I did some searching and haven't had any luck on this. I posted another message about spark plug gap, etc. My symptoms again are decreased fuel mileage. I'm getting about 18mpg when I used to get about 23mpg. I also have a little bit of a rough idle. I was outside this evening contemplating getting all 8 plugs back out to regap them when I noticed that the exhaust sounded a little funny. After investigating I found that I have a hole in my catalytic converter. I can feel exhaust coming out through the heat shield on the bottom. My question is why hasn't my CEL come on or any codes been set? I have an OBD-II scanner and everything reports o.k. I am guessing that the cat is not plugged or I would have some codes and the CEL on. Do you think that I have just discovered the hole while it is still small enough to not cause a problem? By the way, my ranger is a 97 with a 2.3l engine with 80,000 miles. I'm surprised my converter already has a hole in it.

One other thing I should mention. I hit a deer about 3 years ago. I was going about 75 mph when I hit it. It almost totaled the truck. Could this kind of impact shorten the life of the catalytic converter?

Thanks guys.

 

take to a muffler shop and see if they will let ya look at it to see if its a hole or just a bad gasket. Maybe try an independent shop as the major chain guys will not let ya look at anything in the shop. If the hole is behind the o2 sensor or whatever no you probably wont get a light or code.

Doubt if this would be you milage problem unless the cat is plugged up, or had some damage in the wreck.

Now id the time to get a complete exhaust system installed, again ask around for a indy performance shap that does good work. Mine was $350 including high flow cat, muffler and 2.5 inch exhaust pipe through out.

After this redo you plugs and maybe wires and see what happens.

 

Thanks for the advice. I already changed the plugs, wires, and fuel filter. I'm pretty sure the cat has a hole in it because the exhaust is coming from the middle of the heat shield on the cat. I still wonder about the CEL. I know the o2 sensor in front of the cat is seeing the same thing but the o2 sensor behind the cat has to be seeing something different if some exhaust is leaking out a hole in the cat. I guess that enough exhaust is still exiting through the muffler and if the cat is still working then the CEL wouldn't turn on. Looks like it is time for a new exhaust. Thanks a lot for the advice.