cut, break, etc stuck bolts and such.
Take it too a muffler shop.

Never planned on doing it myself. I do have a mechanic friend, but he doesnt have a shop. I wasnt sure if muffler shops could diagnose problems though.

if you have a cel then its probably the 1st cat since that one imediately has a sensor after it..

if there has already been work done then you probably dont have a second cat and it was cut out (people do this in states with no visual inspections)

>muffler shop.
They have those?

>You'll end up with leaks and buying even more shit to cut, break, etc
What are you on about?

>unscrew some bolts
>take off old cat
>put on new cat
>bolt cat
>profit?????

What's the actual fucking code? Any suggestions without that is retarded.

p0430. catalytic converter is below effieciency on bank 1
Car will start riding rough and then stall at a stop.

The exhaust is probably the easiest part of the car to work on. If you can't replace a cat, you have no business tying your own shoes.

What car? Have you been misfiring or burning oil or coolant? Cats don't just die.

Not op but what are some symptoms that a dying cat will exhibit?

Fail on HC or CO.

I bought the car less than a year ago. Its an old camry. I dont know what kind of maintance they did on it but like I said it looks like its already had work done under it. Wouldnt be surprised if it didnt have the original converter and some cheap model like the one Im going to put on it. It needed a tuneup when I first bought it because it was misfiring.

replace the cat with an oem one for maximum life or aftermarket if you only want to keep it a few more years.

Your car will run like shit and your gas mileage will drop significantly. Catalytic converters usually last a very long time, but they do sometimes get clogged up and you have to get it replaced. They're usually not cheap. How many miles on your car?

Nah like I said its an old camry. Only paid 3200 for it. Id rather spend $200 and get another 3-5 years out of it than spend $2000.

Had a friend that had success with cat cleaner through his gas tank in removing the CEL on a Matrix. Smells like shit but it removed the light permanently.

If my car has like 3 cats, would simply removing the bad cat fix all the symptoms

welding isn't like turning a wrench.
anybody can replace a valve cover gasket; but it takes a skilled tradesman to properly weld.

You fucks always with the cats.

Even if it was the cat, which I highly doubt it is, usually the bolts have to be cut off at a minimum. Then, it's a rusty fucking mess to deal with.

Cat cleaner? Are you fucking serious?

see
stupid fuck.

You should replace all of your cats, then at your next oil change change them all again to keep that efficiency up. Don't forget to prime them before putting them on.

>computer says whats wrong with car in plain English
>fuck that, computer dosn't know shit
>proceeds to try fixing every other thing in car trying to diagnose problem
>ignoring the fact that the OBD (on board diagnostics) already told you the problem
>ITS NOT THE CAT REEEEEEE

see how stupid you sound?

I would recommend you look into diagnosing OBDII codes. Clearly you know better than someone with experience, so go right ahead fix 'er up.

>someone with experience
your either a shit troll or a hack "mechanic" at some jiffy lube

Why would you even waste time typing something so unconstructive

He has a point though. Cat OBDII codes can get thrown for a number of reasons. Basically it flags up when the O2 sensor notices a discrepancy. That sensor doesn't know if the cat itself is roached, if spark plugs aren't firing properly and there's too much unburnt fuel getting blown out, if there's oil getting in the cylinder or if the head gasket is blown. It only knows that it's not seeing what it's expecting to see. The underlying cause could be a wide spectrum of things.

The general rule for mechanics on a cat code is replace the down steam o2, if the code is still there replace the catalytic. In all honesty there isn't much else to it, I mean you can try everything under the sun but a cat code is only those 2 99.9% most the time. Anything else wrong with the motor won't throw a cat code unless that issue had fried the catalytic.

If its just the code you'd have a point, but when there are problems like rough idle, stalling and you have a cat code. It's your cat.

car has 60k miles, no check engine light, passed smog a year ago when i got it, no rough idling or bad mpg's etc, etc only thing is that it smells like sulfur only when i accelerate hard about 75% throttle or more other than that no issues. car was well maintained and babied before i got it and started driving it hard.

It could be running at like 89% when your cat needs to be at 90% to meet your makers standard.

How about if he has a missfire and it melted the cat, now he is getting a code for catalytic efficiency? So your answer is to replace the cat and slap it on the ass? dumbass

Same, was getting backfires and low power in my 03 sierra 4.3, ran a bottle of cata-clean through it and runs much better now

>Why would you even waste time typing something so unconstructive
Says the idiot

Obviously the dumbass is you, if the catalytic toasted due to an issue odb2 will code well before it destroys the catalytic. And if you refuse to fix the obvious motor issue before the catalytic then you should stop working on cars.