1996 Elantra No Power

it takes off real slow, and will only get up to maybe 50. awhile back one of the cats (it has two) was clogged, so i gutted it and it ran better for awhile, but now it just has no power. does the plug with the wire comming out of it between the two cats have anything to do with it? i changed the filter and plugs, but to no avail. any suggestions??? i get honked at all the time for going to slow.as it takes awhile to get it up to 45or 50 top speed. HELP!

 

You say it ran "better". You used the word "better". That word sounds suspect. People have a tendency to already have an expectation in their mind when they do something and are expectant on a certain result and often they percieve the result even though there is not much change. Often in these forums I have noticed the same thing where someone will say they tried soemthing and it 'seemed to help', or 'seemed to work better for a while', and it makes me wonder if it really even worked at all, being that it did not keep working. Did you really put the vehicle through a good test after you thought you fixed it? Like did you try to put the vehicle under load conditions like driving it up a hill?

I'm sorry I do not know what the wire does and maybe someone else here can help you. All I coud even guess at is an emmissions sensor of some sort.

 

That wire and plug you talk about is probably a O2 sensor.

Do you have a check engine light?

Can you get the computer read by Autozone, it's free. They will tell you if any trouble codes are stored.

Have you changed the fuel filter/pump? Get a fuel pressure reading.

Get some MAF (Mass Air Flow) cleaner and clean the MAF sensor that is located on your intake tube. (usually aft of the air filter)

 

depending on why the cat was plugged could be very telling.

Often what happens is the engine runs too rich and the cat melts down and either actually closes off the exhaust or the substrate breaks up and moves and blocks the exhaust.

If there was some other reason for blockage, I would suggest you had adulterated fuel, whether it be intentional or accidental and whatever the additive was clogged the convertor.

In any case, the secondary convertor may be blocked as well.

You need to have all the emmissions systems in place as required by law. It can be a big fine for intentionally removing them.

It is not advised to replace the convertors (which means you should not be driving the car) until the problem is repaired.

Chances are the blockage and then lack of convertor will through some codes but they may be misleading since they could be in response to the converter situation rather than the ultimate problem.

take heed of HotinOKC's post. those would be a good start to finding the problem.

 

cat failures are usually caused by something failing up the line ie plugs/wires/burning oil.........something going through the exhaust that shouldn't be.........HOWEVR!!!!
I just got done dealing (more like DUELING) with a Galant that kept jumping time .........ran poorly and had no power...........how many miles are on this little jewel?????

 

ck engine light is not staying on, i changed the filter and pump,thanks to your advice it went well and i found them easily,(i'm the guy thats car stupid) it has around 85k miles on it. the front cat was all broke up inside and it wouldn't go over 10mph, i punched a hole in it and it did a lot better then i took it off and took the insides out and welded the hole it ran nice for awhile, but now it won't go pass 50 and has no tahe off power at all floor it and it creeps up as you go, but slowly, till about 50 then stays that way no matter how much gas i give it.wasw just wondering if that second cat is starting to clog up, dosn't seem like full flow is comming out the tail pipe. any suggestings would help. thanks again mark. hat!!

 

please read previous posts, including mine where I suggest the second cat may be blocked.


Now, you can cause some problems with no cats. There is such a thing as not enough back pressure in an exhaust. Yes racing engines want free flow to the max. Cars with emmissions systems are a bit different.

Too little backpressure can cause raw fuel to leave the cylinders which can melt catalytic converters, burn O2 sensors, burn exhaust valves and seats, cause readings the ECM cannot comprehend and adjust for and on and on.

This, more than likely started with an engine fuel problem. What caused that is beyond dx'ing here with what you have given.

gutting the converters is not only illegal, it does not cure your problem. it merely removes the immediate problem the actual problem caused.

You need somebody to run an anylyzer onthe thing to see what the engine is experiencing. I don't believe Autozone uses a reader that is capable of this. If they do, not sure if they even know how to use it. Even then, youstill need to know what the readings should be and what could be causing the bad reading.

You can do one of a couple things.

Take $1000. drive (slowly apparently) to the closest river and throw it in.

take whatever money it takes and replace parts, hit and miss, as to them being bad (usually about as successful as throwing the money in the river)

take it to a competant mechanic that can take the appropriate readings and tell you what is the likely problem.

where you go from there is up to you.