Catalytic Converter

[BiggWaukegan]

Need some suggestions about which catalytic converter is best for my money. Please give me some good brands to check out. Have a 91 chevy caprice 5.0 305 motor. single exhaust . is the arvin brand any good? what about magnaflow? will either help out with my gas mileage? noticed that lately its been a little gas monster, heard this could be because of the cat. converter. was also gonna replace the O2 sensor, plugs n wires, cap n rotor, air filter, and the pcv valve. This work should help with me passing emissions and with gas mileage correct? please post

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by BiggWaukegan

Need some suggestions about which catalytic converter is best for my money. Please give me some good brands to check out. Have a 91 chevy caprice 5.0 305 motor. single exhaust . is the arvin brand any good? what about magnaflow? will either help out with my gas mileage? noticed that lately its been a little gas monster, heard this could be because of the cat. converter. was also gonna replace the O2 sensor, plugs n wires, cap n rotor, air filter, and the pcv valve. This work should help with me passing emissions and with gas mileage correct? please post

I use an Autozone cat, seems to work very well. When I took it for my emissions test last November (IM147), it was on the chassis dyno for all of 10 seconds before the computer stopped. I was told the reason it did this is because the cat was working so efficiently, the computer running the full 147 seconds would be redundant. I believe it's made by Arvin. Your fuel economy will improve if the current cat is plugged and restricting the exhaust flow (which will also cause power to fall off at highway speeds, and the engine to run hot). Otherwise, it won't. If the cat's plugged, then likely the exhaust gas oxygen sensor is toast as well - both the cat and the EGO sensor are susceptible to the same things (lead in the fuel, over-rich fuel/air mixture). If the mixture is rich, get that fixed before replacing the two components, or they're likely to fail again in quick order. A plugged air filter will lead to both a rich condition and poor economy/no power. It also never hurts to replace the plugs/wires/cap/rotor.

Replace your ignition components, air and fuel filters, and then check for a rich condition (your service engine soon light will be on if the mix is too rich). If the mix is fine, then replace your EGO and cat. This should, barring mechanical problems with the engine or plugged injectors, bring your car into compliance and help the economy.

[BiggWaukegan]

ok, well my check engine soon light is Not on so i guess that tells me that my fuel/air ratio is not too rich right? now then, i had it put on the diagnostic test and the mechanic told me that the Catalytic converter is bad. he also said i need a full tune up. I was gonna do the air filter, fuel filter, pcv valve, and oil change. I was gonna let him do the plugs, wires, O2 sensor, cat. converter. That being said i believe this should not only help me pass emissions but also get better fuel mileage.

Here is a list of all parts new in past year.
WaterPump
Alternator
Starter
Front pads
Rear shoes
radiator
springs and shocks front and back
thermostat
Tires

See the work ive put into this bad boy.
Someone mentioned to me that the timing may need adjusting? Is this hard? would my mechanic dude charge alot to do it? is there any other way to see if my fuel / air ratio is too rich? dont want to mess up the new O2 sensor and the new Cat. converter.

[bobss396]

I like the cats from NAPA, they might hit you up for an air hose adapter kit. I believe that mine ran $115 for the cat and $27 for the hose kit. It sure cured my emissions problems and the car has way more power now.

Bob