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Hi Ericthecarguy and everybody! I have a question about how to remove a warm-up catalytic converter that is bolted to the rear of the engine on a 2003 Honda Accord V6 Automatic. First, how do I know it’s the catalytic: P0420 code on my scantool, gritty sound on acceleration, lack of power. Sometimes the car stalls. Looked underneath, the bank 1 cat’s shield is broken off. The cat itself looks discolored like it was overheating. I want to get my hands on a pyrometer to compare temperatures at the input and out put of the bank 1 and 2 cats, and to check the exhaust system in general. I also am about to take it someplace to get it hooked to a smoke machine. I have the Honda manual, and it says you have to remove the intermediate shaft, mess with the transmission fluid, remove the exhaust pipe, etc. and change a whole host of gaskets. Then you remove it from the bottom. My question is, assuming the cat is indeed bad and needs replacement (or at least a good cleaning), is it possible to move the engine forward a bit to get clearance in order to remove it from the top? How would I do that, and is it even safe? Or is there no way around a partial disassembly of my car?
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Welcome to the forums!
We do have a link to Chilton’s online which is free. Just use the search function to find it and it should give you some step by step directions on replacement.
As for testing the cat., you can use an exhaust gas analyzer or use a exhaust back pressure gauge. If you use a pyrometer, there should be a 100f temperature increase from the inlet to the outlet of the cat.
If you look at scan tool data and see bank 1 sensor 2 o2 voltage readings fluctuating, thats usually a case of a failed converter.
Dreamer’s got it covered.
As for replacing it, I’d check with some muffler shops to see what they charge if you just bring them the new converter. Exhaust work is a pain in the a$$, those guys have acetylene torches and all sorts of stuff + experience to deal with it. I’ve seen shops install customer bought aftermarket exhausts for $75-$100. Maybe just doing a converter would be half that. IMO – for that price it’s not worth messing with, I’d let them do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IcfeyA3L3E
Here’s a video Eric made on getting a little more access room to the back side of a v6. I certainly won’t guarantee that it will give you the room you need, but it will give you MORE room. Good luck man.
I don’t think you’ll be able to get that from the top I’ve always had to do it from underneath. You’ll need a breaker bar and probably some heat to get those nuts loose. If memory serves there’s only one cat on that set up and it’s behind the down pipe before the B pipe. It probably wouldn’t hurt to get a look inside it based on your description, the heat shields come off all the time but if it’s discolored and you have a noise or engine performance issues I guess it’s not a bad idea to see if the substrate is damaged. You could also look at the O2 sensor readings as the engine runs, the front sensor should switch quickly rich/lean where the rear sensor should stay fairly constant around .5v after warm up, if it fluctuates similar to the front sensor then it’s likely the cat is faulty.
Thanks Ericthe carguy and everybody who responded to my question. The bottom O2 sensor of the bank 1 cat is indeed fluctuating like the top sensor, even after engine temp reaches normal operating temperature. Looks like I’m going to have to bite the bullet on this one. Thanks again guys, but in this case I think I will tell the mechanic to “stay dirty”! 😀
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