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Cats Cleaned Now What?

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Old Aug 11, 2013 | 07:42 PM
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Cats Cleaned Now What?

So for the last few months I have been getting horrible mileage and performance out of my 08 F250 4x4. I finally got time and took it up to the muffler shop and he said my CCs were plugged up solid. He "cleaned them out" and my mileage went from 10 to 14 for about a day. Then it went down to 9 . I took it back and he checked the factory muffler and said it was about 3 times heavier than it should be. So I had him cut out the factory muffler and put in a straight pipe and have been driving the **** out of it all weekend, hauling hay and trying to blow out any carbon/trash left in the combustion chamber.

My question is if the cats were plugged for so long, what else might need cleaning/replacing? PCV valve? Spark plugs? I leave for a road trip on Friday to Brownsville, about 16 hours away, and I need all the mpg I can get. I would b happy to just get my 14 back. I know I have an exhaust leak on my drivers side bank, can that effect my mileage? I plan on ordering a 5 star tuner and am about to research CAIs. Any help would be appreciated, thanx .
 
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Old Aug 12, 2013 | 08:00 AM
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I've never heard of someone "cleaning" a catalytic converter.

An exhaust leak at the manifold can actually suck IN air and throw the computer off, making it think the mix is lean and richening it up.

Which can, actually, melt a cat if it goes on long enough.

Ever clean the MAF or change the fuel filter?
 
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Old Aug 12, 2013 | 03:08 PM
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He took a hammer and rebar and beat the innards out lol, giving me a straight pipe or blank if u will, and yes he said the drivers side had a hole burned through it. No but those two items are on my list for this weeks tune up.
 
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Old Aug 12, 2013 | 03:39 PM
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I've actually seen this video on u tube:
but around here I wouldn't fool with it, we don't have to pass an emissions test, they just look under there to make sure the cats are hooked up lol.

I just figured with them being clogged up the combustion chambers would b full of carbon, and was wondering if there is any fuel additives that might help. Also I wondered what else might have clogged up as a result.
 
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Old Aug 12, 2013 | 06:33 PM
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How many miles is on the truck?
 
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Old Aug 12, 2013 | 09:54 PM
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There were reports of bad cats back around 08' or 09' maybe you got some bad ones.

Anyway just gutting the cats is a bad idea. The empty shells will create turbulence and can negatively effect exhaust flow and performance. At the minimum a pipe should put through each cat body.

Your truck may also have other issues which caused the fouled converters. At the very least check for DTCs, replace all filters, clean MAF and etc.
 
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Old Aug 13, 2013 | 08:37 AM
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Properly working cats will not effect fuel economy or performance. And if the cats are bad there are other problems.
Beating the guts out of the cats is worse than having the cat removed as far as performance goes.
Is it even legal to run without cats where you are?
 
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Old Aug 13, 2013 | 08:41 PM
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Is it even legal to run without cats where you are?
Pretty sure it is illegal to gut cats for on road use on the Federal level here in the states.
 
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