Cat Converter Saga

[BigDaddySmooth]

My 96 Ti original cat when out in June 2010. The aftermarket cat lasted until November. Part of the warranty involved replacing the MAF. Since then, the car has occasional hesitations an as the weather has warmed, fluctuating tach from near stall to 1200 rpm if I'm in stop-n-go traffic. Took it to the shop today and they say my #3 cat converter is clogged but my #1 cat is good (the one replaced in Nov). I also have a serious rattle underneath the car. I was unaware that there are 2 cat converters on the car. Whaddaya think is going on?

[cooljess76]

You should only have one catalytic converter. 6cyl's had two, but they're attached to eachother and are sold as a single unit. Since your car is a '96, it's OBDII which means you'll have two o2 sensors, a pre-cat and a post-cat. OBDI vehicles, '95 and older, only have pre-cat o2 sensors. Again, 6cyl models will have double the sensors, since they have two cats. It's fairly common knowledge that aftermarket catalytic converters simply do not work on our cars. You need to find an OEM cat. It's illegal for junkyards to sell used cats, so you may have better luck finding a used one from someone parting out a ti on this site otherwise you might have to bight the bullet and purchase a remanufactured one from the dealer. Best of luck.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Maybe they are talking about the resonator and confusing that with a extra cat...