ok i just finished installing a new stainless steel catco cat on my 383 and it is the first cat that has been on this motor and after it ran for 5 min or so while i was adjusting the idle it smelled really bad and even the muffler was smoking a little. i looked around and the unprotected side of the cat which is facing the floorboard was glowing red is that normal??? i dont think my exhaust has ever been that hot

 

here are my emission numbers before the cat was put on

low HIGH LIMIT
hc 846 180 220
co% 3.07 0.61 1.2

could the cat be so hot due to being rich???

 

wouldnt running rich cause it to be cooler. Could it be that the cat is somewhat plugged not allowing any flow through it??. I don't know if this matters but did you install it the right way?

 

yes it is installed with the flow in the proper direction... i dont know how it would matter either but it is right i was just a little concerned since it is right unsed the floorboard... usually the cats i see are protected on both sides maybe that is why i never seen this before. this one is only protected on the one side which i faced towards the ground. should i turn it around???

i just thought maybe all the extra fuel is burning up in the cat causing it to get so hot....where as before it would just pass through making everything cooler.

 

too much unburned fuel wil cause that.....try leaning the carb out some a idle or bump the timing up some

 

Yes the shielded side should be on the top. That's to protect the passenger compartment.

 

ok i will have to turn it around.

 

Not trying to hijack your thread but I have the same glowing red problem that you are having and am about to go insane. My car has the dual cat setup and the driver side engine bank cat would glow bright red and the engine will not idle after just two miles. I first thought the cat was stopped up so I took it to Midas and had em replace it. Still the same thing, bright red and WILL NOT idle after two miles of driving. Could this be from a faulty ignition not giving a good enough spark for combustion? If so why only the driver side bank (1,3,5,&7)? My next step I think is going to be new plugs, wires, dizzy cap, rotor button, and ignition module. What next if this doesn't work?

 

well my problem was that i had too much unburned fuel which is what i was told and i knew i was rich at idle but wanted to be sure thats what it was before i drove it to the shop a few miles up the road. i was also told that if your car is running too lean or too rich you will have a problem with the cats glowing. maybe you have a dead cylinder on that side which is causing unburnt fuel to get in there. if you go through all the stuff you mentioned and it still doesnt work i would look into you air/fuel ratio. or if you have fuel injection a leaky injector or inectors??? i hope this helps you.

 

The rotten egg odour is caused by to much unburned fuel entering the cat. Since the cat's normal operating temp is around 600* it is burning the fuel which causes both the odour, and the glowing cat. You are going to melt that cat in a hurry if you do not correct the rich condition. Most universal cats DO NOT have a flow direction requirement BUT you should check the cat to make sure. If it has a directional requirement, it will be stamped on the shell.

 

i have a catco cat too and jeezus i hope this doesnt happen to me. hm mine says G2K on the inside is this the same one as yours that gives you these problems??

 

yes im pretty sure mine said the same thing but it is fine now that i had the carb tuned and now it my car has 300hp at the wheels and passes inspection too.