Cat. Converter heat question

[3rdCoast]

how do u know if ur cat. is bad? I noticed my car was putting out a lot of heat from under the car on the sides. I rolled the window down one day after driving the car for a while and noticed a lot of heat coming from under the car. My 88 Lx doesnt do this. Could the exhaust or the cat be blocked?

[racerx]

lol. no.
it's probably just the fact that it's Houston in the summer, and you're feeling the added heat of your car on top of the 183 degree weather down there. My condolences.

or it could just be the radiator fan kicking on at the right time, and you feel a hot wind blowing at you from it.

or, again, it could be the 435 degree pavement, due to 182 degree houston summer days... lol.

when your cat is bad, you don't pass emissions, and your exhaust smells kinda funny. nothing else. If your exhaust was blocked, you'd be stalling or backfiring, or having weird popping sounds come from the tailpipe.

[leia]

When my dad's cat went bad it was all cloggy, robbed the power and made acceleration next to nonexisistant.

[jigga89SEi]

Aight I do this for a Livin.. so I'll give you my .02
You'll know if that cats bad... if it's really bad anyway....
If it is clogged you should feel very little if any exhaust comin out of the tail pipe...
If it does not feel like sufficient flow... I would take it to the local muffler shop and have them flow test it.. .This is done by drillin 2 holes... One in front and one behind the cat, then it is checked with a guage.. If you lose more than 2psi after the cat then you should replace it....
If you have good flow... Try startin it again and hit the gas... As the RPMs come down do you hear a rattle?.... Then your cat is probly broken up... The best way to test this is to crawl under there... And hit the cat... Ok now hit it like a man... hear it rattle around?.. If so your catalyst is broken up... And the cat needs replaced...

Cats do not just go bad.. .They have No mechanical parts, nothin moves and there are no fluids... Therefore they cannot JUST Go bad... There is an underlying problem... Its often the O2 sensor... Or in the fuel system... Otherwise it's in the ignition system... A cat goes bad because it gets to hot... It gets to hot from burnin to much fuel... There for your runnin to rich... Usually u need to get the car diagnosed for this... But to get the car diagnosed you need a good cat...
So if you fix the cat and not the problem you'll be right back here again...
My suggestions to you are to get a good tune-up... Then get the cat checked( if not previously found to be bad), and replaced... Then get an engine diagnostics to find out what caused the problem...
Hope that helps...
Peaces
Jade BKA Jigabu
BTW... this is the second time I typed all this out... The first time internet went down right when I hit send... So enjoy...

[3rdCoast]

well my inspection sticker is expired so i have yet to see if it will pass. I just bought the car and its at the shop cuz its running like crap. I have and 88 accord lx, and i just got the 87lx. The 88 doesnt have heat like this coming from under it. I have had my 88 2 years i know it pretty well. The last mechaninc i took the 87 to had it for a week and didnt know what was wrong with it. yeah jigga that helps i'll check that out when i get the car back hopefully these other guys i took it to can get it running right. Could hittin it like u suggested brake anything on the inside if its not already broken? Oh yeah i almost forgot i can smell exhaust inside the car if im drivin with the a/c off and the windows up. I dont know where its coming from.

[jigga89SEi]

Naw man don't worry about that... Just hit it with your hand.. not a hammer or shit like that... if it breaks up when you hit it with your hand then it was bad anywayz...
Does the car try to start? turnover and all that?... if so.. the cat may be so clogged it can't release the pressure... If this is the case the easiest way to test it is to Cut the pipe right behind the flex coupling, and try startin it... If that works, its definately the cat...

[3rdCoast]

thanx for the help man i dunno if u saw i edited my last post i dunno if u seen the last part but i can smell exhaust inside the car with the windows uo and a/c. I dunno if the exhaust system has anything to do with my car running like crap it was just a thought i wanted to look into. The car doesnt have much power and after it gets warmed up it likes to stall sometimes when stopped at a light. Everything just feels really sluggish when driving it. I also got the erratic idle and the a/c kills the car when in gear....... Thats the problem im having with it right now....got it in shop since last thursday and havent heard anything from them yet

[FyreDaug]

Does it not run? If it runs and idles fine, hows your power?

[3rdCoast]

runs, eratic idle and seems held back power not that great its sluggish

[FyreDaug]

It would be a rough idle if it idled at all, power would be low and it would smell like rotten eggs.

[Smog-89LXiHatch]

I do smogs in Nevada I rarely see a honda with a bad cat. If the car is running rich it will plug any cat. I would just replace it they have gotten
cheap. you can pick one up for under a $100.

[FyreDaug]

You can get high flow ones off ebay, magnaflow or the like for 50 bucks canadian. Thats what I paid for my 2.25" one. I can sell it if you want, I dont need it.