Racer944

I don't really know how it is supposed to look honestly, but if you were to disconnect the cat back, and it had stuff that almost looked like cement, that would be a great indicator that the cat. had done a meltdown. also, the reason why i use 93 is for the gas mileage and the small margin of extra power it gets going up steep hills. It's marginal, but for only $1.70 more, it seems fine to me.

Dluvr22

try driving around for a little bit sometime and pull over and see if it gets as hot as that. The thing is that is the only part of my exhaust system that gets red hot like that.

Racer944

Wait, now that I think about it, are you sure you're running on all cylinders? This could be the problem, which could lead to the glowing hot cat. because of unburnt fuel. This will eventually lead to a melt down on the catalytic converter, which equals a new exhaust for you.

Dluvr22

what would be the symptoms? How could I diagnose this issue and find out if all cylinders are running?

yotafool

thats probably gonna be the next thing i do, the cat. wouldnt hurt if you replaced it now.

Fink

That's probably you're problem...you need to replace it. I would go ahead and get a high-flo cat with a new muffler, might as well do it all while you've got it in the shop.

Fink

P.S. - get rid of the Bosch platinums!

gwhayduke

Now that you've showed us the glowing cat, I'm gonna go with the mis-timed timing belt theory. There's no way it should glow like that. I'm also wondering if the cat is now fried.

Dluvr22

THanks for all the input I'm going to take it in for a complete tuneup and have the timing checked and fixed afterwards I'll take it from there.

Dluvr22

Hey guys I'm back.
I decided to change my spark plugs to the NGK V Power.
I also changed the spark plug wires because I have a lifetime warranty from autozone.
I noticed that the plugs in cylinder 2 and 5 were very black. They had carbon deposits all over them. Will post pics soon.
Also the gaps on my bosch platinum were much larger than the NGK. Just to make sure I wasn't imagining things bacause I wanted it to be so I asked 2 friends to compare them and they said the same thing.
Also found some loose vacuum hoses in the process and I reconnected them accordingly.
Next to change is my cat and muffler. It turns out that the new OEM muffler I put on in September 04' has a 6 inch long hole in the seam.
Surprisingly I took it out on the road today and did 70mph on a level grade - wouldn't push my luck going uphill. I guess this rules out my transmission or torque converter. I do not know how to do the timing myself so I will take it in for a timing check and compression test.
Also I drove so hard that I extended the crack in one of my radiator hoses that i could not find. I consider it a blessing rather than a curse because I had noticed fluid on the floor and steam coming from my engine but could not pinpoint the source because it was so small and would only leak when the fluid built up a lot of pressure. Now the crack has gotten wider so I can change the appropiate hose

Dluvr22

ok so far , as my previous post states I've done a couple of things . Today it was a little warmer so I decided to continue from where I stopped. I am still misfiring so I decided to see what could be the problem . I started the car and pulled the spark plug wires off the distubiter cap on at the time to see if I can diagnose my problem. After unplugging the wires one at a time I notice there was no change in rpms when I unplugged the wire to spark plug no. 2. Conclusion cylinder no.2 is not firing. what do you guy think should be my next step. I cannot adjust the timing until I have resolved this problem. I am going to pull the plug again to take another look at it I am getting sparks form the disrubitor cap so I want to rule that out. What do you guys think.

the_supernerd

Check for a spark like you said. If there is a spark, then check the compression. If the compression is low then put a small amount of oil in the spark plug hole and check the compression again. If there is more compression after the oil is added, then the piston rings are the problem. If it is still the same then it is probably the valves or something with the head.

Dluvr22

Already checked and yes there is a spark.Going to do a compression test tommorrow morning.- If I have time.

morrisonjd84

did you ever figure this out i have the exact same problem and can not figure it out