problems I cant ignore anymore

[sirspanky]

ok I have a '99 XLS with the OHV.

I finally got a couple hundred dollars together and went to have the truck tuned up. I was gonna do plugs wires and belt. They suggested fuel filter and somthing els fuel related.

Anyway, I get a call from them and they said that it was gonna cost arround $3500 to fix everything that needs to be fixed...I told them to just gimmie my car back.

They said the two rear cats need to be replaced and ford wants a RIDICULOUS amount of money for the cats, I found one on ebay that looks like the right part but Im not sure. My understanding is that it is two cats attached to one pipe.

They said they are stopped up and my car cant breathe hence the really slow acceleration. Now my question is...am I even talking about the right part? Im pretty sure I am but I dont want to pay $1500 for two cats if thats not the problem.

They told me until I do that there is no point in replacing anything else because the computer is going to overwork them anyway to try and get exhaust temps down.

Also my driver side power window goes down no problem but when it goes up I have to hold it so it doesnt pull the window forward. I took my door panel off and I have no IDEA what Im looking at accept that the thing that scissors as the window goes up starts to bend...gurus...please help.

thanks in advance.

 

[dirtbro]

dude, forget about the dealer...they'll rape you 2 1/2 times over (maybe more) ...if your cats are clogged, you can get replacement ones for way less than $1500....hell, get some high flow cats from summit (www.summitracing.com) and have an exhaust shop put them on...all the other stuff you said you were gonna replace sounds good also...you can do all that stuff yourself without much problem...as far as the window, someone else needs to comment on that...cant help you there...sorry.

 

[sirspanky]

dirtbro - thanks for the heads up on summit...I appreciate it.

 

[Bigg_billy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAGN...629QQitemZ140096705241QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

 

[Turdle]

I have my rear cats completely removed--the front ones do the work--lol
Have an exhaust shop scab in a tube for each and call it done--

Then, sell the cats to the scrap yard, you might get 50-75 bux for them--

 

[slpdave]

It sounds like you need a new window regulator. The regulator is not the motor. search the forums with the search link at the top of the page (it's on the right side) for window regulator.

David

 

[sirspanky]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAGN...629QQitemZ140096705241QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

...thats for a 5.0

I have the 4.0 OHV, sorry if I wasn't too clear about that.

JTsmith - the only problem is most shops in my area wont do anything that takes away from a vehicles stock emissions controls. I'll call a guy I know to see if he'll do it, but because of what I said they might not...but its worth a try...what does it sound like does it get louder?

slpdave - thanks man I appreciate it.

 

[tcross8361]

My driver side window goes down real slow when its cold out. Would that window regulator be a cause for that to? It goes up fine.

 

[dynamite196]

Instead of doing the whole tube thing just punch the cats out. Dunno if you have the tools to take them off and put them on yourself but maybe you have a buddy who does, it's pretty simple.

 

[sirspanky]

ok heres a dumb question, what do I do to punch them out? Just get like a long extension and start bashing the insides of 'em?

 

[slpdave]

My driver side window goes down real slow when its cold out. Would that window regulator be a cause for that to? It goes up fine.

It could be the regulator, take the door panel off and lubricate the joints and the tracks the window slides inside of. it the track is shrinking some it could be pinching the glass and making it harder to move the glass. I use silicone lubricant to lube everything when I take the door panel off and I have never had any problems with the regulators or channels. I do have issues with the wire harness breaking wires and the lock which is fixed now.

David

 

[dynamite196]

ok heres a dumb question, what do I do to punch them out? Just get like a long extension and start bashing the insides of 'em?

ya pretty much anything you can find, pipes, rods, etc. you'll see when you pull the cat out that it's all clogged up inside and once you punch it out you'll be amazed at how much better your ex runs. good luck.

 

[sirspanky]

thanks for the advice...I'm off to find something big and pointy!

EDIT: Will this alter the sound of my exhaust...not that I care either way, just curious.

 

[Vinniety]

I have done what dynamite has stated on a few of my cars. The CAT has a lot of metal screens inside that help with emissions. So by you hollowing the inside out with a hammer and a big long screwdriver or of course other pointy things it will have no restrictions anymore so the car will breath better. Now you can do that or just get a muffler shop to weld a pipe in its place. Doing that of course can tell a mechanic what has been done instead of having a cat hollowed the mechanic really wont know just by looking at it.

