Spinny thing = Dyno!

 

Thanks! It was on the tip of my tongue.

BUT regarding the Catalytic Converter diy install.
I... know someone, quite a few people actually (perks of working in a hardware shop) that know how to weld buuut
I heard it's against the law, or at least frowned upon, in California to have a Shade Tree Mechanic install it and that you have to go somewhere?
I'm not 100% sure if its true or not, but knowing how extortionistic AHEM, sorry, how tax/fine-happy California is, I wouldn't wager against it.

 

Loolll. Spinny thing! Love it! 😎👊😂

All kidding aside, it sounds like you’ve got the basic tune up stuff covered, and you did say it runs well. The only other thing I’d consider doing is the fuel filter if you don’t know how old it is. That way, if it is on its way out, replacing it will eliminate the chance of a lean misfire while under load (highway acceleration, driving up long hills).

 

Here's some of the regs for California pertaining to the Converters. California-Compliant Installer's Checklist for New Aftermarket Catalytic Converters What a pain. Looks like there might be some documentation that needs to be completed and sent in when cat converter is replaced. I imagine owners have figured out how to do the documentation themselves, but I'm not going to try to tackle Califonria emissions laws here on the forum.

https://www.walkerexhaust.com/suppor...ter-guide.html

 

There’s actually a bad boy way of getting around the CEL light, visually undetectable, although your catalyst remains quite dead. You did say you wanted to fix it the right way, and you live where you do, so make believe I didn’t just say that 😇

 

Oh no trust me, I've seen that way and have heavily considered it and.... if all else fails and I can't get this working the right way...
A bird that I know has a plug that'll give my car a very thorough inspection ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ if I just pay a fee that's a little higher than the normal emissions testing fee.

But that's only if we can't figure it out. I like to play by the rules as much as I can until the chips start getting obviously stacked against me.

 

I see that California makes the shop replacing the converter use a CARB compliant replacement converter and give a 5 year 50K mile parts/labor warranty. Man, I predict they are really going to charge a lot for that and will want to check out your system before repairs! I understand why and I hope that $500 is enough. Can you go out of state? Or possibly offer cash with no receipt required.

Make me glad to live in Bubba-Land.

 

Thanks Ontario for allowing me to have a maximum of 2 or 3 codes before they make you fix it ever 2nd year. And i believe we sont need to anymore

 

So I went out and checked the temps for my Cat. If I remember right, the front should be hotter than the rear right?
These are the measurements I took.
Parked: The car was parked
Block: The car was driven around the block
B. Road: The car was driven at highway speeds on the back roads.

I took the measurements three times for posterity and so I have a larger data pool.

What do you guys think?

 

First note that this is not a slam dunk test but is a useful piece of information. The catalytic chemical reaction will raise the exhaust temp as it does its thing and lowers emission pollutants. The rule of thumb used to be a rise of 100F at the back of the cat. In modern engines that range is more like 30-100F after the engine is warmed up sufficiently such as in your "block" measurements. A cat that is not working and/or is plugged will show no temp increase or even a temp decrease such as in your "block" data. A massive increase generally indicates a cat working too hard from a rich condition. After the truck is really warmed up there is a slight temp rise so the cat probably is working marginally.

Confirmation requires more information such as a back pressure test, O2 sensor evaluation, tap test, vacuum test, leak by test.

George