hi i have a 1999 acura tl-p. i hear a sound under the car near the converter it makes like some rocks or pebbles are jumping around in it. i strongly believe that the honeycomb within the catalytic converter housing is burned up and done or falling apart.

i remember a year ago a decrease in gas mileage, wasn't sure if it was a bad o2 sensor or not. my engine could of been running rich due to a bad o2 sensor

i was wondering what's the average quote around for a converter replacement. is our's bolted on? and can easily be removed or no?

also my rear driver window: the glass dropped straight down within the door. its not cracked or anything. i believe the motor is broken. is that the window regulator that needs full replacement?

thanks!

bruce

 

also i tapped on the converter itself with rubber tool and noticed pebbles or rocks moving...

 

yes its bolt on

lifespan depends on gas and use,,I would expect 100-150kmiles or more
if nothing else caused problems for it

ck our vendor Excelerate for good units at various prices,,100-400 iirc
local shops will try to screw you,400 for a basic unit,
order cat and take to shop for install or DIY

rattles in cat are bad sign-may be rocks in the heat shield,, but likely cat came apart-possible failed O2 involvment
a muffler shop will inspect the cat and bang on it- pressure test and temp test,,that will reveal all

 

a 99- was the egr port recall done?
call acura and ck, 1-800 382 2238x5 need cars VIN

everyone needs to clean the egr ports every 75kmiles,,99 has only one, later years got 6!! but problem still exist on clogging
see diy --its easier than it seems

 

window drop may be regulator or a broken plastic clip
remove the door panel and inspect

Probably some help in diy section

 

Crazy hey how here you can get away with no cats!

 

cool! is this something i should go oem or just buy aftermarket? its the cat, its toasted. my college automotive instructor said it could of been over cooked due to rich mixture. my primary o2 sensor is probably gone too. because my gas mileage has been suffering greatly these past couple of months. even though i do more city than highway. it still probably factors in bad gas mileage.

i cleaned it out good at the beginning of this year. i actually flooded the egr thread with my posts too! i was the member that had a hard time getting the egr cleaned because the engine light kept spitting out the same code.

thanks, i will be buying a new regulator soon. the window is up its held by a rock or small brick right now. so its not moving now. i will buy a regulator tomorrow or in the next couple of days. money is tight now

 

inspect the regulator for damage before buying one,,,a junkyard one can do when budget is tight~

dont buy an oe cat! ck our sponsoring vendor Excelerate for a good one based on your driving style
PM or call him for personal assistance

 

I would suspect the front O2 sensor as well- buy Denso brand at parts store-
its the oe supplier, so it plugs direct into the existing harness on the car and works

 

i will. i haven't actually fixed or taken the window panel off yet. i had someone else do it. but i will check and see where the fault is at for myself. the guy that took it off for me, because i was at class that night. he said it was the regulator and told me to go to the junkyard and find a old one.

is bosch the same thing? or no? because i see napa has the denso for $62 they are oem.

 

bosch is NOT the same as the denso- denso for sure will plug right in and work

Others may require you to cut and splice the wires for the new unit

stay on denso and ck around for prices
napa has a discount for AAA members
They can also adjust the price down from full retail listed on website or store- just have to ask!

 

they used to be 50 so 62 isnt surprising --a year since I last ckd

if your buddy says it needs a junkyard/auto recyler yard regulator--thats in agreement with my earlier suggestion--so go for it

if a shop was trying to sell you a new one....

 

i know my classmate works at pepboys and he said that bosch is plug and play and i said no its not denso is because its guaranteed with my car. so i will go with denso order it from napa and see what happens.

i mines well go with a used one. i will search for one in the meantime

i will more than likely go with a WALKER brand cat. they are selling for $260 and the labor is $50.

http://www.walkerexhaust.com/product..._catalytic.asp

 

the bosch MAY be plug and play--I dont know every part ever made~
BUT denso IS the oe brand and will work for certain

walker--why? contact Excelerate and get a way better unit for half the price!
He has stock type for about 100 and hi flow performance unit, with extended tube for O2 sensor setback, for 400

call local auto yard and ask for the regulator- they have a nationwide hotline system to locate if needed
should cost half of new

 

i'm contacting excelerate right now for this cat: http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-156278.aspx

i believe that cat above is the stock one, but i need to contact them for pricing.

and i will contact the nationwide hotline for auto junk yard for the regulator

i will let you know when i run into problems.

