Off topic but it`s a Mercury car problem that could be similar to a F150 so here goes.
The exhaust is plugged up pretty bad. At first I thought it was the cats (it`s got 4 of them) but after a 3/8'' drilling a hole in the back of one of the cats the car runs alot better and I can hear the back pressure trying to escape. Last year I had a new muffler installed, now it looks like the muffler is plugged up but it could be a collapsed tail pipe. I hate to cut the muffler off but it`s clamped and welded in so I`m trying to get it off with out destroying it. It`s going to be a long process without a hoist......

 

Hey Look on the bright side at least you have a garage to work in not a snowbank. Just get out the gas axe and GIT ER DONE.

 

Your right about the gas axe but I`m too cheap to do that just yet. It has to be fixed soon. It`s not safe this way, when the wind is just right once in awhile I get a whif of exhaust fumes with the door open.
I cut off the front spot weld on the muffler/tail pipe with a zip cut, just need to work on the back one abit more, not much room back there.

 

The charcoal in the cats can become dislodged over time and plug the mufflers. One cause is leaded gas, which breaks down the charcoal. If the car sounds like a Hoover vacuum cleaner...you can bet the cats are causing the problem.

 

Fom take the zip saw and cut a small cut in the pipe in front of the muffler. If it has lots of pressure coming through it is not plugged ther and do a second small cut behind muffler. If it has a lot of pressure coming out then the muffler is not plugged. These small cuts can be welded close afterwards. If you can do the same small cuts at the cats also to test them. I know the ones up front you may not be able to get at them.
But this si one easy way to check where your pipes maybe plugged.

 

Thanks everybody, some good ideas. It will take abit of time to save the new muffler, it`s about $100 for another one installed. I talked to the muffler shop and they have never seen a muffler plug up or collapse so it`s probably from the cats.
The bad part is it`s abit chrushed/crimped in where the clamps were tightened around the ends. Not a big deal, just little abit of extra work where a hoist would be a nice bonus.

 

not sure if it would work for your cat or not... but a emissions mechanic I met once told me a trick to cleaning out a cat, in order to get through a aircare inspection/emmisions test...
He told me that taking a liter or two of water, boiling it to bubbling, then running the car and slowly pouring the boiling water down the carb/intake... it steam cleans the entire inards and exhaust... i had never heard of it before i met him, but he told me about how clean the cylinder looks when a head gasket is leaking into one of the cylinders... he said that pouring the boiling hot water in, while making sure the car dosnt stall... does the same kind of cleaning to everything thru to the cats...

we have aircare out here, you cant even insure a vehicle unless it passes the emissions test... and he told me that the shop he works at does that to get people to pass all the time... because it cleans out the cat....

I did do it to a couple of my vehicles, just have to pour a small trickle in, just aslong as you dont stall it by overpouring...

just a thought, not sure if its going to help unclog a cat that is so badly clogged as yours sounds like it is...

 

I could try using hot water as long as it doesn`t get too much and hydra lock up as that could bent a rod. I talked to the muffler shop, they seem to think it would be hard to get the cat stuffing out of the muffler baffles.
I might as well get a new muffler installed, maybe a turbo type.

 

yeah it was just one idea that I have heard of and tried when getting a truck ready to go to aircare (emissions test)

I have sucked up water offroading before, 2 weeks later my engine grenaded and i had a rod out the side of my block LOL... obviously bent it a bit when i took on water, and it let go soon enough

definately dont want to pour it fast LOL

 

Hey Fomoko I've got mufflers on that merc wagon with no body you can rob the muffler if you want. Also I got two brand new Cherry bombs in the box you can try those.

 

Thanks Paul, I thought of just buying a muffler and putting it on but it sucks without having a hoist. Competition Muffler has a reasonable rate for the install, something like $30-$40 plus the muffler with a good guarantee. I put only afew miles on the car weekly so I`m putting it off but I need to get it fixed soon one way or another.