Exhaust

Man I should just join an forum for repairs on a POS car. So I have a 92 Chrysler Landau/Fifth Ave/New Yorker and it failed emissions and took it to a shop quick and they said bad catalytic...great so got that fixed and ever since then my temp is out of control. I run it for less than 15 minutes to get to work and it is fluctuating between 1/2 and 3/4 on the temp guage and I can smell a "burning" smell...took it back to the shop and the guy said well it is still in the normal range so you're ok and the smell is probably the plastic manufacture sticker burning off. I also noticed my exhaust is just a bit louder, not real loud but I noticed it. After sitting for 3 hrs the temp gauge is still at 1/4. I dunno, I don't think it is right and I just don't want to get stranded somewhere overheated. Do you think it could be faulty cat? I am thinking of testing it by disconnecting the O2 sensor and seeing if that does anything...any suggestions?

 

Why would disconnecting the O2 sensor test for a faulty catalytic converter? That makes no sense to me.

Anyway, the car will probably run worse with the O2 sensor disconnected.

With a 15 year old car having cooling issues, I'd be looking at the cooling system. Like maybe it needs an internal cleaning, or water pump vanes are worn off, or a sticking thermostat.

Do I think it could be a faulty catylitic converter. That's not likely; it's brand new.

 

The cat could smell for a few weeks after install
It also could easily be louder, depending on the maker and design

Both especially with aftermarket (not factory) products

 

My temp gauge ran in that range also after mechanic put a head gasket in, and he said almost word for word what your mechanic said, about how that is still in the operating range.

I was always used to cars that no matter what the conditions was - stop lights - highways -hot out - the car would stay steady at about that 1/4 mark or evenless! I never bought into that "it's in the operating range" business.

I ended up finding out, with my car, that the radiator was plugged. You can tell when it is because the fan(s) only blow cool air, rather than the to-be-expected warm to hot air, uniformally around the fan blade. Mine was not uniform. It had cool areas and warm areas. Mostly cool. It turned out in my case it was indeed the radiator.

After the new radiator, the car runs at under 1/4 down the highway, but if I am in town a lot it will climb, to about 1/2 - sometimes to 3/4, and the electric fan is not on, and that is disgusting. Then it drops back down and I'm not sure if it is because I am moving once again, or if the fan kicked on, or if an air pocket by the sending unit disappeared and coolant once again is covering the sending unit.

It is possible I suppose that with some people that may have a car that always runs steady in that higher operating range, that something is out of calibration with the computer sending unit or even possible that something is wrong in the engine, like a slight head gasket leak, where air is getting in the cooling system and causing the sending unit to not be totally encapsulated in coolant and has some air bubble that is not allowing the sending unit to read properly, so then if the computer is receiving erroneus information, the fan will not come on.

You need to quickly pull over and see if your fan is running when yours is in that upper range. And as stated, do not hastily condemn the sending unit, or even the fan itself, for that matter for reasons as stated in the above paragraph.

I have thought about wiring the fan direct with a toggle switch or a remote control switch if I can find one. That way, if I ever see the temp climb past that 1/4 line I will hit the button. And if that did not cool the engine, then I'd know I have an air-in-the-coolant problem because I know it's not the radiator as I have a brand new one now, nor the thermostat because mine is out right now.

Are you mysteriously losing engine coolant and have to add some from time to time?

As far as the burning smell goes, it could very well be your engine. If you have oil on the engine, or it leaked from valve cover(s) down into where the spark plug goes, that is a hot area and it will cook and give off burning fumes. Pull over and open the hood when at 3/4 on the temp gauge and see if that is where your smell is coming from (and also if fan(s) are running.) Also check to see where the coolant level is at that time in the overflow reservoir and compare that height to where the height is after the engine has been off and has cooled down. (That can be revealing also. If coolant does not always rise in the overflow when engine is warm, nor goes back into the engine after it cools, that can also be a tip off of a possible head gasket problem.)