Clogged/bad Catalytic converter

What are signs of a Catalytic Converter on the way out or plugged?
I get a lot of white smoke when i start up, and some funky smells, along with a really low idle, low enough it almost stalls, for the first 10 seconds, before idling normally.

White "smoke" is water in the exhaust...like maybe blown head gasket.

Thing is, wouldn't i have to be losing water for it to be a head gasket?

A head gasket will leak water, but it may be a minute amount at a time, especially if you only drive like 10 miles at a time.

You can see white smoke from mine when its real cold outside. If a cat is bad it can smell like rotten eggs. Take it to a exhaust shop and they should be able to take a heat gun to it and tell if its working or not.

Somebody was telling me that it might be my vacuum system causing it to run like this, i don't see how it would create the smoke, but i do reckon it would cause a crappy idle.

also, today i put it up on ramps to get the starter off, and about 10 seconds before i crawled under, the ramps just COLLAPSED, FLAT!
I will NEVER EVER get underneath a car that is on ramps again. If i had been under there 10 seconds earlier.........

Somebody was telling me that it might be my vacuum system causing it to run like this, i don't see how it would create the smoke, but i do reckon it would cause a crappy idle.

also, today i put it up on ramps to get the starter off, and about 10 seconds before i crawled under, the ramps just COLLAPSED, FLAT!
I will NEVER EVER get underneath a car that is on ramps again. If i had been under there 10 seconds earlier.........


damn glad your alive. I always shake the car really hard before i get under...just to make sure. anyway i had white smoke coming out of my exhaust as well. Turned out i had a water leak on my fuel pump hose. i just fixed that now i don't really see any smoke coming out of it anymore. i wonder if its good just to replace a old cat with a new one.

Screw that, i'm not spending money on a cat, if i take it off, i'm putting a pipe in it's place. Round these parts, they don't sniff your exhaust.