hey everyone

[MAKG]

Dude, you seem determined to spend money. Your cat MIGHT be ruined, but you have no reason to suspect it actually is. It's doubtful. You can test for it easily with a vacuum gauge.

The $200 you would spend on the cats would be better spent on professional diagnosis.

Odds are, this has nothing to do with fuel pressure, but instead is an electrical problem in the emissions system (e.g., broken ground wires). Basic diagnosis STARTS with the spark plugs and self-tests.

Does your check engine light work? It should be lit with the key on, engine off.

 

[h3o]

Dude, you seem determined to spend money. Your cat MIGHT be ruined, but you have no reason to suspect it actually is. It's doubtful. You can test for it easily with a vacuum gauge.

The $200 you would spend on the cats would be better spent on professional diagnosis.

Odds are, this has nothing to do with fuel pressure, but instead is an electrical problem in the emissions system (e.g., broken ground wires). Basic diagnosis STARTS with the spark plugs and self-tests.

Does your check engine light work? It should be lit with the key on, engine off.

check engine light does work and pulled no codes, and if you knew me you'd understand, id rather do things right and replace everything now then have everything go one by one in the future. and cats only cost $150 for the 2 cats. diagnosis cost $89 just to test, then the 150 if its bad, so why not just spend 60 bucks more and just get it out of the way for the future? Also i will check wiring, and fuel pressure could be a big part of it if the fpr runs rich the hc will be high, since i can already smell the gas at idle whats the hurt in checking fuel pressure? I'm guessing that its spark related but whats the harm in checking the entire system since its a new old truck for me.

 

[MAKG]

Cats don't wear out. They get broken or plugged. So you get absolutely no gain for your $60 (well, a bit more since a cat replacement often requires additional parts like exhaust bolts and gaskets, and perhaps a Y-pipe and/or muffler if the previous one has been welded). A bad cat is ALMOST NEVER a primary failure. It's bad because something else killed it. So, you'll spend your $150 now and have to spend it again in a few months because it got plugged up and drives like cold molasses.

If your mechanic wants $89 to test the cat alone, get a new mechanic. It takes 10 minutes if you count the coffee break. Testing the entire system takes more than that, but the advantage you get is that you have some idea about what is actually going on.

If you want to do this RIGHT, you need to understand diagnosis. The way you are doing it is not right. Not every new part is good, and you will introduce FAR more problems than you solve. And you'll do it multiple times because you're not going after actual problems.

A bad FPR isn't likely to show up as high fuel pressure. It's checked with a vacuum gauge.

You're guessing. Doing this "right" does not involve guesses.

 

[h3o]

Cats don't wear out. They get broken or plugged. So you get absolutely no gain for your $60 (well, a bit more since a cat replacement often requires additional parts like exhaust bolts and gaskets, and perhaps a Y-pipe and/or muffler if the previous one has been welded). A bad cat is ALMOST NEVER a primary failure. It's bad because something else killed it. So, you'll spend your $150 now and have to spend it again in a few months because it got plugged up and drives like cold molasses.

If your mechanic wants $89 to test the cat alone, get a new mechanic. It takes 10 minutes if you count the coffee break. Testing the entire system takes more than that, but the advantage you get is that you have some idea about what is actually going on.

If you want to do this RIGHT, you need to understand diagnosis. The way you are doing it is not right. Not every new part is good, and you will introduce FAR more problems than you solve. And you'll do it multiple times because you're not going after actual problems.

A bad FPR isn't likely to show up as high fuel pressure. It's checked with a vacuum gauge.

You're guessing. Doing this "right" does not involve guesses.

i understand that, i never said "im only going to replace the cat", i said i was going to replace the cats since i know im leaking fuel into it, which a cat is not designed for, and if you can find me another mechanic that will do a diagnosis for cheaper i am all ears, my dad used to own a shop back in hawaii so thats why i never dealt with paying someone. and i do know how to check a fpr, and let me ask you this, what happens if the fpr is stuck shut, wont that cause a rich condition? I understand what you are saying, but you are completely going over what my post are, you just see that i am changing something and jump at that, please read the post first, see what i am saying, then you'll understand what i am doing and why i am doing it.

 

[BlackBII]

He's just saying that if you don't know what the issue is, then find out. Don't guess. Guessing costs money, and will not solve the issue..

