catalytic output - cherry red hot!

1993 4.3l cpi
36,000 original miles - had one year now, bought it with 26,000
northeast truck - has rust
my first jimmy and 4.3 vortec - i do not have any knowledge with this setup

everything happened within a 10 mile drive.

running fine. started with slight missing. got worse. started bucking. check engine light going on and off with the bucking. losing power. giving more pedal doing nothing.

pulled over. idling terrible. shutoff and start - hard starting and missing. bad smell. saw smoke from underneath. the output of the catalytic is cherry red hot!

i have done some searching and reading. figure i would run this by to get anyones perspective before i maybe go in the wrong direction.

thank you, tony

Leaking cpi unit..Look through this forum and it will tell you how to correct it...

yeah, i already read some of the superb posts with the pics. i was hoping that it was not the cpi.

have not yet found the definition of what the "spider" is though.

the spider is the term for the six injectors and the unit..

thank you.

this last april and this december both during a climate change, it would not start. just cranked. both times after a couple days it started up and ran fine. is there any connection to my problem and the cpi?

I am having the same problem with starting.

I had a dead battery and I replaced it. I started the truck to see if the battery was good and when I did it started right up. I shut if off to replace a flat tire and now the thing will not start for me anymore.

Temps have been low in WI but its started in temps well below what its been here lately.

Any clues?