cat convertor clogged? 92 explorer 4x4

[pony4896]

I believe that i have clogged cats? I was at the stoplight and i took off only to sputter out and soon couldnt make it go with any amount of pedal... I coast into a parkinglot and it completely died off and this smokey smell of sulfer just permiated the explorer. I tried restart 15 min later but it sounded like the exhuast was clogged and it started smelling like a Sulfer Fire again so i shut it down. Previous to this climax my check engine light was coming on and my gas milage was horrible ( about 6 miles to the gallon). Im thinking that i might have had a bad (fuel pressure regulator) but i dont know for sure. Would a bad fuel pressure regulator cause clogged convertors if Raw Fuel was being dumped into the engine and not being burned properly, thus causing tons of carbon to build up in the cats and clogging them up? ALso im broke (no money) and my explorer is sitting in that resturant parking lot probably gonna get towed to impound if i dont get it out soon. What would be a quick fix to get it to make it home? I would just cut the cats off and drive it home, but im concerned that with all that fuel dumping into the system, that it might be blowing it straight out the exhaust, thus causing straight-up fire to blow out that area were the cats would be cut-off. If i drive the thing without the cats/and the dumping fuel problem will i catch the vehicle on fire? Thanks, Jason

 

[Rick]

The super low gas mileage is a good indicator of a bad fuel pressure regulator. As far as driving it without the cat and causing a fire... I would hate to tell you it will be fine and then have something happen...

I would think that your assumption that the cat became clogged from the abundance of unburned fuel is a good one.

Check this thread for details about checking the FPR. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142801

 

[pony4896]

Thanks Rick. Can anyone tell me the location of the FPR (fuel pressure Regulator) on a 1992 Ford Explorer 4x4? I seen an engine diagram of a 1993 but its not the same configuration as a 1992 and it didnt mention location of FPR. What is a good way to get my rig home without paying for a tow truck (im broke). I just moved here so i dont realy know anyone here that could tow me with a chain. Is there a quick fix idea on how to bypass the cat convertor? Not really sure what to do at this point. Thanks

 

[manaen]

you can check your cats with a simple vacuum test


trace the fuel rail, I believe on that year the FPR is on the pass side front, but it's been a while since I worked on gen1 stuff. There is a round cylinder with a vacuum line hooked to it. Sometimes you can even see the fuel coming out of the vacuum hole when you remove the line when the diaphram blows. Other times the unit just malfunctions and causes the FPR to hold a high pressure.

 

[pony4896]

Thanks Manaen,
How do you check with vacuum test?

 

[manaen]

If you can start your engine check the vacuum at idle with a gauge hooked to you brake booster line. Then slowly raise rpms to 3000 and hold it there, the vacuum should settle in to about the same or more than the idle reading. If the vacuum is way less then idle, you have a blocked exhaust.

 

[pony4896]

Thanks again Manaen,
I dont have a vacuum tester though and im broke at the moment. But ill keep this in mind when i can get the explorer back to my house. Sounds like a real easy test. Im just really at the moment trying to find out if i can somehow drive it home with a quick jimmy-rig type fix. I cant afford a tow truck. The Explorer is like maybe 8 miles from my house. Is there a risk of fire associated with a clogged cat-convertor? I am positive somthing is going wrong with the convertor due to the positively powerfully strong SULFER SMOKE SMELL permiating as i start it up. Smells like hundred old ladies getting there hair permed.... LoL.. Thanks

 

[nitro71]

Pull the check engine codes! Find out what those are first before doing anything else. There's some posts on how to do it with a paper clip somewhere around here.

 

[pony4896]

Nitro71-
I appreaciate what you have to say, but im kinda broke at the moment and dont have all the necessary tools to make that "paperclip" test work out. Not to mention by the smell and instant failure after the smell, its a pretty sure bet its the convertor unless somthing else meachanicaly stinks like rancid rotten sulfery burning eggs that can go bad and make ones engine sputter out and stop running.

