Rich2279
CEG'er
What is with the cat. converter replacement. Did anyone buy the universal converters and try using them instead of having the dealership put them on? I have the codes for both converters below efficenicy for the Duratech V6.
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Cat. Converters
- Thread starter Rich2279
- Start date
What year and how many miles? Also post what tranny (auto or manual). And where are you located. Some of us put this in our signature. There is a federal 8 yr/80k mile warranty on those things (7yr/70K for California).
There are 3 catalytic converters for the V6 Duratec. Bank 1 (firewall side) Precat, Bank 2 (radiator side) Precat and Main Cat (underbody, close to the passenger side seat).
Post the exact codes you have. Autozone or Advance will read them for you free. You should have P0420 Bank 1 and/or P0430 Bank 2. The main cat is not monitored by the system at all. If main cat is plugged, we have a cheap and easy way to test it. Actually, we have a way to test all three (if they are plugged) in the Duratec how-to forum.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=54
As far as I know, there are no universal converters for the Precats. If someone knows of any, please post as I am interested too. It is probably too hard (and too labor intensive) to get a "main cat universal converter" to then try to weld them in to the exhaust manifolds to use as a precat.
One way to eliminate the P0420 and P0430 codes is to install mileliminators. How to in M&M how-to forum.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=56
Post the requested information and I'm sure more CEGers will chime in with their suggestions and advice. Oh, and welcome to CEG!
There are 3 catalytic converters for the V6 Duratec. Bank 1 (firewall side) Precat, Bank 2 (radiator side) Precat and Main Cat (underbody, close to the passenger side seat).
Post the exact codes you have. Autozone or Advance will read them for you free. You should have P0420 Bank 1 and/or P0430 Bank 2. The main cat is not monitored by the system at all. If main cat is plugged, we have a cheap and easy way to test it. Actually, we have a way to test all three (if they are plugged) in the Duratec how-to forum.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=54
As far as I know, there are no universal converters for the Precats. If someone knows of any, please post as I am interested too. It is probably too hard (and too labor intensive) to get a "main cat universal converter" to then try to weld them in to the exhaust manifolds to use as a precat.
One way to eliminate the P0420 and P0430 codes is to install mileliminators. How to in M&M how-to forum.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=56
Post the requested information and I'm sure more CEGers will chime in with their suggestions and advice. Oh, and welcome to CEG!
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Rich2279
CEG'er
It is a '98 Contour V6 Automatic 110,000 miles with the following codes: P1131 (Lack of HO2S11 Switches-Sensor indicates lean), P0401 (EGR flow insufficient), P0133 (O2 Sensor Circuit Slow Response-Bank 1 Sensor 1), P0420 (catalyst system efficiency below threshold Bank1), P0430 (catalyst system below threshold Bank 2). I read some people remove the pre-cats and install straight pipes up to the main cat., then install the MIL eliminators.
While there is a good chance that your Precats are shot, I would change out the Bank 1 Upper O2 sensor and check/change the DPFE sensor first. Then reset PCM and see what codes come back before messing with the precats.
Bank 1 Upper O2 sensor replacement in Duratec Maintenance-Read First.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=41
DPFE in Autozonelink
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1b/ca/1e/0900823d801bca1e.jsp
Bank 1 Upper O2 sensor replacement in Duratec Maintenance-Read First.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=41
DPFE in Autozonelink
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1b/ca/1e/0900823d801bca1e.jsp
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Rich2279
CEG'er
Thanks for the advice. The pre-cats on this are a horrible design. Ford wants $900 just for one exhaust manifold/pre-cat.
Reebs
meester super sleuth
I believe there is a used set in the classifieds under Performance.
TourDeForce
Hard-core CEG'er
Tony, before he does the DPFE, I think it would be a great idea to perform the Throttle Body (TB) cleaning to get the gunk out of the EGR passages. It is possible he may not need the DPFE at all.
Once the TB cleaning is done, perform a Berryman's UIM/LIM cleaning. Certainly won't hurt and has been known to fix the cat efficiency problems in a few cases. Do those two cheap things yourself and reset the PCM. If the codes come back we can go from there.
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You are correct. TBcleaning does help clear EGR passages.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=920243&Forum=trouble&Words=p0401&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=919728&Search=true#Post920243
Once again, you are correct. He may not need to change the DPFE, which is why I posted Check/Change the DPFE....
projectSHO89
Hard-core CEG'er
I'd be prepared to replace the upstream Bank 1 sensor in any event. Looks like it's getting lazy. If those two DTCs (P1131 and P0133) return upon retest, that makes it pretty likely that this particular sensor is at it's end of life.
A quick "suck test" can tell whether or not the TB passages are clogged. Lot faster than taking it all apart and finding it wasn't the problem for the P0401 (although it often is...)....
Steve
A quick "suck test" can tell whether or not the TB passages are clogged. Lot faster than taking it all apart and finding it wasn't the problem for the P0401 (although it often is...)....
Steve
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