I needed new Catalytic converter...bad gas mileage!

[chuckrt]

OK, bad horrendous gas mileage, engine light came on, and my wife was complaining that it had no power! yea right, probably just a woman thing! Took it for a test drive, only 1/2 of the normal power, and took it to goodyear dealer. They found a temperature difference with an IR temperatuer meter that determined the bad converter. Recommended a muffler shop, Ralphs, for replacement.

Replaced both converters, why not?....and had them reset the engine light. Runs great!! Gas mileage so far looks outstanding!! I also changed out the plugs with NGK Iridium plugs, $13.00 each!!, wow, sounds good, and more power! Getting all 4 o2 probes changed this week. Gonna be brand new, with 89,000 miles on it!

Oh yea, this is a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo with 89,000 miles on it, so far, this is the only out of the ordinary maintenance on this car so far!

[Gizmo42]

Shouldnt need to replace the 2 after cat o2 sensors. They just check the condition of the cats. The 2 pre cat ones are what the computer uses to adjust fuel mixture.

Wish my '99 only had 89k on it. I bought it with 88k and now have around 104k.

[Ramblin Fever]

Oh GIZ quit complaining, I still have you beat at 80k MORE miles then you; i.e. 184k

Though my paint job is prettier Just cause you have the beefier stance.....

Chuckrt I'm really surprized you needed new cat's at that low of mileage, I still have my originals at 11yrs old...seems like a lot of 2nd generation Rodeo's have had this problem.

[hshawn31]

still have my originals, and mines 14 yrs old.

[Ramblin Fever]

Careful, hshawn31, you've had some pesky bugs lately....shhhh, do NOT tell your truck how old it is!

[hshawn31]

lol very true!

[FL 3.2L]

Just when I thought I'd seen every emoticon...!

[Tom01Rodeo]

Chuck, how much $$ to replace both convertors?

I just did a 200 miler on the turnpike and only got 15.3mpg w/o AC

I'm at 115K now and remember getting over 18mpg when we first got it at 50K.

Its always had what I thought of as an acceleration problem. At least its been that way for a while.

Can the cats be cleaned?

BTW, used cats fetch good money due to the metals that are used in them. Hope you got your old ones back.

[FL 3.2L]

Did you try your front O2 sensors, yet, Tom? I was down to 15mpg but recovered to 18mpg with new front O2 sensors.

[Tom01Rodeo]

Thats a good idea. I usually like to replace them around 100K anyway.

[azrx]

Originally Posted by Tom01Rodeo

Chuck, how much $$ to replace both convertors?

I just did a 200 miler on the turnpike and only got 15.3mpg w/o AC

I'm at 115K now and remember getting over 18mpg when we first got it at 50K.

Its always had what I thought of as an acceleration problem. At least its been that way for a while.

Can the cats be cleaned?

BTW, used cats fetch good money due to the metals that are used in them. Hope you got your old ones back.

Just wondering on the pricing of this, since it was never replied to.

My mileage and power have declined a bit recently, so this sounds like something that would fit the bill for me.

I'm going to try the front o2 sensors first though.

[AlphaWolf56]

What does the O2 sensor do?

[FL 3.2L]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question257.htm