Power Loss

[angloamerican]

I have a 97 Blazer. Recently it developed a rattle in the Cat. Converter which was driving me insane. To try to eliminate it I 'squished it' with a trolly jack, which did stop the rattle. Then it lost power dramatically when accelerating, especially uphill. It idles puuuurfectly. Then the 'Service Engine Soon' light came on, and it seemed to have a little more power. When I started it again in the morning, the light had gone out and it again had hardly any power. I could only get it to around 40 mph until the light came on again, and then it went to about 60 mph. Is this just a Catalytic Converter problem?

[Leeann94astro]

Your cat is toast inside (hence the rattling).

If you still have problems after replacing the cat, do more troubleshooting. But you need to get the cat replaced first.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by angloamerican

I have a 97 Blazer. Recently it developed a rattle in the Cat. Converter which was driving me insane. To try to eliminate it I 'squished it' with a trolley jack, which did stop the rattle. Then it lost power dramatically when accelerating, especially uphill. It idles purrfectly. Then the 'Service Engine Soon' light came on, and it seemed to have a little more power. When I started it again in the morning, the light had gone out and it again had hardly any power. I could only get it to around 40 mph until the light came on again, and then it went to about 60 mph. Is this just a Catalytic Converter problem?

Welcome to AF.
As said replace cat.
Or give it some artificial resurrection.
You can not squeeze any more lives out of a cat.
When they die they are dead.

[angloamerican]

Hi Leeann...............

You hit the nail right on the head, my Cat had ceased puuring. I took The Blazer in for diagnosis and it showed just about every problem there is with the exhaust emission system, but the mechanic was honest enough to tell me to get a new Cat fitted first and then he would check again. My Cat had a BALL of carbon rattling around inside! Anyway, with the new Cat it pulls like a dream, and the mechanic tells me my gas mileage should improve dramatically.
Thanks for taking the time to respond...............

[Leeann94astro]

No problem - glad you got 'er fixed.