catalytic converter?

[mkzg]

I think mine is plugged. Its on a 99 solara 3.0.

I think its plugged because it has hesitation sometimes and I couldnt find vaccum lines that were disconected.
I have California Emissions. I know this because I replaced BOTH AF sensors (Parts costed $330 from Rockauto for denso!) and the part numbers matched the ones I bought (which were specifically for cali emissions).

Is there a difference between federal and cali emissions cats? Ive seen them priced from 60$ all the way to 300$.

I am getting the codes
P1133 A/F Sensor Circuit Response Malfunction (Bank #1 Sensor #1)
P1135 A/F Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank #1 Sensor #1)
P1153 A/F Sensor Circuit Response Malfunction (Bank #2 Sensor #1)
P1155 A/F Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank #2 Sensor #1)

I have replaced ALL the A/F or o2 sensors...so they are GOOD!

My question is, Can I use any cat for the 1MZFE engine? Like, a 2000 camry cat on my solara. Or a 01, 02, 03 solara cat? I cant find a 99 cat with Cali emissions for under $100.

[.onetohate]

lol! mines goin' out too but mines is a 2.2.. federal emissions are less strict than Ca. emissions- SO.. if you live in CA.- gotta buy Ca. emissions cat. I'm probably buying mines off eBAY for 250 w/shipping. Under $100- no offense but prolly a junkyard if you find a decent one. I couldn't find any decent ones for my camry from the junkyards around here.

[mkzg]

the Universal ones are under 100!

like, the eastern cats

01-03 solara
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/bizsh ... +Converter



00 camry
http://www.car-stuff.com/catalytic/quot ... &model=688

99 solara
http://www.car-stuff.com/catalytic/quot ... &model=781

It looks like a 99 solara cat for a 2.2L is 70 at the site

[ozone]

Not that cats can't go bad, but I don't think this is what is causing the hesitation. The catalytic converter is just that, a catalyst. It is not consumed or significantly altered by the process of transforming the harmful emissions to less harmful emissions, so as long as it's been operating near the proper conditions, it should be fine. Before spending money, I would remove it, replace it with a straight pipe or even briefly drive the car with open exhaust and see if your problem goes away.

I haven't completely thought this through, so there may be problems with this test, like there's no easy way to remove the cat, but something like this would help.

If it were me, I wouldn't do that, but instead I would look for the problem elsewhere or at least do some routine maintenance first, like air filter, cleaning of the MAF sensor and throttle body, changing the spark plugs and coil/wires, check the timing, etc.

Just my opinion. Don't want to see you spending money for something that may be working just fine.

Good luck.

[ozone]

At a minimum, remove the cat and blow air through it, if you think it's clogged.

[mkzg]

I have already replaced spark plugs, wires, MAF, Ignitor, air filter, all the o2 sensors, and checked the coil packs.

I was going to try to take the cat out, but the bolts look pretty rusty. Itll be a weekend project for me soon! Ill take it out and blow it out with my air hose and hope it works!

But do you think that cheaper cat would work on the car?

[ozone]

Yes, I do, but I should stress that I am not technically qualified to make that judgement.

It's what I would do though if I were disinclined to use the OEM one.

[ozone]

I will try to look these codes up when I get home to see if the Toyota book points to a different trouble area you could check, but you have done quite a few things to correct the issue.

Another thing you might try, if you haven't along the way, is disconnecting the battery for a minute or two. It's a long shot, but maybe the ECU needs to relearn after some of these repairs you've made. I have seen evidence of improvements on my wifes car from doing this, plus other than erasing your radio settings, it really can't hurt to try it.

Just a thought.

[mkzg]

lol...thanks ozone. I acutally have a OBDII engine reader and cleared the codes many times. Let me know if you find anything out when you get home!

[ozone]

Well, you're right. It's slim pickin's regarding the codes. Here's what the book says about the last two codes:





Regarding the first two, all it said was that the A/F sensors may be bad (duh, you've already checked that) or and this is an important or, the wiring between the ECU may be shorted or open.

The manual does reference another section, with a voltage check you can do:


Sounds like your ECU could actually be bad. Rare, but not unheard of.

Another thing to note. Was or is the A/F sensor very dirty, like maybe oil got on it. They work by sensing the amount of oxygen in the exhaust pipe and reference it to the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. If they are covered in oil, they may not be able to sense the atmosphere and then they might give false readings.

Finally, what did the freeze frame data say? If you read the above pages, you will see that it may indicate a short or and open depending on the conditions.

Don't overlook the part about needing to see the OBDII data to read the voltage, you can't do it with a multimeter due to the design and the voltages will be different with the OBDII and a Toyota scanner.

It doesn't say anything about the cat, although I suppose anything that might cause a bad reading in the O2 sensor could be at fault.

Usually the book has several suggestions. This time it just says, bad A/F sensor or bad ECU, basically.

Man, it looks like those are very hard to read. I will post them on my website so that you can read them better if you are interested. My address is: www.ozone1000.com

Surf to the Solara page. I'll put them on the last "Chronicles page." I think it's S7.

Hope this helps.

[Wyldhorse0705]

i think something is up with my cat too. I don't get those codes though. I get something about catalyst. Trying fuel injector cleaner, and tapping on the cat a little to maybe break up some clogs in it or something.