Re: "Ok, (peering around the cabin) who was it?"

[CLIFFORD ILKAY <clifford_ilkay@dinamis.com>]

At 03:13 PM 11/19/98 -0500, you wrote:
>CLIFFORD ILKAY <clifford_ilkay@dinamis.com> wrote:
>
>>A bad catalytic converter can cause that smell. You probably would not be
>>able to pass an emissions test before replacing it. A bad cat converter
>>saps power and burns more gas.
>
>Maybe I'm missing something, but how can a 'bad' cat sap
>power and/or burn more gas?  (Unless of course, it's SO
>bad that the exhaust back pressure is changed.)  All engine
>controls & electronics are upstream of the cat, right?
>
>-Mark Quinn

Hi Mark,

You guessed it, a plugged cat will sap power and consume more gas. I had a
car in which the cat was so plugged, that one day it refused to idle at
anything below 2000 rmp. Even then, as soon as you put it in gear, the
engine would die. Replacement of the cat made it seem like a new car
overnight. Gas mileage had not changed as much as the decline of power.
Since a cat converter does not get plugged up overnight, it is difficult
sometimes to notice the gradual loss of power.

Regards,

Clifford Ilkay
Dinamis Corporation
3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1419
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M4N 3P6

Voice/Fax: 416-410-3326

mailto:clifford_ilkay@dinamis.com