I got a new cat and Y pipe from Magnaflow and took the van (3500 with a 5.9) around for a spin. When I got back I made a visual inspection to the cat and saw it was glowing red in the center. I understand that this can be cause by unburned fuel fogging through the engine----

I guess Im asking how concerned about this should I be? I dont feel like this should be normal but this is my first new cat install. I remember in the past the van floor getting quite hot---almost to hot to touch the rubber flooring and that was with the oem cat.

Should I be concerned and what should I look at as a cause??

Thanks,
Greg

 

Yes it is a cause for concern. Catalytic converters do get hot, but they're not supposed to turn red hot. This is a sign of unburnt fuel getting into the CC.

 

So what could cause a rich running condition where the ecm controls the mix?

I've recently replace a head, plenum gasket, plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. Where should I look and is my brand new cat cooked? Runs well, no miss under acceleration and maintains a consistent idle. No signs of overheat. Only the cat glows and nothing in the pipe before and after. It takes about 5-10 minutes of running at idle for it to glow.

Thanks,
-Greg

 

You didn't specify a year for the van so I'll assume it's fuel injected. In this case, a leaking fuel injector or a bad O2 sensor would be the first things I'd test.

 

Sorry, its a 2000 and it is injected. What about the fuel pressure regulator/filter? I know its an extended life item but im up to 195K and, as we are just hypothesizing, im wondering if that could contribute.

But, i will do a pressure test to the fuel rail and what is the best way to test my O2 sensors assuming I have no access to a diagnostic scan tool---other than an engine code reader.

By the way, I have no engine light indicating anything is a miss.

Thanks,