I flew back to LAX last Friday night after a week-long business trip to the east coast. Start my pickup (1988 22R 183K miles) and it is LOUD. Figure "oh crap" - timing chain or something. Dealer service department on the way home is open until 10PM, stop by and am told my catalytic converter was stolen! After being accused of being in denial ("who would steal a 21 year old original catalytic converter with 180+K miles on it?"), told it's fairly common, go to a decent muffler shop, and safe to drive home.

On the drive home, besides loud and no power, my truck starts running hot - much hotter than normal with the temperature needle at the top of the scale. I figure it's due to the missing catalytic converter. Got it replaced this afternoon with a 2009 CARB compliant Magnaflow aftermarket cat ($100 over original estimate because they cut through my exhaust pipe and hangers) and everything sounded fine. Except on the drive home (about 25 miles) my truck is still running very hot - much hotter than when I originally drove to the airport.

Searching the many stolen cat threads didn't show anything about overheating, and only a few said loss of power. Is there any relationship between missing catalytic converter and overheating, or is this purely coincidental? My truck didn't have enough time to fully cool off while getting fitted with a new cat, so I haven't been able to determine where the problem might be.

As of Jan 1, 2009, the CA rules for replacement cats changed, and all cats sold in CA have to be certified for a specific vehicle. Nice way to up the replacement cost, huh?!

 

my condolences.
yes, after 1/1/2009, all conveters installed (can't only say 'sold') in CA have to meet certain requirements of which the most stringent is it "must be tested on and have received an EO" for the vehicle it is being installed on.
... and the "test station" must be able to read the EO number stamped on the converter from at least 5 feet away to both the left and right of the vehicle.

 

i don't believe the cat has anything to do with it.

When was the last time the Thermostat was replaced, coolant flushed. Etc..

 

California exhaust emissions compliance ....what a PITA

 

I got a magnaflow put in, not sure which one, no problem with it

 

Coolant flushed at 180K mile service, last summer. Thermostat was replaced in the last 3 or 4 years. Can't remember when the radiator cap was replaced, probably about the same time as the radiator about 8 years ago.

No overheating issues before my cat went bye-bye, so the correlation is very strong. But nobody missing an exhaust system said anything about overheating. Next step tomorrow is to pop off the radiator cap and see how full the radiator is. The coolant overflow was at the half-way mark when I got home, but everything was still too hot to look much further when it got dark.

 

Another thought - is there anything in the neighborhood of the catalytic converter associated with the cooling system that could have been damaged when the vandals sawed off my catalytic converter? Could they have damaged something else pulling it off?

 

Parts fail thats to be expected.

But 3-4 years for a thermostat to be replaced? Also the cap.

I would replace both asap, also make sure the radiator isn't clogged and there is nothign blocking the fins on the radiator.

Don't drive on it while its HOT, don't want to warp your head or block.

 

Most likely not, IMO.

Do a cooling system tune up.

 

Opened the radiator cap this morning to a whoosh sound, then proceeded to add a bunch of water. Drove around this afternoon through the canyons, up several steep grades, stop and go traffic, and freeway driving, and the temperature needle stayed in the middle of the range. Seems like too much of a coincidence. Anyone with a 22R who loses their cat - be sure to check your coolant level!

 

If I lost my cat, I'd check under my tires.

 

Hello new from this forum.

 

Thanks for some info

 

Did you check your O2 sensor? I know if I started having erratic temps, that the first place I would look, if they were just working on your exhaust.

Easy way to find out - unplug the O2 sensor, see if the temp reads normal.

 

Thats why I will drive the 60 miles to Nevada to buy mine (if I need one). How can they prove it was even installed in 2009? Get it hot, drive through a mud puddle, and it will look like its been there for years.

 

Im still baffled that your Cat was stolen?!?!

wtf

 

Lots of very precious metals in cats these days. The used crappy ones are worth money when you scrap them.

 

Interesting idea and may work for a while... except Cali regs were already strict enough to cause most 48 state converters to fail in Cali before the requirements in place now.
Probably going to be foiled by the pending legislation in the Fed to adopt Cali regs as Federal regs.