Cat Trouble and New introduction (1 Viewer)

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Flank

American by Birth, Texan by the grace of God.
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Threads
132
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2,279
Location
Flower Mound, TX
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Hey group, newbie here. Just got (after years of yearning) into my first cruiser - a one owner 95 fzj in amazing condition. :p Truck has 180K on it and is AMAZINGLY solid. I have no idea of the maintenance records (bought from a boutique dealership who had just had 3 rows of new leather put in). Verfied one owner status on Carfax. I love it, my wife does not understand why I sit on the front porch and stare, but she cannot see my heart leap when I get told to go to the store for baby food...

I digress - got engine trouble light, took it to Toyota dealership in Dallas, they told me that my catalytic converters were both shot. They could fix to the tune of $2700. :frown: When I told my wife that, I almost got - well... fixed. Is this reasonable? I looked online extensively, found OE Toyota cats to be about $7-800, but aftermarket with the bolt on flanges at under $300 and not for Cali, which is okey dokey with me.

Advice appreciated, and if need be CDan, what can I get Cats and all gaskets needed for? probably time for O2 sensors as well.

I have coveted cruisers ever since my dad had the nicest 60 series in Vegas in the 90s, unfortunately traded it, but for an 96' 80, and since I tried in vain to buy a 40 in college. Let the addiction and $$$ drain begin.:cheers:
 
Welcome! :flipoff2:

I always use these for cat trouble...

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Seriously though, what are the smog laws like in Texas?

As long as you don't plan on registering it here, perhaps you could find a way "around" the problem?

No?
 
I just took home a 96 LC with the same light,got home reset it and it has not come on since.Might give it a shot before you spend a bunch.
 
I digress - got engine trouble light, took it to Toyota dealership in Dallas, they told me that my catalytic converters were both shot. They could fix to the tune of $2700.

Owning a 12yo vehicle with 180k miles that originally cost over $50k will create heartburn if you cannot do any maintenance yourself. Hopefully, this trip to the dealer was an outlier.

My recommendation would have been for you to:
* Take it to an AutoZone and have them pull the OBD-II code. Get the actual code (not "it says your EGR is bad..." like some places will do.) Post the code here and we will point you in the right direction.

* Find a local Land Cruiser club and get involved. Surely someone will help you.

* Post up a message in the 80-Section and ask if there is anyone in the DFW area that could pull the code for you. I am certain you would get a positive response.

There are alternatives to Toyota OEM cats if that is what you need. I have not had to deal with this issue so I can't give specifics. Do a search and if you come up empty, let me know and I will try to help with search terms.

-B-
 
Welcome

Heres what I would do . Reset the light and see if it comes back .
If it comes back then check for leaks between the joints of the two and the front header pipe and rear pipe off the 2nd cat . If no leaks then move onto replacing both of the O2 sensors. When the O2s get old they tend to throw the cat codes as they are no longer working like they should plus if you still need to replace the cats you can reuse the new o2s .

BTW this is what I did when I got my truck and the CEL came on 2 weeks after . its been fine for over 45k miles since then
good luck with it
 
Hey, try to reset the light first. if that doesn't work, go with the aftermarket cat. I bought the aftermarket y pipe and cats from from Wichita, Kansas. I can't remember which web site already. I think I paid close to $400 for both. You do not have to get factory cat. It has been working fine since.
 
welcome to the wonderful world of 80 fix-it.

nice and cheap.
 
Lord, I love this group. Thanks for all the advice. I forgot to mention that I did clear the trouble light, and it remained off. I am, however, fairly environmentally minded as a guy who drives a truck that gets 13.5mph can be, and don't want to be spewing too much extra S**t into the air if I can help it. Will expired Cats affect the performance of the vehicle? will they affect my mileage? or are they purely to clean the exhaust?
 
My recommendation would have been for you to:
* Take it to an AutoZone and have them pull the OBD-II code. Get the actual code (not "it says your EGR is bad..." like some places will do.) Post the code here and we will point you in the right direction.

-B-

Excellent suggestion, I did not realize they would do this for you. Has anybody invested in their own code reader? Is it worth it?

I took it in to the dealer to get a baseline assessment of a new vehicle. Had them do a basic check on it to make sure no glaring problems were present. I am used to wrenching a bit on my cars and love owning an older one again that I can do it again on.:wrench:

Will order some o2 sensors and get them in.
 
Will expired Cats affect the performance of the vehicle? will they affect my mileage? or are they purely to clean the exhaust?

Affects emissions only, *unless* they're clogged.

But really: Go through everything else first. It's just highly unlikely that the cat's themselves are the problem.

Curtis
 
I'm new to this site too, and have found a wealth of info here. Thanks for all the questions and answers from all the users.

As for the code reader, I picked one up from Harbor Freight for $30. Waaay worth it. They go on sale for 1/2 price periodically.

I've had the same problem, throwing the P0420 code. I turned off the CEL and it came back on in about 1200 miles. Turned it off again to get it through the state inspection and it stayed off for about 3000 miles before it came on again. Now I have what sounds to me like an exhaust leak. Local dealer said it's the cats, likely all 3, and the leak sound is the failing gaskets due to bad cats. Does that sound reasonable?

After reading the posts on here, I'll be changing the O2 sensors and guess I'll put in new gaskets. But one more question, which gaskets? I'd rather not do the exhaust manifold as I fear it's more than I can handle.

And one more question, how can I tell where an exhaust leak is? It sounds funny only under load. Revving the engine w/o load sounds normal. So kinda hard to pinpoint the sound ... unless I sit in the engine compartment while my wife drives some local hills....
 
IF the issue is really a ruined cat(s), don't get them from Toyota. Other parts like seals, bearings, pumps, belts, etc... yes. But cats, no way--go aftermarket.
 
Local dealer said it's the cats, likely all 3, and the leak sound is the failing gaskets due to bad cats. Does that sound reasonable?

LOL there are only TWO cats in your truck. You have the efficiency error as I posted earlier and can hear an exhaust leak :hmm: maybe you have a gasket problem.

Since you pulled the code I'm going with you have a 95~97 truck. There are two common places for an exhaust leak that will cause this code. The first and by far the most common is at the "Y" in the front "Y" pipe. They tend to crack right in the center and need nothing more than to be welded. The other problem is between the two cats and that only takes a new gasket.

You of course also have two gaskets at the manifolds themselves. Just fix the leak and reset the code and you should be fine.
 
Welcome to IH8UD. I also would go the course of a couple of other guys who have posted. The cats are usually not the problem unless they have been abused(by leaded fuel or bad additives, or bumps). The O2 sensors are usually the culprits, or leaks at the Y pipe. If you do end up replaceing the cats, go with a high quality product, not a cheap cat. They can and will only cause you head aches in the most unlikely places.
As for different code readers, do a search and you will find some good info on this subject.
later and good luck Robbie
 
I had a catalytic efficiency error and it was from a gasket leak. I wouldn't trust a Toyota dealer for anything. There is a story behind that mistrust but I won't bore you with it.

Had this pop up also on my '96 @ 110k. Turned it off, and it's stayed off. Truck now has 114k on it.
 
LOL there are only TWO cats in your truck.


That's what everyone says on here, but I see one on the Y-pipe, and two inline below that. Are those two below really one?

And my welding is pitiful, so bad I've made a personal rule not to do it. Would something like JB Weld or one of those other off-the-shelf chemical welds work if I find a crack?
 
there are two inline cats under the truck just down from the Y. If it is cracked at the Y like mine was, you can eiter replace them for cheap with aftermarket or weld it for 20 bucks at a muffler shop.
 

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