 

you dont contact the hotline- you call local place--if they dont have what you need- its their own private radio network (think pre-cellphone 1970 technoolgy)
thats the hotline to all other yards

look in phone book or net search for auto parts+ used, or auto recyclers + your city name
Near me is a place with every car by make on one street
Acura brand has its very own yard full of bent cars and parts for them!

 

well they do not have the one i want but they did however send me a email telling me they have this: http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-243964.aspx

not sure if this is worth it or not but its $218 for the unit.

is this worth it?

 

also i will be replacing the front or primary o2 sensor. should i do the secondary as well?

 

the rear sensor is usually ok- you can test it electrically

was it Josh from Excelerate respoded to your email? did you mention acurazine?

what did you ask for?

a cheap cat of generic type sold by muffler shops will work, and still run close to the same price ~200
for my money, I know excelerate only sells quality stuff thats better than stock or generic
my pricing knowledge is from a few years ago so expect minor increases

 

i do not what a cheap cat!!!! i want a top of the line cat!

yeah it was josh. he said the regular stock megaflow cat, they no longer sell anymore. but he gave me that cat above. its not to much the pricing its the quality that concerns me. and since your a reliable ziner and know most of the good aftermarket sponsors. i will give that cat a look.

its only $218. and yeah i sent him a message through acurazine and told him to email me at my personal email address. like i said $218 isn't bad. the primary denso o2 sensor is only $62 at a local napa. they have to order it though. so i will replace the primary o2 sensor and the cat. i'm thinking about doing the labor myself not sure. but it should be close to $300 for total.

but im still wondering what could of caused the cat to go. i mean from the engine. i remember when i first got the car i noticed the previous owner used regular fuel instead of premium. i remember using seafoam numerous times on the engine block. i do remember when i seafoamed the intake for the first time it cause problems with my egr port. not sure if that was a cause or not.

 

regular gas is your primamry source for this problem

when you say seafoamed `the block` do you mean thru oil or manifold vac port?

seafoam and cel is from crud loading on O2 sensor as it moves out- sometimes the operator is to blame~

EGR port prob is clogging on its own- clean every 75k miles

DIY the cat, pretreat the bolts with PB or similar product
make sure it comes with gaskets

ck other parts stores for the O2, ask for discount at napa, you never know what they can do
reset the ECU for fun- let it learn there is a new sensor giving more info than its used to-
pull clock fuse to do that

 

the thing is way back in Feburary of 2009 i got the car. when i found out that the car recommended premium i quickly put premium in the tank and the car started to bog and had trouble starting. but after a few runs i guess the ecu catch on and started to adapt to the premium fuel from regular fuel. after the change from regular to premium the car began to run and i had power.

i did notice gas mileage was decreasing through the first year or so and i did all the tune ups (spark plug) and air filter replacement and even sea foam. the last place to check is the o2 sensor and when i noticed the cat started rattling. BINGO, the cat is fried or overheated

what i meant about seafoaming the block was when i seafoamed through intake port last year and it triggered a cat code but then it went away after i resetted the ecu and never came back since. just a month ago i seafoamed the engine oil and that went successful.

fact is the cat is finished (rattling). i have to change it and the primary o2 sensor because i have to go through inspection to get my tags renewed next year (DMV). i know i will fail the smog test. the engine is more than likely running rich. i noticed today a hissing sound within the engine bay. i'm sure there is a vacuum leak somewhere. i'm leaning to the rear engine mount because i can feel vibrations in the cabin at idle and its the only mount that hasn't been replaced. and the engine moves about a inch when i do the brake-gas with the hood up-method.

