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Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT
    #22914652 -

I recently bought this ranger for 2800. It has 231k miles, but with a "rebuilt" engine with 80k miles. Not sure how true that is, but it is what it is... :shrug:

Im not trying to put a bunch of money into it because it will only be used for a point A to a point B truck. With that being said, what will be the best cheapest way to fix this problem?


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22914714 -

To replace it yourself obviously. I replaced the cat on a car we bought last year, the cat cost about 200, I ordered a cheap aftermarket off of Rockauto. Despite the fact it said direct fit, it wasn't. It required some problem solving and ghetto rigging since I don't have a way to weld and didn't want to pay for it. If you're not handy or good at improvising, it'd probably be worth your while to absolutely verify the new cat is identical to the old one in every way. Preferably from an actual store where you can compare the two. Unless you don't mind dealing with an online return process and what not. 

The OEM had a larger outer wall with threading for the heat shield to bolt onto, the aftermarket did not. I used some nuts bolts and hose clamps to make a "mounting" for it (wouldn't have even bothered but the cat was in proximity to hoses and wiring). The OEM also had threaded rod and the aftermarket just had holes. I used washers, nuts and large bolts.

I had to buy a couple new tools to fix everything. Exhaust bolts can be a huge pain in the ass to get off. If you run into the issue don't waste your time and just go find "Irwin bolt extractor" sockets (mine came from Lowes). I tried quite a few other things first and none worked. The bolt extractor worked flawlessly and with almost no effort at all.

Edited by Shroomslip (02/17/16 07:46 AM)

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22914862 -

Or...

You could just remove it completely.

Especially on an older Ford like that. You may end up with a check engine light due to the sensor in the cat having been removed but you can buy dummy sensors for ~$20.

If you're not familiar with working on cars, I'm sure a decent muffler shop could put a piece of straight pipe in there for under $100.

If you live in a state where there is emission control, follow the above poster's advice.

Hi Shroomslip! :wave:


--------------------

“[...]the only people for me are the mad ones,
the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk,
mad to be saved,
desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”


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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: kr0nik0] * 1
    #22914904 -

Not to mention you can take the old c.c. to a scrapyard and get $40-$120 for it.


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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: kr0nik0]
    #22915120 -

I wish we didn't live in an emissions state. I didn't even know in some states they aren't required until I started looking into how to fix one when we were thinking about buying the car. Even with as cheap as we got it, as much as shops charge to replace that shit, the car wouldn't have been worth buying. But I figured out it was pretty easy to do (relatively speaking, I don't think replacing anything is really ever "easy" on a 10+ year old car) and found out the parts were cheap. Probably saved 500-1k just by doing it myself. :wave:


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915145 -

Yeah, i've always straight piped em after they clogged up.

Could try a carbon cleaning thing. Just saw a cool video where a guy used a large amount of HHO run through an idoling motor, then he pulled the HHO off and jammed on the gas and that truck rolled some coal.. unusual for a gas engine

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: MichAnon.ael]
    #22915284 -

Found a shop that charges 185 for parts and labor.


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915327 -

Is that to just put in a straight pipe?


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

Edited by Shroomslip (02/17/16 11:55 AM)

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915357 -

Not sure...


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915373 -

I'd ask some questions at that cheap. Make sure if you're in a state that requires them that they're actually replacing it (I can imagine some shady shops would take advantage of the less knowledgeable just to get money) and that it's a new part. As far as I know there's really no way to tell how much life a cat has left (my old one that gave error codes looked the exact same minus the coloring as the new one I put back in). So if they're replacing it with a used one there's no way to tell how long it would even last.


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915382 -

Its in texas.


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915395 -

Not Responding said:
I recently bought this ranger for 2800. It has 231k miles, but with a "rebuilt" engine with 80k miles. Not sure how true that is, but it is what it is... :shrug:

Im not trying to put a bunch of money into it because it will only be used for a point A to a point B truck. With that being said, what will be the best cheapest way to fix this problem?



Did you check the battery?


--------------------

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915396 -

Same state as me. Yeah, I'd definitely ask first. I know there's some shady shops around my area that would just throw a straight pipe in and let people figure out on their own that their car is no longer legal just to get the labor of putting it in.

Are you sure it's the cat that's bad? The code for "bad cat" is the same as "bad o2 sensor". Only way to know is to test and make sure it's not the o2 first. If you already know it is the cat, if you want to do it yourself, you don't really need a lot of fancy tools or anything though. Basically just wrenches.


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915404 -

I took it to auto zone and the guy said it was a bad cat. Code 4022 or some shit.

Whats wrong with running just a straight pipe?


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915416 -

Nothing really wrong with it per se, but in Texas you have to have a working catalytic converter to get the car inspected.

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vetech/tampering.html

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0422

P0422 can be either cat or o2 sensor. You'll need to have it tested to determine which needs to be replaced. If it's the o2 and you have them replace the cat, then the check engine light is coming right back.


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Shroomslip]
    #22915434 -

Are there no ways around the inspection? I thought they looked at working lights and other stupid shits.


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915440 -

Who cares about the cat? Not sure if they do smog tests their, but you can find a mexican who will pass you for $50 probably.

Also fyi, the tweakers steal them here because of the precious metals inside. Dont just toss it, scrap it if you take it off.


--------------------
Long live kratom :kratom:

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915446 -

Punch through the converter, call it a day. You could get better gas mileage as well.

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Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22915460 -

Emissions are one of the things they look at the closest now when it comes to inspections. When I was looking into getting our car to pass inspection, I found out about spark plug non-foulers http://www.autozone.com/ignition-tune-up-and-routine-maintenance/spark-plug-non-fouler, they won't fix the problem but apparently they can mask it. I'm not sure how well they work because I chose to just fix the problem but they're pretty cheap, you can try that if you want.

To pass inspection all the different systems your car monitors needs to be "ready". If you go in there with a freshly pulled battery the truck most likely won't have any error codes, but they won't pass it until all the monitors are ready, you won't have them ready without the error code showing up. To get from not ready to ready you have to do a drive cycle. The shop will typically just tell you to drive around for awhile but there are specific conditions your car is looking for to trigger the monitors if you find the drive cycle online you can use that instead of aimlessly driving around, instead of 50 miles, it's more like 5. Anyways, if you go to the non-fouler route, you'll need to reset everything so that there is no CEL on, then get the monitors to "ready". If you don't have an OBD reader, you won't know exactly when they all are. So if you have it inspected now, better to get the non foulers now, reset the CEL and drive around for a few days. Ours was already out so I was out driving around risking getting tickets.


--------------------
With my face against the floor I can’t see who knocked me out of the way.
I don’t want to get back up but I have to so it might as well be today.
Nothing appeals to me no one feels like me, I’m too busy being calm to disappear.
I’m in no shape to be alone contrary to the shit that you might hear.


You can't wake up, this is not a dream. You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen. Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: Catalytic Converter issues 2003 Ford Ranger XLT [Re: Not Responding]
    #22916990 -

Codes are P0420 and P0430

Im going to replace the downstream 02 sensor first which is the one after the cat. Im also going to reset the lights. Hopefully this will solve my problem.


--------------------

Dear Kratom,

I've been numb for so long that I forgot how to feel
So I don't care if it will break my heart,
Just fuck me till I disappear




Extras: Filter Print Post Top
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