Daughters 95 Grand Am

I have a daughter who just turned 17. I bought this GA and put a 2.3 quad4 motor in it that seems to run ok. The problem it has is that the exhaust gets cherry red down by the cat. Can anybody give me some suggestions as to why? I notice that the car has no power also. I thought it might have a vacuum leak but I can't find one.
Also, since the cat got that hot, could it have gone bad?

 

The cats probably stoped up.

 

agree...

...Frank...

 

Because it got hot or?

 

No,just age/miles.It's getting hot because the exhaust can't get out quick enough,building too much back pressure.

 

Put a new cat on it (not an orange tabby).Make sure it does not have a head gasket leak between the #2 and #3 cyls either.If you run with the bad cat for too long you will cook the head gasket due to the extreme heat from the plugged up cat.While you have the cat off,pull the exhaust manifold and change the water pump while you are in there.Its a monster to do otherwise.

 

i think because of your statement...
"I notice that the car has no power "

......

 

X2


you probably have a clogged catalityc converter or something

 

Ok guys, i'll probobly get this one. I just wonder if there is something wrong that will damage the new one. I have a few days to keep looking into it so...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...m=140228203070&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=004

 

When that happened to my truck, I drilled several 1/2" holes in the converter and it ran good again.
I had to because a new cat was way out of my monetary limits.

 

Thats what I plan on doing first so that I can see if I can tell if I need to just trade it in...

 

Common causes for converter failure are as followes(in no particular order)
1.Excessive fuel in exhaust.
2.Engine oil in exhaust(oil burner)
3.Coolant finding its way into exhaust(leaky head gasket is common cause)
4.Bad O2 sensor.
These all require the car to be driven for a while with a pre-existing problem that eventually causes converter failure.There are other things that will cause failure too but these are the most common ones.I would trade it in Quad 4s' are evil.Good luck Gene!!

 

This is what I was looking for... thanks.
A little history if you care;
Got the car for $200 about 4 years ago needing a motor. The car ran and drove perfect except for a slight noise that I had diagnosed as coming from the lower end while working a Pep Boys. Another tech was assigned the ticket after I referred it to a engine shop, he claimed it to be coming from the top end. Customer agreed to let them (I left the co around this time) tear into it for visual.
I ended up buying it with all the parts from the top end in buckets in the trunk as they couldn't locate the source of the noise and wanted $$ to put it back together.
I bought a low miles complete motor, claimed to be tested in good condition, on ebay from a engine/parts dealer with excellant feedback. Engine sat in garage for about 10 months next to car waiting.
Installed, wouldn't start, changed the plugs and added a couple of gallons of "fresh" fuel. Starts, heater core seeping as moisture builds up on windshield, cat gets cherry red, no power.

 

The last engine probably had several problems that killed the converter.chains get noisey in them as well as bottom end if you neglect the oil,or a bad head gasket pumping coolant into the crank case(wipe the bearings in short order)I cant tell you how many gm 3.1 and 3.4 liter V-6s' I have replaced due to leaking intake gaskets pumping coolant into em.Man what a lousey designe!!!heater core is super simple on those grand ams.2 hrs tops if you never done one before.Good luck Gene,glad I could give you some info you needed.Pete.

 

I managed a Midas shop in the late 80's. Replaced many cats doing this same thing. Check with your local muffler shop and see if they can put a universal cat in place of it. I guess they still make em. At least it should be cheaper than the original.