 

[manaen]

you can also borrow a vacuum gauge and a code reader for free from most auto part chains...

 

[nitro71]

If you're to broke to buy a paper clip how can you afford a new Cat? Those dang things are expensive. It could be a lot of things. Could be a bad injector pumping to much gas. Could be bad O2 sensors telling it that it needs more gas. Could be a bad MAF where the engine thinks it's gettting more air than it is. Could be a lot more things that I don't know much about but without pulling the codes you're missing out on some troubleshooting that the computer has done for you.

 

[doonze]

Links to paper clip test in my sig....

 

[doonze]

oops, we already went this go around in your other thread, didn't realize you were same person ><... I never did get any pic's this weekend, it was raining all weekend.

 

[pony4896]

As far as the paper clip thing goes, there were other things needed in that thread besides a "paper clip" which was just used as a "jumper" as far as i know. Im sorry but what i meant to say was, the "other" diognostic tools that would have to accompany that "paperclip jumper". I dont have them... And as far as going to an auto parts store, like "AutoZone" ect, i already been there and tried that, but they turned me away. They said that they can only pull the codes from vehicles 1996 or newer, mine is 92. But i have another UPDATE: I walked back to were my Explorer was broke down earlier today, and it started up and sputtered a little, but then it evened out and ran decent enough that i thought i would go ahead and try driveing it home. It no longer smelled like sulfer burning at all?? I got it home now and the only issue along the way was the check engine light came on. No sulfer, no sputtering out , nothing at all. The only difference from today and yesterday as far as Enviromental was that yesterday it was close to 90 degrees outside and today it was only 62 degrees. Yesterday i remember turning the airconditioner on just before that awfull sulfer smell and the sputtering out happened. This was about 10 minutes after driving from my house. I dont know if it was just a coensedence that it corrisponded with the turning on of the airconditioning or what? Maybe the heat is a factor, and then with the air turned on it put just enough load on the system to cause the failure??? Thanks, Jason

 

[manaen]

without some form of diagnostic, it is impossible to continue troubleshooting your problem.

The A/C will add some load to the engine and make the problem worse however that is not the cause of the problem.

 

[doonze]

Really all you need is a paper clip (or a bit of wire), your keys, your eyes, a pencil/pen, some paper, and the check engine light.

No other tools needed...really, it's that easy....

You put the paper clip in two slots on the test harness, turn the key to "on" and count the # of times the CEL flashes...

That's the long and short of it..... getting the flashes right takes a little bit of getting used too, but that's all that needed.

 

[pony4896]

Doonze-
Is it really that simple? Wow, and I mean WOW! That diognostic test sounds way more easy when you word it that way verses that link i pressed on the other day. I just have two questions about the "test". 1) "Two slots", and 2) "test harness"? What two slots? What are you trying to describe when you say Test harness? Which part of the engine do you administer the test and how? Thanks.

 

[doonze]

Well, therin lies our issue here. First of all it moved around a bit from 91-94, I know where mine is, but I'm not sure about yours....

Mine is attached to the rear of the power dist box on the passenger side of the engine bay. It's a long black box with fuses and relays inside of it. On the back of this thing is a "holder" that holds the test harness. You pull the harness DOWN and it comes out of the harness holder (it took me and the O'reilys guy like 10 mins to figure THAT out we were trying to pull the holder UP off the harness.) If someone had done this before, it might not be in the holder, they may have just left it loose.

But anyway, I'm not sure exactly where yours is. I really wish I could have taken the pictures I wanted, but the rain didn't play along. Really, in the end, this is very, very easy. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you've done it it's cake.

EDIT:

The second link in that thread in my sig does show a drawing of the harness plug ends. I get off at 11pm every night this week, and have the kids this weekend, but if you still need it I'll be able to snap some pics of the whole process next monday, and I'll post it up.

 

[pony4896]

Doonze your an -Oak-, man thank you. You've been an awsome source, providing me with a wealth of info. Thanks, jason