Hey guys. Lately my '03 GT has been running bad at WOT. I try to pass another car and it won't accelerate, just sorta starts missing. I was told it might be a plugged cat. When I start the car I don't seem to have that much exhaust coming out the tailpipe, I figure there should be more. My question is.. is there a way to check if the cat is plugged, and can I just remove it and put a straight pipe in it's place without screwing anything up? And what do I do about the O2 sensor after the cat?


Thanks

if you remove the cat and put a strait pipe in place you will want to get a 02 emulator. However removing the components for you emissions system will make your vehicle considered not street legal... and depending in what state you live in can have major problems when its time for your state vehicle inspection.

_________________

in all honesty . . after its ran for a while take a rubber mallet to it and give it a couple hits and sometimes you will hear stuff move around and unplug itself.

take your o2 sensor out of your rear exhaust manifauld and take a cruise with it out
if it feels like theres more power with it being disconnected then you have a clogged cat

Thanks for the ideas guys. I couldn't get the O2 sensor out..lol I tried the car again today and it is losing power everywhere now, it has a hard time reaching 50 mph with my foot to the floor. I hooked a scanner to it and no codes came up, so I don't know what is going on there since the engine light has come on a few times. The more I read about clogged cats, the more I think that is my problem.

-- Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:18 pm --

I talked to GM about my warranty, and it turns out I am still covered for a new cat if that is the problem. I called my nearest dealer and she figures about $90 to test if the cat is plugged, but also suggested it might be a clogged fuel filter since I am not getting any codes. Lets hope for the filter.

I changed the fuel filter today, the old one was plugged pretty bad, could hardly blow through it, but the car still runs like crap. I'm guessing injectors now.

If it was an injector I think you would just lose a cylinder completely. That's what hapened to me when I dropped an injector.

_________________

[url=http://www.xboxlc.com/profile/austin0150]

[/url]

i did some asking around and this is what i found out cause i think its my cat also. The mechanics i asked told me to drive at night like i normaly would until i get my temperature up to 200 and then park it and with the car still on look at the cat from underneath the car if its glowing red then you have a clogged cat, ill let you know tonight

Well, it turned out that it was a plugged cat, had it changed today at the dealer under warranty. It feels like a new car now, and it sounds a lot better too.