Ok, this is my story. My rig needed a tuneup, so I took it to my shop that I have been dealing with now for quite some time, and never had a problem.

They tuned up the rig, and it just didn't feel right. Took it back to them, and they had informed me that I had a bad injector. I told them to go ahead and fix it. After the rig was fixed, It still had that same hesitation, Returned the rig back again, and it was fixed. They stated that the timing was off a bit.

When I went to pick up the rig, I noticed the guy putting my CAT back on to the rig. When I drove it home, it was noisy. I asked him why, and he had told me that it had a small clog in it, and being he took out the clog, it will now sound hollow.

What do you all think of this whole thing??

My rig is a 1995 4x4 4runner 3.0.

All the tuneup parts were bought right from toyota. WIRES, CAP, PLUGS, AIR FILTER, PVC Valve ETC.

PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS IN THIS MATTER.

Thanks,

kEITH

 

sounds fishy to me, but if it's running okay, then maybe the cat was clogged.
now... I don't know how you feel about it, but modifying a cat the way they've done it is illegal most everywhere so... also, who's to say they didn't gut it for the scrap value of the catalyst? they could probably get a decent sum of money for the core of the unit offsetting some of their costs on revisiting your truck a few times... who's to say that the converter you saw being installed was your old converter?

but if it's running good now, and you're worried about your next emissions test, might as well get a new cat in there.

 

okay my cat was clogged, so i need a new one. But if it sounds hollow, it sounds as if they just knocked all the stuff out of it.

you can pull it, its only four bolts (on mine). And look into it.

 

how mush do thease things cost. I see them on 4wheelparts made by magiflow for 100.00 or so.

 

Aftermarket universal hiflow cats run about 80-100 bucks.. A used OEM toyota catalytic converter can fetch up to 120 bucks at the scrapper (they use a small ammount of platinum inside the cat)..

 

I've never seen anyone butcher the spelling of the "catalytic converter" so bad.

 

sorry that some people can't be as smart as you. Spelling wasn't the question
here. I guess you just think your the smart one.

 

sometimes you have to overlook things. which some of us can, but some of us can't... and those people usually have little to contribute.

but did you get the information you were seeking?

 

do they do emission testing ini ny? ive never run a cat on any of my vehicles i would just replace the thing with a tube or leave it hollow but thats just me, if your bothered by the noise and worried about emissions then you should replace it

 

...or are worried that the mechanic schtupped you for a cat....
(refer to my first reply)

 

Expect a rotten egg smell from the exhaust. Throw a hi-flow cat on there Your truck will like it.

P.s How did he remove the "clog" in the cat? Usually the screens will clog up, and you cannot "fix" this... You 100% sure your mech is trustworthy?

 

^ You can fix this with a fat screwdriver and about 10 minutes of smashing out the honeycomb stuff inside! LOL

I have to buy a new one!

 

Rotten egg only from a new cat, not the straight pipe being talked about installing. Ummm... good question....
Which defers me back to my 1st post on the thread, with some elaboration....
Why would the mechanic simply choose, on their own, without contacting the owner, to gut a cat to help a 'rough running' engine?
And even then, why would they gut the cat and not even suggest putting a new cat on?
Why not just say the cat is bad, then get approval to install a new one?
Doing that would mean they get the cat, the expensive one, and the money from recycling it and also get the money to install a new cat... which they could argue for installing an OEM cat... which would set them up to make more money when it goes bad?

 

who knows, mabey they charged a bunch to fix a problem which all it was, was a clogged cat, which fixing (hollowing out way) is free. but they got the money from labor.

IDK, it sounds shady to me, thats why i suggested takeing the cat off and seeing if they hollowed it out or not

 

i would go back and talk to the owner and see whats going on there if they took everything out of your cat then i would tell then to replace it now cause its illegal and have them replace it if they say no then i would take them to small clams court!!

 

I could argue that putting a couple of 2 bolt flanges on a straight pipe requires less labor than spending time gutting a cat, and would also test the clogged cat theory as well, if not better than gutting and re-installing a cat.
But, being in their business, they can claim the 'fallout' from the cat happened when they removed it for testing, and can recycle it legitimately. But also, being in their business, they cannot legally 'gut' a cat for any reason even if it is to help troubleshooting. Making a test pipe is one thing, destroying something related to emissions is another. And even then, gutting a cat, then re-installing it for use on the street is illegal.

 

yeah but think of this though abe if it was broken since the start it would have blown out the back end and it would have sounded this way from the start now if it was in the front of the cat and just sitting there it would have gotten red hot all the time and smelled really bad like your friends fart trust me mine did this long time ago and when they took it off for testing and it came apart it is infact illegal to put it back on unless it came that way from the factory!! and he would have gotten charged for a new cat!

 

YIKES! Sounds like you got taken for an illegal ride my friend! I would remove the cat immeadietly to see if they hollowed it out. And if so, IMMEADIETLY contact state and local authorities because that is BIG TIME Illegal!

 

As to your question, yes I'm 100% sure that he is
trustworthy. I been going to him for a long time with all my cars as well as my whole family as well. I still can;'t belive that he would give me the rig back sounding like this. He must no that something is wrong. He is not in the shop this week, but I will be taking it back to him when he returnes to find out more on this. I will kee you all posted.

 

or...

maybe he put a test pipe in to see if it was the problem and it wasn't so he put the original cat back in. And maybe lost or didn't seat the exhaust gasket correctly and now there is just an exhaust leak. IDK