So my dad is dying to punch out the cats on his 08 2.3L, because he's convinced it will increase the gas mileage. I've already told him it wouldn't help, but he's going to do it anyway. After he punches them out will the truck show error codes or go into backup mode?

 

It won't help and he will get a Check Engine Light with diagnostic trouble code P0420.

 

A big no no. I had my cats stolen off of my truck, and decided to run straights. I noticed a drastic decrease in fuel efficiency. When our trucks were engineered they were designed around standards such as reliability, economics, and laws provided by our federal government.

Doing so is not only illegal, but it may, reik havoc, and or void the warranty.

I have to keep books on all expenditures, including vehicle maintaince, up keep, and fuel costs.

I have alwasy been a stickler for good fuel econ.

Here is what happened when i tried to run without cats:

I went from 24/Hwy 21/Mixed to about 19/Hwy 16/Mixed

I was repeatedly getting those annoyng CEL lights.

The bad thing about the CEL lights coming on and off is this:

If it is randomly coming on and off, you may second guess it when it comes on again, when it could be coming on for another reason.

I would recommend not doing this.

Just my 2 cents.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised if low-end torque fell off a little. I gutted the cat in my '89 Ranger w/2.9 V6 and I immediately noticed less torque down low.

 

Just no.

 

yeah no dont do it. Cause if he does do it it will not only cause all the problems stated above but then if he does do it and doesnt like the outcome, which he wont, it is expensive to get back to stock.

 

Show him this thread

 

^^^ x2

 

tell your dad to replace the stock ford IRIDIUM spark plugs.
with the new CHAMPION COPPER PLUS spark plugs
i am running those now and my mileage went up to 650 km`s + per tank
i am about to replace the stock ignition coil with an accel ignition coil ( bolts right up )
increases spark voltage from 24,000 volts to 27,800 volts

 

Are you a computer? Diesel thread then this one...lol.

BTW....Stock Motorcraft/Ford plugs are NOT iridium, they are double platinum or single platinum. These engines only run good on Motorcraft or Autolite plugs. You're bumps in anything is simply due to having new plugs instead of huge gapped deposit covered plugs.

 

Could not agree more!

 

actually i replace my spark plugs every six months
in the spring and in the fall before the snow fly`s

 

the 2006 to 2010 rangers with the 4 cylinder engines are in-fact mazda engines
and the factory spark plugs i pulled out of it were in-fact labelled IRIDIUM

 

sounds like a total waste of a money to change plugs every 6 months. espicially if they really are Iridium's.

 

He's just asking for trouble in a big,big way. About the only thing he can really do is replace them with high flowing cats from magnaflow. Once he does what he's about to do, kiss the warranty goodbye. The repairs that will be needed over time can be catastrophic to say the least. A new engine will run around $4,300 plus and that doesn't include labor either. I suggest you inform him he'd better wait until the warranty runs out first before he does anything period including airfilters and engine oil. I'm speaking from expierience on this one. I'm on my fourth 3.0 V6 this year so yes I do know unfortunately. And to answer your question, what backup mode? it will throw codes left and right and shut down on the spot. I just hope you aint on interstate when it does. Those oxygen sensors will go bad very quickly and one of the codes will say engine catalyst.

 

That's a new one on me. Backup mode? I've never heard of a backup mode on any new vehicle ever. But with computer technology today it wouldn't surprise me if they came out with something like that in the near future though.

 

I'm thinking he might have them gapped wrong and yes you're right. Ford never has used a iridium spark plugs. Either single or double platinum plugs. and if he would look on the radiator support he would find the decal that ford puts on all of their vehicles what engine(s), fuel catalyst, spark plug gaps, water mixture (50/50) and etc. he would find the exact specs found in the service manual provided to the Ford technicians from the factory. They go on the cheap because if they did use topshelf performance parts on the production line the price of the ranger would triple. That's why they have seperate depts that offer upgrades and what have you. About the only thing he can get would be Garmin GPS system, Nerf bars, Sirrius/XM satelite radio,maybe a different suspension system, possibly a tow hitch (depending which model). The 2010 Ranger and the 2009 Ranger are basicly the same truck IMO. I've got the 2009 sales brochure here and I have seen the 2010 Ford Ranger out at my local dealer.

 

Limp mode is what is being referred to here.

The computer retards timing, limits rpm, and limits fuel mixtures. This technology has been around since the 70s.

 

A p0420 will not shut down any vehicle.

 

No, but it can play with the fuel mixtures to try and get the cats to heat up and work... which will cause the decrease in power an fuel economy.

 

P0420 means that the amplitude of the oscillation at the rear sensor is too close to that of the front sensor. Long term fuel trims are only modified by the front sensor before the converter (dosent' have anything to do with catalyst efficiency) STFT's and LTFT's are not adjusted based on 2O2 feedback.

 

i change the plugs before the snow fly`s to ensure sure fire starts every time
during our cold winter season
i cannot afford to let my plugs foul and suffer a no-start issue then miss work on top of that
when spark plugs are 5 dollars a package of 2 ( it is a wise investment )
ever tried to change plugs in minus 30 degrees with blowing snow
and in the dark to boot ( not a pretty picture )

 

Oh ok. I thought he was talking about a full blown back up mode like on a home computer system, not limp mode. Limp mode sucks to me. That means goodbye to what's in my bank qccount at that point.

 

Doesn't that mean alot of costly repairs at that point? I'm pretty sure that the Oxygen sensors will indeed have to be replaced if he did do something like that.

 

Why would he want to do that on a 2008 Ranger anyway? It's practically new. Correct me if I'm wrong, but once you do that doesn't it void the powertrain warranty unless done by an authorized ford tech? I'm pretty sure it does. I'd leave it alone until the warranty expires myself. The reason is given by asking this question: "what if I have a bad engine or a major problem with the engine?" I understand wanting better fuel economy but hollowing out the cats is the wrong way to go about doing it IMO.