beauty eh!

Very nice...

 

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Great looking job Blackvan!! I can't believe how clean your van is underneath, just like funair's. I guess living here in New England takes its toll, mine is all rusted. So was it a bear getting off the manifold bolts? Is this something you think I can do myself? I was wondering if you know, is there any difference between the 2002 and the 2003 model van? Could you possibly send or post the exact model # of the magniflow and any other parts I will need? Thanks again

 

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Thanks for all the information Blackvan. At this point, I may wait until the Spring. Maybe by then Magniflow will have a Cat for my van, even though I am sure the one you got will work. I will do the muffler at the same time. Thanks again.

 

I think I am at the same point. My check engine light came on a week or so ago and I could hear an exhaust leak. So I drove it down to the Advance Auto and had them check the codes. The code flagged was the IAC circuit. After that I took the Van to a local exhaust shop I trust. The owner told me my exhaust was very hot and the pipe was cracked just before the cat converter. She told me this is typical on Vans of this brand and vintage for the exact reasons mentioned in this thread. She said the unburned fuel gets dumped into the exhaust and super heats the pipes. So she suggested I get the engine diagnosed to find out why this was happening and correct the problem. She welded the pipes back together and I was off to the parts store to get a new IAC.

I also called one of my buddies. He told me that I should also check the Vapor Canister see if it is filled with fuel. He said if it is full I need to replace it. The Vapor Canister on my 1999 Model is located under the driver side just behind the front wheel. There is also an electronic purge valve there.

So these are the steps I am following. First thing I am doing is replacing the IAC because it does work in the circuit along with the PCM to control fuel air mixture. Then I am going to have the Vapor Canister check and I am thinking about just sucking things up and letting Dodge set it up on their Diagnostics machine just so I can get a thorough read-out/printout of what might be going on with the engine.

Since replacing the Cat will cost me about $295, I think this is probably the smartest thing to do prior to the replacement. Its very important to solve the issue first or it will end up repeating itself. It already looks like the Cat on my van has been replaced once.

I can also share that with the cracked pipe I was getting around 14 mpg, which is not great but I think I should be getting at least 16 so its possible the Cat itself is broken down inside and could be causing the exhaust heat up problem. Since I do not have any kind of loss of power it seems unlikely.

As far as why the engine would be dumping fuel into the exhaust, from what I understand, a malfunctioning injector could cause that. Rich running engines run cool, and Lean running engines run hot.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Jason

 

On a somewhat unrelated note have you heard about the "key dance"? You could save yourself a trip to advanced auto and read the codes yourself. Take the key and turn it on off on off on and the odometer will display the error codes causing the CEL. This is assuming you have the digital odometer.

 

I did have a bad IAC about 6 months ago. Maybe this did add to the converter going bad.

 

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I understand its not worth your time but you did not mention the Vapor Canister and its function. If the Vapor Canister or the purge valve fills with fuel, it needs to be replaced because fuel vapors have no place to go other than your exhaust system. The IAC regulates Air Flow. If the IAC regulates Air flow in my opinion it effects more than idle speed, it would also be affecting fuel to air mixture ratios because it reports back to the PCM. If the PCM sees increased air flow, then it will adjust the fuel/air mixtures accordingly.

Here is a link that will give you a general idea of how the IAC works with your engine and things it will affect:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5649210_id...-control_.html


Here is a link that explains its purpose and function of the Vapor Canister:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6742897_purpose-charcoal-canister.htmla

One more link that talks about Cat converters and why they might fail:

http://www.fulllineexhaust.com/produ...erfailures.asp