I stuck a piece of wood between rattling heat shield and converter and now part of the wood is charred from burning Should my catalytic converter get hot enough to burn wood? Would this suggested a clogged converter? My truck has been getting VERY bad gas mileage lately.


I would really just like to do away with both converters and just run a straight pipe but the dual manifold pipes going into the one converter presents a challenge. Any ideas how to get past this? My truck is exempt from emissions testing or inspections.

 

yes it will get hot enough to burn the wood...best to get it out of there.

LOTs of things cause poor gas mileage....best to see if code are present 1st.

could very well be a bad cat.... it could also be a $3.00 vacuum line gone MIA.

more testing needed to be sure

 

Change the O2 sensor out, they go bad on the 4.9L's quite often. Also a new cap & rotor, Autolite copper plugs, plug wires and fuel & air filter's.

A good Dynomax cat will be sufficient if your cat truly is bad. My son replaced his 220K mile oem cat and it was not clogged but he wasn't sure until it was cut off and inspected. A clogged cat is usually hotter on the outlet side vs. the inlet side.

 

I have replaced ECT sensor, plugs, cap, rotor, coil, tested TPS and MAP sensors, fuel filter, air filter, changed automatic tranny fluid and filter

I have not changed o2 sensor.

 

Soak it with PB Blaster for an hour then start and let it run 30 - 40 seconds then shut it off. Use a O2 sensor socket or open end wrench to remove. Turn it slowly until it is loose enough to remove by hand.

I would replace the plug wires if they are more than two years old.