 

sounds like a motor mount
look for oil traces from mount- same as the front with its special fluid filled-ness
Some also have vac booster line - be sure that line is good, no leaks

seafoam cel was probably not enough heat in the system and lots of crud
yes the ecu takes a few tanks to relearn when you went to the correct gas
rattle in cat = dead cat..overheat, wrong gas, many things can cause it, plus 10 years old! on an east coast car!!

hmm, now thinking of where the car lives: take a look at the cat bolts- it may be better to let a muffler shop do the job if you see a lot of rust,,should take less than half an hour
10 minutes real time, but minimum charge may apply

 

i looked under the hood today and found the location of the primary oxygen sensor. but its held with these holders that hold it to the frame of the car. not sure how to remove those. but will certainly be buying a new cat from excelerate and a new denso o2 sensor. just awaiting the funds right now.

when i look back at the car history. i see that the car was used primarily for a lease car for 9 years and was then sold to a consumer twice and then to me. i am the 4 owner. it was moved from ohio to pa and now to delaware. the car runs good. i bet through those changes of ownership or during the leasing period someone chose to use regular gas instead of premium.

you cannot GO CHEAP ON THESE CARS! i'm now noticing that about rotors and brake pads.

that vacuum leak is pretty much leaning to that rear mount. i do see some old stained fluid on the frame of the car.

 

the o2 screws into the exhaust pipe--there is a special tool that fits around it , looks like a wrench with the end bent 90 degrees
not sure what you are looking at--wire holding clips?

lease car--bet it ran on 87 all that time!

the motor mount fluid is a hydraulic type like nothing I had ever felt or seen before

 

si, that's what i mean. i see the female end of the connector connecting to the wire harness in the engine bay. but as soon as i disconnect i see the rest of the wire is held to the frame by some holding clips. how do you remove those? i don't want to mess those up. i want to reuse those.

that's what im saying that lease car rode 87 all day. and i knew something was wrong because when i switched to premium i felt more power and better gas mileage but the engine had difficulty starting at the beginning.

 

UPDATE: 10/21/10

i found the solution to my rattling problem. after getting my car on my school lift and inspecting the catalytic converter. i bang on the cat and noticed the cat rattling. after that my classmate noticed that the heat shield was loose. I looked at the bolts and noticed they were rusted out. like nothing was holding the top heatshield at all. so i banged on it again and noticed it was the shield that was rattling and not the cat.

i removed the heat shield from the cat and no more rattling. is that okay to have the heat shield removed.

and the o2 sensor i have come to the conclusion that my car is used by my mom also. she does a lot of city driving and im the only one that uses the car for the highway. the car only gets good gas mileage on highway and sucks in the city so that's why i get horrible gas mileage.

 

see if you can find a shield at the auto recycler yard (junkyards)
cats run extremely hot inside and some radiates outwards to the casing

heat rises,,into the cabin area and whatever wires are there like the shifter control switches can be affected

 

i completely understand that. but all aftermarket cats don't have a heat shield at all. the one i was about to order from vendor excelerateperformance has no heat shield.

also in this photobucket of my current cat without the heatshield:



there is a huge heat shield above it blocking any heat from hitting the body of the car. is that wrong also?

 

ohh I thought you lost the upper and lower shield--my bad

dont sweat the lower missing- except if you drive thru big water puddles- the splash of cold is bad for it-- ask the muffler shop what they suggest,,maybe a piece of metal welded on??
No, most aftermarket cats wont have shield included--thats a seperate part from the cat itself
disclosure
Have personally run many cars without the lower shroud when it gets bent or rusted

as long as the upper is there my concern of rising heat is a moot point

 

okay i think your understanding me. but just to make sure. on the cat itself there was a upper and lower heat shield. I removed those on the cat. so the cat is basically naked. but above the cat on the frame of the car there is a separate heat shield that you see above in the picture i posted. That heat shield must be also to protect heat hitting the inside cabin against the cat when it heats up. is that right? i think that heat shield in the above pic is very rare?

so you say if some water hits the cat, its bad? isn't that like the same thing if water hit a cat with heat shields?

 

also i told my mom to take the car to acura and get a quote on replacing the rear engine mount and she asked the service manager and i told her to tell him that we feel vibrations within the cabin and she did and they set an appointment for next monday.

since my front and rear engine mount are vacuum assisted. i hear a hissing sound in the engine bay and also my engine has a somewhat weird idle, like it wants to stall a few seconds but then the rpm goes up. i know that bad rear engine mount is the cause. plus with vibrations in the cabin at idle. it has to be. i replaced the side and front motor mounts. i don't think the transmission mounts are the cause.

but 01tl4tl can you chime in please?