1992 Aerostar 3.0 with auto tranny and 108,000 miles. Pinging under acceleration was so bad I had to run 93 octane. Last Saturday when the engine was very hot I pulled the intake duct, revved it, and poured water into the intake. No more knock. I promptly filled up with 18 gallons of 87 octaine and tried my best to get it to knock. No knock. Now, 50 miles later, still no knock. I think it is cured.
First I tried a squirter bottle and ran 14 oz water in that way but it was taking too long, so I unscrewed the top and poured the last 8 oz through in the course of 1 or 2 minutes. No noticible smoke, but there was a burnt firecracker smell around the van (carbon?).
I poured it in right in front of the throttle plate on the aluminum intake manifold.
Re the catalytic converter, what kind of problems? Clogging resulting in excessive backpressure, destruction of the pollutant suppressing ability, or both?
Excess carbon will clog the cat. Which will lower it's efficency.
The proper approach is to determine why the carbon got there in the first place.
Excess fuel?
Improper burn?
Clogged air filter?
Just out of curiosity. What type of air filter are you running?
I sure hope you don't say K&N.
Excess carbon will clog the cat. Which will lower it's efficency.
The proper approach is to determine why the carbon got there in the first place.
Excess fuel?
Improper burn?
Clogged air filter?
Just out of curiosity. What type of air filter are you running?
I sure hope you don't say K&N.
I agree with you on the carbon clogging the CAT, and K&N air filters!!
When the water breaks the carbon loose from the combustion chambers, it has to go somewhere, and the CAT is the next thing down stream....
I am running a NAPA Gold air filter, but did have a K&N on there for about 20,000 miles not too long ago (I have since given up on K&N type filters).
The carbon probably already was in the cat from general buildup if the huge black deposits in the tailpipe are any indication.
How old does a car have to be before you can drop the cat for a straight pipe section, you know, how some catalogs (you know the company, JC----) sell a straight pipe to install in place of the cat for "testing purposes only."
If the vehicle already has a cat removing it will send the computer into orbit.
The computer has certain parameters and when it notices a significant change in any of them it goes into self protect mode.
It will tell fuel delivery sytems to either add or reduce fuel, advance or retard spark and who knows what else.
The replacement pipe for test purposes is just that. It is installed where the cat is to determine if it is plugged.
This thread says there are two cats on my Aerostar and CdnSoldier says he removed the first cat and the van ran fine, even passing emissions tests. If anything plugged, it likely is the first cat, but the van seems to run fine. Maybe I should do the vacuum gauge test to check for exhaust restriction?
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