dont have money to fix catalytic converter.. how detrimental is it to wait a month or two to fix?

[edgarbc1]

my truck service light came on recently
and i brought it into the shop to check it out and do an oil change
they say needs catalytic converter replacement. I didnt have
the money in my auto budget to do this immediately...

how detrimental is it to the vehicle to run a month
or two until i build up enough to pay this expense off?

thanks
E

[bazookaman]

In college, I found out my catalytic converter was completely destroyed. The insides were collapsing and stopping up my exhaust causing all sorts of nice problems. My mechanic explained the problem and told me i could drive as long as i wanted...until inspection time. He recommended carrying a large wrench or hammer in the car. So when some more pieces from the converter would come loose and stop up the tailpipe i could roll under the car, give it a few whacks and be on my way.

[TLB]

Does the mechanic know for sure it is the converter? I think a bad downstream O2 sensor can give the same reading on an OBD. As to hurting the car, I think it depends on the failure mode. The "best" case would simply be an increase in emissions from your car. However, since many sensors are involved in today's engines, feedback to ECU could adversely impact overall engine performance and acceleration. If the failure causes restricted exhaust flow, there could be additional problems.

As you can see I think, I don't know...

[mikebw]

Yeah it could rust out on the inside and cause a blockage in the exhaust pipe which would mean the engine could run very poorly, possibly not be able to drive it, probably no long term damage.

You can just take the whole thing out, of course that isn't really legal and is bad for the environment, but the car doesn't need one to run.

[cbelt3]

Hurting your car---- depends on how the ECM is programmed. If it's programmed to run insanely lean, you may end up with a shorter engine life.

I agree with the commentary that the issue may be the O2 sensors. Some cars have a sensor inside the Catalytic converter that can tell when the Cat is dead, but most do not. What led the mechanic to diagnose a dead Cat ?

Note also that Catalytic converters are warrantied, by federal law, for 8 years or 80,000 miles. I believe it's independent of ownership, so even a used car with less than 8 years of life or 80K miles qualifies.

I once bought a car that had the cat removed and bypassed. I foolishly believed the guy's tale that it wasn't a problem. It wasn't where he lived, but it WAS where I lived. (Emission rules may vary by county and state). "Fortunately" it was totaled in an accident before I had to have it emission tested.

[thermarest]

what mikebw said. Just take it out and re-weld a pipe into the muffler. You'll get more power, save money and help warm up the planet at the same time.

[OWC Jamie]

I'd get the oil changed.

[M A V I C]

What year/make/model are we talking about? I agree with the comments about the 02 sensor. It all depends on how it was diagnosed. I think it's way more common for an 02 sensor to fail than the cat itself.

And you could remove it, depending on emission controls where you are. They call it a "cat delete".

[freeradical]

Do people still steal catalytic convertors for the precious metals they contain. I've heard that some of them are worth $1000.

[davester]

thermarest wrote: You'll get more power,

Not necessarily. Screwing with the exhaust backpressure can often upset the engine management computer and foul up the air/fuel mixture (=less power)

save money

Initial cost yes, burned valves, bad gas mileage and eventual need to replace converter may increase long term cost

and help warm up the planet at the same time.

Nope, the cat has nothing to do with that since it doesn't convert CO2. You will however dramatically increase the toxic smog components coming out of your car.