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Yes you can try the miracle in a can stuff. I used Cataclean several timers but without any change. So be prepared for it NOT to work.
There are several different setups for the O2 spacers. As posted above straight or 90 degree spacers. Some also have a small bit of catalyst in them. Some longer and some shorter in length. You sometimes need to play around with the geometry to find something that works on your car. Spacing as posted above can be a limiting factor. There is a sweet spot between to close and too far from the exhaust stream.
Replacing the O2 sensors with new can also help depending on the age and condition of your existing O2 sensors.
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Thanks all. To put it in simple terms then, my aftermarket cats were causing the downstream o2 sensors to read too much of something, causing the p0420 / p0430 efficiency codes. By moving them too far out of the stream they are now likely not reading enough of something, therefore the voltage is now too low where it was previously probably too high? And if that's the case, i need to get them slightly closer to the stream?
You're lucky your cats have lasted this long. They are manufactured to last eight years under normal use. If the vehicle has had any problems with air or fuel in the past, that could have exacerbated the problem.
There are temporary tricks to getting rid of the faults, check for "O2 SENSOR EXTENDERS" on the interwebz. This won't fix your cats, but you can get by awhile until they fully explode.
There are specialist shops in the US for rebuilding old catalytic converters by cutting the old ones open and installing new media, but I've no clue as to availability in J.O.E..
Your cats WILL get worse over time and mileage. If your car is a keeper, replace them (or fix them) when you can. Do NOT use that temp fix and then sell it. That would be reprehensible.
Also, for further info, only the REAR two sensors are Oxygen Sensors. The front (forward) two sensors are for Air/Fuel Ratio.
8 years, really? where did you see this? I have had over a dozen vehicles and never replaced a Cat? My 3L Subaru was on 140k with original Cats, Jag is on 50k but 16 years old and original cats - I had a Lexus IS250 and never had cats replaced... where did 8 years come from? If you look after your vehicle and use good quality fuel, Cats should last a very long time
“The federal emissions warranty covers catalytic converters for eight years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. This warranty applies to vehicles manufactured in 1995 or later”
“The federal emissions warranty covers catalytic converters for eight years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. This warranty applies to vehicles manufactured in 1995 or later”
Must be a USA thing, I can guarantee you cat converters last much longer than 8 years in Europe and Japan - it's all about the fuel octane
My ford explorer sport trac is at 250K kilometres with the original cats. My Jag is at 98k, just hope they don't go to the dogs. I ain't looking forward to the cost of changing them out.
I have custom 200 cell cats now. The rear sensors are attached with 1/4” bungs.
No codes, great sound…. This is my 2nd replacement.
I change the oil every 5000 kms. Castrol synthetic only (car calls for conventional)
I only use top-tier fuel. (No ethanol)
The air filters are changed every 25000 km.
Plugs every 50,000 km.
And despite the comments, I wash the engine frequently.
The moment there’s something out of normal, she gets cared for.
As for the LR4… everything is $2K, min. Comes with the territory, I guess.
Ericmcn, there was not long ago a sudden surge in cat replacements amongst the service garages. Probably encouraged by visits of buyers of used cats for $70 CDN$ each. They then were stripped of the precious metals, to be sold again to N.Y. city buyers.
Yes JagV8 is right! If the car has not seen an injector failure where it pours the fuel into the engine your cats will last the life of the car. I have never replaced a cat unless this has happened. It was way too common back in the days of carburetors and cats. When everything went to fuel injection the engines just ran so much better the clogged and destroyed cats were much more rare.
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Yes JagV8 is right! If the car has not seen an injector failure where it pours the fuel into the engine your cats will last the life of the car. I have never replaced a cat unless this has happened. It was way too common back in the days of carburetors and cats. When everything went to fuel injection the engines just ran so much better the clogged and destroyed cats were much more rare.
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That's exactly what happened to mine, an injector stuck open and dumped fuel into the left bank. Cat destroyed but still flows well.
The classic reason why cats may NOT last 8 years is running with bad fuel trims.
That is why I was suspect of the 5/6 percent lean trims at idle which was due to the vacuum leak, surprisingly it passed MOT tests in England all along with I assume broken vac lines which goes to show the impact was minimal, if I was not shoving my nose into it you would not even know - I broke the nipple of the fuel pressure sensor during my bodge and replaced AJ87977 with a used part, I was not too keen on spending over £100 on a new part but now my trims are around zero at idle which I was not expecting from a 16 year old V8 but its what drew me to this car in the first place, the engine is a masterpiece - you need to keep an eye on it
Changing that fuel pressure sensor was tricky, fortunately I have skinny hands
If anyone is interested this FPR is another Ford part that is not documented anywhere and the Ford part as always is much cheaper!
Here is my old thread on replacing the FPR on my 2005 S-Type R. Jaguar Code P0191 - FPR Failure
The above is a long thread and here is a short version.
Jaguar #AJ87977 List Price about $190
Ford #3R3E-9F972-AA which is printed on the part. List is about $45.
Here is the bottom of the FPR.
And the top showing the electrical connection.
Now I do find it for only $18 and it does show both the Ford and Jaguar applications
I spent a while researching the Fuel Sensor, its a significant part in terms of what it does and I was reluctant to get a new sensor from an unknown brand for £30 or whatever, The OE Jag part is from Ford - I was struggling to see these for sale or anything like £30, my used part is a Ford part which I required it to be, so far so good - if it plays up I would just get the OE part new - I cant quite trust these other brands, I have heard stories before on other threads, leaking fuel and erratic performance etc.
I oould be wrong but it looks like Ford no longer make this part.
I have custom 200 cell cats now. The rear sensors are attached with 1/4” bungs.
No codes, great sound…. This is my 2nd replacement.
Do you happen to have a link to the bungs you used? I went for L shaped ones but the comments on here are making me think the P0137 / P0157 codes I'm now getting are because the sensors are too far from the stream.
Here is the FPR from Ford. Again less than $25. You just have to look around to see who has what. Ford Branded FPR
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Looks legit, unfortunatley in the USA - the part I fitted is good however, my fuel trims are pretty spot on nothing else to do here really. I will keep in mind should I need to replace again in the future
5/6 percent lean trims at idle is ok and because it can correct that it should not have caused cat damage.
If there is cat damage, maybe there were much worse trims some time ago?
Is this directed to me? I never suggested my cats were faulty, as for the fuel trims since I am seeing pretty much zero since I repaired the vac lines it suggests that they should bs close to that level, anything around plus minus 5/6 is nothing really to worry about however and certainly won't damage a cat, if they were dumping plus 10 percent continually that's a different story.
No car has perfect zero percent fuel trims the problem occurs when they are excessively positive or negative for excessive amounts of time
