New Catalytic Converter

Gov't cost cutting measures at work. Just ask Vanna; them vowels is
'spensive!

Yea, I get it.

That I can do. I rescued some high temp thermocouples and a meter from
the dumpster. Will wire up two sensors, one on each end of cat. I
suspect I'll see some temp rise. Even if aging, the cat probably isn't
DOA. Does anyone know what sort of HC levels a cat-free system would
emit? (I know, 'Google.com!')

Got EGR. Ports and valve are clear and working. (Chased all 'round a
CEL a year or two back. Found the valve wasn't rising fast enough. A
small drill to the air metering orifice fixed it up.)

Haven't ever checked timing. You've got me curious, I'll borrow an
Autozone light and have a look.

Corporate Bastards recently sent my job to Singapore. No spendin'
allowed!

Therm was changed about 2 years back. (Changed the fan temp switch and
figured I'd do everything while I was there.)

How well does the engine coolant temperature sensor hold up?

Plugs look textbook.
Going by this chart,
http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/spark_plugs_catalog.html
The ground electrode color is #15, but w/o the lumpy texture.
Insulator deposits are a _very_ light tan, close to 13, but far less thick.

Haven't checked wires' they are looking a little old. Will do dark and
scary test.

Haven't looked at it up close. As an official cheap bastard fuel
efficiency nut, the O2 is one of those things I've been itching to
replace or at least check. I understand that as they age, they tend
over report free o2, resulting in a progressively richer mix. Given the
plugs' appearance, I'm thinking the mix is pretty close to optimal. (?)

Thanks

-Moo

 

hard to get good thermal contact. best to use an infrared reader.

in my experience, they have been known to drift. my 89 wouldn't warm up,
or at least, the computer thought it wasn't warming up because the sensor
was reading colder than actual, thus the lock-up clutch on the auto
transmission wasn't being switched on. new sensor cured that problem.

fuel economy has improved also because now the engine is not running in
cold enrichment mode for as long.

plugs are so cheap, replace anyway. don't attempt to clean as this can
leave metal deposits on the insulator that make the spark weaker, not
stronger.

just replace anyway. simply not worth trying to diagnose something you
may or may not be able to detect. only use oem leads or expensive coiled
core silicone like ngk.