Expert: William Forster - 10/31/2007

Question
Hi William....My name is Tracie and i recently purchased a 1988 Chevy Blazer 4X4 from my aunt...I live in Baja California and i needed something a little more rugged...Its only had 1 owner and has a brand new engine...She drove it to California from Arizona and it ran great...I in turn drove it from L.A. to Baja and had no problems...I have since had to get it smogged and of course it passed and now all of the sudden it is running like (&(*%^)!  One of the Mexican Mechanics believes it is the Cadillitic Converter (spell?)...I had the same problem with my Dodge once and it is running the same way, no power, cutting out, sluggish...etc...So the mechanic says here in Baja they have to emission control and that i can just take the coverter off...My question to you is...is that so...can the car run just fine without the converter...?  I remember someone saying that "back in the day" they used to remove something because it used to inhibit the performance of the vehicle...I just dont want to pay this man to take it off if the truck cannot run without it?  What is your thought?

Thank you,

Answer
It will run without it, but the exhaust will be substantially louder. I suggest having him first loosen up the converter from the rest of the exhaust and then driving it to be sure that is the problem. I suggest having it replaced with a universal aftermarket, should it turn out to be the problem. Sometimes you can clean them out by slightly pounding the opposite end of the outlet on the converter on the ground, and see if a bunch of black soot comes out. If you hold the converter up to the light, and look through it, you should be able so see through the "honeycomb" inside of it. If the honeycomb is excessively loose inside of it, it's absolutely junk. Inexpensive universal converters are available for a fairly reasonable price at places like Auto Zone. Bill