80 Cat Question

[Joshua Van tol]

On Saturday, September 21, 2002, at 11:50  AM, Brian Mole wrote:

> I've got a problem with an 80 catalytic converter:-
> The problem is, the old cat is empty; nothing in there at all, just a
> big
> tin can. The replacement has a nice big matrix in the can, the old
> one not even a coating of bits. Question is, is this a blown out cat
> or a half-arsed bypass attempt by previous owner? Is it possible
> for the whole matrix to disintegrate and go up the pipe?
> Second question (which prompted the cat replacement in the
> first place) the car backfires between gears, could this have
> ruined the original cat or is it caused by the void where the
> cat should be?

It's possible the backfiring caused the problem. You should look for an
exhaust leak, which often will cause backfiring,  You can also get a
bit of backfiring if the cat is non-functional, but that's rare.
Backfiring happens when air is introduced into a hot exhaust stream
with some unburned gasoline in it, the gas then ignites, causing the
backfire.

>
> TIA ye environmentally sound ones........
>
> Brian
>
>