onecrazyfoo4u

So my 01 Tib is bogging like crazy lately...seems gutless. Theres this hill I drive over to work every day...and I can normally hold 65mph with only 1/2 pedal of throttle. Today I was hitting full throttle and still lost speed! Its really lacking power of a sudden. This is without A/C running too.



No check engine light or codes. Sounds and runs and idles perfectly normal. Temperatures are all normal (checked with torque app). Clutch isnt slipping since the rpms gain steadely. Where should I start looking? I'm afraid I'll be stranded somewhere!

SR Tech

How do the plugs and air filter look?



If you downshift while going up that hill does the power come back or does it still bog?

Brandon

^ Agree. When was the last time you checked the air filter and spark plugs? The plugs may need to be regapped. Or maybe a fuel injector is clogged?

onecrazyfoo4u

So I pulled everything apart tonight. Spark plugs were great...nice and white with still a perfect .044" gap. They are only a year old NGK platinum plugs. Plug wires seemed fine, but I don't know how you officially check those. Sensors seemed all clean. Air filter was clean and fairly new. I pulled the hole intake off to make sure there were no obstructions. Throttle body wasn't too dirty at all and the plate swung open and wasn't sticky. I took off the pcv valve and sprayed it out with carb cleaner...no clue how to check it officially though. Fluids were all great.



Only problem I could find was the little hose going into the intake was completely broken off. I replaced that hose. And the stock header has a couple cracks that leak out exhaust. Don't think that would affect performance though.



Not sure where to check next. It doesn't feel to be miss firing or skipping at all. Wouldn't that be happening if it was a spark plug or fuel delivery issue? Maybe the catylitic converter is breaking apart and obstructing the exhaust flow? I ask because a rattle started about the same time and appears to be coming from the exhaust area when I let off the throttle.

pandaturbo2

Could quite likely be a blocked cat. Unbolt it and try that to confirm.

SR Tech

That was my next guess^^



Unless one of your calipers is dragging really bad

onecrazyfoo4u

Well this morning did not go good. Everything was fine foe the first ten minutes. Then I was down to about 30mph max getting run off the road. Doesn't matter if I downshift and full throttle or not...just no power at all.



I'll rip apart the exhaust tonight and see if there's crap blocking it. What else could I be checking? Would a bad throttle sensor, Maf, or pcv cause this?

onecrazyfoo4u

Here's some pics of the cat. The back end is good...but the front end looks pretty bad. Looks like about an inch of its depth is missing. And this is what's rattling so bad. Its broken on the inside and the whole thing is rattling. Do you think this is the problem? Is there a way to flow test it?

SR Tech

It would appear you found the problem. That 3rd picture looks like its clogged.



Is that the upstream or downstream cat? I'm pretty sure the upstreams are part of the exhaust manifold, but I'm not positive and can't really tell from the pictures. That one looks like the downstream looking at the bolt pattern on the flanges, but once again I could be wrong



If its the downstream I would go at the inside with a hammer and screwdriver and gut it as its not monitored. I'm sure some people will be against that but you still have the upstream that does more than enough for the emissions coming out. And it saves you $100-$500 to replace it.



And if it's the upstream and there's cracks in your manifold you can bring it to the dealer and get it replaced for free under a recall they put out for the beta1's.



^^ I would do that anyway, if the downstream is clogged, the upstream cant be any better! And it will quiet the exhaust down

onecrazyfoo4u

It was the downstream cat, not the one on the manifold. I can't really look into the manifold cat because of the bends in the pipe. It does have a couple of cracks. I've heard about the recall...I just couldn't imagine they would replace my 13 year old 140k mile manifold!



For now I did gut out the downstream cat. Just so I can drive around normally again. But I have CA smog due in 2 months, so I'll have to get it replaced anyways. Wouldn't I fail smog with just the manifold cat working? It sucks cause the damn part is $200.



Took it for a spin and all the power is back thank goodness. But my idle is all jacked. Its idling at close to 3000 rpm until I blip the throttle a couple times ...then it comes back down to 1000 or so. This is something new. Is it a symptom of gutting the cat out?