Find the issue, (By getting a diagnosis) then fix said issue. Like MAKG said, check for electrical issues, bad grounds etc. Read the plugs.

 

[MAKG]

I've never seen an FPR that was "stuck shut" that wasn't also leaking. I suppose it's possible, but then you would expect it to work better if you wind the piss out of the engine at WOT.

A blown FPR might explain your troubles, but there are dozens of other things that might as well. Wouldn't it suck to replace a $80 FPR, a $150 cat, $180 in injectors, a $150 PCM, etc., to find out your problem all along was a separated PCM ground that could have been fixed with a soldering iron and a piece of heat shrink?

The game here is finding out what the trouble actually is. You can't replace enough to cover all the bases in anywhere near a cost-effective manner. It's not easy.

 

[h3o]

I've never seen an FPR that was "stuck shut" that wasn't also leaking. I suppose it's possible, but then you would expect it to work better if you wind the piss out of the engine at WOT.

A blown FPR might explain your troubles, but there are dozens of other things that might as well. Wouldn't it suck to replace a $80 FPR, a $150 cat, $180 in injectors, a $150 PCM, etc., to find out your problem all along was a separated PCM ground that could have been fixed with a soldering iron and a piece of heat shrink?

The game here is finding out what the trouble actually is. You can't replace enough to cover all the bases in anywhere near a cost-effective manner. It's not easy.

welp pulled the cat, of course the honey combs are punched out, test fuel pressure everything okay, tested vaccum everything okay, changed the spark plugs, changed the wires, cap and rotor, check grounds. Im going to take the injectors in to get cleaned today, and then hopefully go back and pass the emissions test. One of my plugs were totally clean so im guessin it wasnt burning fuel. we shall see when i drive her down the road today

 

[IMenriched]

welp pulled the cat, of course the honey combs are punched out, test fuel pressure everything okay, tested vaccum everything okay, changed the spark plugs, changed the wires, cap and rotor, check grounds. Im going to take the injectors in to get cleaned today, and then hopefully go back and pass the emissions test. One of my plugs were totally clean so im guessin it wasnt burning fuel. we shall see when i drive her down the road today

Was the "clean plug" looking like new and the others looking normal???
sometimes there can be a headgasket leak or cracked head that washes the plug making it look brand new.

Does it, (the clean plug), smell like gas??? or like the other normal plugs

a die kit from the parts store and use it to see if you have a external leak. Also get a exhust gas test kit and check the antifreeze for exhaust content...this will help confirm if you have head issue. A quick check is to run it with radiator cap off and watch the filler neck and after the thermostat opens. watching for small bubbles streaming up.

You could also be correct that the injector is plugged or just not firing.

have you done a compression check...paying picticular attention the cylinder that had a "clean" plug.

in anycase, it would account for the rough idle.

 

[h3o]

Was the "clean plug" looking like new and the others looking normal???
sometimes there can be a headgasket leak or cracked head that washes the plug making it look brand new.

Does it, (the clean plug), smell like gas??? or like the other normal plugs

a die kit from the parts store and use it to see if you have a external leak. Also get a exhust gas test kit and check the antifreeze for exhaust content...this will help confirm if you have head issue. A quick check is to run it with radiator cap off and watch the filler neck and after the thermostat opens. watching for small bubbles streaming up.

You could also be correct that the injector is plugged or just not firing.

have you done a compression check...paying picticular attention the cylinder that had a "clean" plug.

in anycase, it would account for the rough idle.

yup the clean plugged smelled like gas, compression is good on all cylinders +or- 5 psi

will try the coolant test, the shop i took it to confirmed all my injectors are in working order, injectors where also cleaned while at the shop

 

[h3o]

He's just saying that if you don't know what the issue is, then find out. Don't guess. Guessing costs money, and will not solve the issue..

Find the issue, (By getting a diagnosis) then fix said issue. Like MAKG said, check for electrical issues, bad grounds etc. Read the plugs.

again i understand where he is coming from, if i take it to a mechanic hes going to be doing the same thing i am he just has more test equipment, id rather test it myself, fix the problem and be done with it, thats why i think these forums are great, but the only thing i was getting at with makg is i would say something and he'd only see one part of my post (ex. the cats) and say dont do that your wasting money, too me it sounded like he though i was only going to replace the cats which i wasnt, so im not trying to be an ass thats just how he came off at me at. And yes i know im a noob so i will always get crap from the people with 2 million post, but im not a complete moron.