I'm having a ton of trouble passing emissions with my 1988 305 tbi camaro...so I've tuned everything up and fixed just about everything there is to fix. On saturday I went and bought a brand new universal cat for my car. . .and my friend welded it on backwards. I went to take emissions again, and I didn't know it was on the wrong way. I failed even worse, and what I want to know, is the cat ruined from driving about 2 days? I hope if I take it off and switch it around that it'll be ok cause I don't really wanna spend 80 bucks on a new one. Thanks.

 

im not 100% positive on this, but im pretty sure that it wont be hurt by being put in backwards. how do you weld it in backwards.... most universal cats have a huge arrow on them showing the direction of flow, and the air tube should face the front of the vehicle.

 

It would help to know what you are failing on the emission tests also.

 

First of all, it gets welded in backwards when your friend welding it keeps dropping it on himself, then his girlfriend comes over. I am failing emissions on hydrocarbons.

 

Hydrocarbons (HC) (PPM): Hydrocarbons are the component of fuels that produce energy. HC emissions from a vehicle are basically unburned fuel. High levels of HC emissions indicate incomplete fuel combustion, either the result of a misfire or of low engine compression. Unhealthy levels of HC emissions result in a vehicle failing its Smog Check. Hydrocarbons are measured in parts per million (PPM).

check your timing, plugs, wires, coil, entire ignition system, the fuel isnt getting burnt some where, and unburnt fuel will kill a cat really fast.

 

I know all that, I've replaced everything that I can basically. I wanted to know if driving it with the cat installed backwards could kill the cat. I'm fixing it asap then going back.

 

no it wont kill the cat by installing it backwards, its just a honeycomb type filter, either way the air flows its still gonna do its job, you would just be wasting your money taking it back to smog it with the cat installed the correct way, because it will give the same results, i recommend fixing what ever other problems you have before you take it back and drive around with the new cat on because it will just kill the cat with all that unburnt fuel.

 

try a compression test as well on it.

 

Well when the new cat was installed backwards, my hydrocarbons went from 1.79 to like 2.83, so something is not right with the cat. If I don't pass this time then I am just getting a waiver for this car and getting rid of it, because I'm sick of it.

 

I may be wrong but if you install it backwards doesn’t the air tube face the wrong way? Unless you don’t have the air tube connected at all, that might be your problem all together but we don’t have a sniffer here so I could be wrong.

 

did you even try to fix the problem..... if you have a new cat, installed backwards or not, and it still wont pass im about 99% sure that your problem is somewhere else other than the cat. the cat just helps lower the emission, you need to tune your car correctly, just putting a cat on wont fix the issue.

 

How bout this, if you can get the engine running clean enough, can you go and pass smog without a cat, or will you automaticaly fail if you dont have one installed?

 

There's no way I'm passing without a cat. The engine runs great, the only thing left for me to do is screw with the timing and I don't have a timing light. I've changed the cap and rotor, spark plugs, plug wires, checked the egr valve, new o2 sensor, put a new cat on it, and other things that I don't remember. At this point I just want to get a waiver so they don't suspend the plates, then just sell it at a low price. I want to get a new car, I'm just sick of this one. It's too slow anyways.

 

I ment that "in general" sorry.

 

timing lights are very cheap, i got my for $20, and having your timing out of spec will cause your emmision to go way up. i recommend either buying a timing light, or find someone to borrow it from, rather than just try to sell it at a low price.

 

I've already made my choice for this car. It's past the deadline for emissions and they already suspended my license for it. I'm not going to get much for this car anyway. Someone has hit the fender, the door, the floor pan on the driver side is pretty much gone, no headliner, etc...I'm going to try to sell it for 2 then be done with it.

 

im sorry to hear that you are selling it, but the choice is yours. just out of curiosity.... what state do you live in, i have never heard of anyone getting there license suspended for this type of situation, i have an 88 honda crx and it hasnt passed smog for 4 years, it just sits there, but there has been no punishment toward me.

 

I'm in illinois. Smog here sucks.