Let me ask you this, how did the mechanic come to think the cats were bad in the first place?

 

[sirspanky]

I have done what dynamite has stated on a few of my cars. The CAT has a lot of metal screens inside that help with emissions. So by you hollowing the inside out with a hammer and a big long screwdriver or of course other pointy things it will have no restrictions anymore so the car will breath better. Now you can do that or just get a muffler shop to weld a pipe in its place. Doing that of course can tell a mechanic what has been done instead of having a cat hollowed the mechanic really wont know just by looking at it.

Let me ask you this, how did the mechanic come to think the cats were bad in the first place?

I had him pull my check engine codes to see what was up, and one had to do with the emissions system which had a sensor that melted completley off my intake manifold, which led him to exhaust gases too high so he checked the temperature of the rear cats and they were WAY hotter then the fronts.

 

[Vinniety]

I had him pull my check engine codes to see what was up, and one had to do with the emissions system which had a sensor that melted completley off my intake manifold, which led him to exhaust gases too high so he checked the temperature of the rear cats and they were WAY hotter then the fronts.

Wait a second you had a sensor melt? What sensor was that? You are probably running to rich and that is why everything is getting hotter then normal. For a sensor to MELT i personally would watch out. You never know what else can melt or catch fire. Maybe an 02 sensor is reading wrong and running it rich. You need to look into further becasue if your cat that you have now is running to hot the new one is going to do the same unless it is clogged. But you are not sure if it is clogged from your post. You just stated that he said your cats are bad. Look into it before throwing money at it. I would probably drill some holes in the front portion of the cat and see what happens. If it runs better maybe it is clogged. I mean if you are going to replace them but you are not 100% sure it will resolve the issue druive the holes. wish you luck.

 

[sirspanky]

Wait a second you had a sensor melt? What sensor was that? You are probably running to rich and that is why everything is getting hotter then normal. For a sensor to MELT i personally would watch out. You never know what else can melt or catch fire. Maybe an 02 sensor is reading wrong and running it rich. You need to look into further becasue if your cat that you have now is running to hot the new one is going to do the same unless it is clogged. But you are not sure if it is clogged from your post. You just stated that he said your cats are bad. Look into it before throwing money at it. I would probably drill some holes in the front portion of the cat and see what happens. If it runs better maybe it is clogged. I mean if you are going to replace them but you are not 100% sure it will resolve the issue druive the holes. wish you luck.

I've been known the mechanic personally for about 10 years and they've been in business for well over 30, hes not going to lie to me to make money and they know what they're doing. they are good guys. But I do get what your saying....

I just try'd to remove the cats and one of the bolts is so rusty nothing fits around it...I tried metric I tried american, I tried the adjustable wrench...so I give up on that. But drilling holes sounds fun......but then I have massive exhaust leak, but it could help it run better. i dunno what to do.

 

[Vinniety]

I've been known the mechanic personally for about 10 years and they've been in business for well over 30, hes not going to lie to me to make money and they know what they're doing. they are good guys. But I do get what your saying....

I just try'd to remove the cats and one of the bolts is so rusty nothing fits around it...I tried metric I tried american, I tried the adjustable wrench...so I give up on that. But drilling holes sounds fun......but then I have massive exhaust leak, but it could help it run better. i dunno what to do.

There has to be places around where you live that do exhaust systems for muscle cars, race cars. They will cut it out and just weld in a straight pipe. You might want to purchase an aftermarket cat from lets say summit racing so you do have it installed for emissions. You are in orlando, florida correct? Let me ask some of my members on the typhoon forums. Most of them have aftermarket exhausts that live in florida. They might be able to recommend some place or someone from this forum that lives there might now.

 

[sirspanky]

There has to be places around where you live that do exhaust systems for muscle cars, race cars. They will cut it out and just weld in a straight pipe. You might want to purchase an aftermarket cat from lets say summit racing so you do have it installed for emissions. You are in orlando, florida correct? Let me ask some of my members on the typhoon forums. Most of them have aftermarket exhausts that live in florida. They might be able to recommend some place or someone from this forum that lives there might now.

ok sounds good. Cause there is a midas right down the road but they wont just weld a pipe in for me because the car came with 4 factory cats so it "needs" 4 factory cats. The only other place I know of is in the ghetto and they "might" do it for me. but thanks for checking on that for me.