How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

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rjkoop
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Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:45 am
Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby rjkoop » Fri May 27, 2016 9:05 am

Nanonevol wrote:That's excelllent! It is a great feeling when you can fix something yourself! I went with the test pipe, muffler and Ansa in the rear was already there on my carbed '77 and it's really not loud at all.


Thanks for the info. I currently have cat -> resonator -> ANSA muffler and it's pretty quiet. And I actually don't mind making a little more noise :D but don't want it to be annoying or give me a headache.

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rjkoop
Posts: 976
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:45 am
Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby rjkoop » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:01 am

Bought the test pipe from AR. Going to replace it this week. Will be nice to get rid of the leaky CAT. Some people talk about extra HP but we'll see...

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RRoller123
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Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
Location: SAGAMORE BEACH, MA USA

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby RRoller123 » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:17 am

On my 80FI, a little louder, somewhat more low frequency rumble, (gets tiring on a longer drive) and noticeable but small amount of increased power. Mostly notice power improvement on steep hills, pedal doesn't need to go down as far to proceed up. Slightly better acceleration overall.
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle

QuebecFiatSpider
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2017 6:02 am
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Spider 2000 FI

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby QuebecFiatSpider » Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:44 am

klweimer wrote:Or just buy a new one. I got this one for $160 on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121293580490?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
Kirk


Wow thanks for the link. :) The price is good on this one...I guess you are satisfied with the end product?

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RRoller123
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Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
Location: SAGAMORE BEACH, MA USA

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby RRoller123 » Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:45 am

Mine had developed a hard to isolate rattle that only showed up at certain RPMs. Probably pellets having come loose. Gone when the temporary test pipe went in.
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle

klweimer
Posts: 550
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:45 am
Your car is a: 1982 Spider 2000
Location: Arvada, Colorado

Re: How to tell if catalytic converter bad?

Postby klweimer » Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:21 am

That link goes a year or two, but it was a good deal. The magnaflo is a good cat, honeycomb instead of pellets. I have to pass emission every two years, so a test pipe was out of the question. If I lived in an area where I didn't have to test, I'd probably just drop in a test pipe and move on.
Kirk


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