cat was glowing
 

so if it was glowing does this mean it is bad the night it happened i could barley get over 6k rpm but now it seems just fine ???

That will need to be replaced ASAP. Its clogged.

Yep, time for a replacement. I believe the warranty on it is 80,000 miles, not sure on how many years though.

Or you can upgrade to a catless midpipe.

The warranty on the catalytic converter is 8 yrs/80,000 miles. Like they said, it's clogged.

ya well im at 83000 i asked them to check it at 79000 and they said it was fine fml

If you have the proof you had them check it at 79000 you can most likely still get it covered under warranty. You can claim that you just had it in and 4000 miles isnt going make that big of a difference. If they deny you just contact mazda.


And when they "check" it they really don't do anything. I asked to have mine check and asked what they did. The service guy said it ran fine and didn't make any weird noises so they considered it fine. How hard could it be to take a few bolts off and look at the thing....

Get it out ASAP and gut it until you can get a replacement. Running like that will ruin your motor.

Agree, your creating a lot of back pressure that will be hard on the side seals.

they didnt give me anything saying they checked it and if i do that wont it keep them from replacing it????

It may or may not be clogged. You cannot be 100% sure until a visual inspection is performed.

^^ lol

You need to gut it asap...You're just building backpressure on your engine with a clogged cat.

How do you explain that it is suddenly OK? It could have been a fuel system issue or other number of potential issues. Would you want your doctor to guess what your health issue is based on your internet post?

i gutted it runs amazing the second half of the cat was severly clogged and coils were replaced like 2k ago with plugs and all that fun stuff

one ? i get a decent amount of smoke at 7k now any reason for that i mean i expected some but not enough to see it in my mirrors

What color is it?
and.....after you stop what does it smell like? Sweet? Oily?

Actually, since you just gutted your CAT, it's possible you are blowing out old carbon which would be a good thing! :)

TEAM...........I've go this puss filled thing on my back and it feels like something is crawling around inside, you think it could be a Bot Fly? :rollingla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23eim...yer_detailpage

Team is right in one sense, and that is diagnosis over the Internet is extremely difficult and I try to help more than I probably should. I just hate seeing people get raped at the dealer or mechanic if it's at all avoidable.

its a nice white oil smoke and very good smell to me haha my mom begs to differ on the smell though but i got my cel today and went to make sure it was just for the cat and i got 4 codes 3 on the cat and 1 for missfire in chamber 2 but i have brand new coils plugs and wires

How did you removed the bolts for the cat? mine are stuck and i actually snapped the bottom bolt, Was using plenty of penetrant and tightening and loosen in intervals with a breaker bar to prevent the snap but it happened... Any suggestions? planning on just buying a midpipe this week. How can i remove them easily

The bolts themselves are splined to prevent them from rotating. Have to get the nut off first, then take a hammer to the end of the bolt and hammer it out.

Typically a serious PITA. I bought a 2nd set of my own hardware, had a local shop put it on a lift torch and sledge them off, put my own hardware in. Drove back home, put it on jacks and removed my hardware easily and dropped the pipe.

So i should just attempt to snap the other 2 and then hammer the bolts out and replace with new bolts?

CRH, Will i require a torch to pound them out or will they simply come right out with a decent sledge hammer. Just wanna make sure i dont need a torch before i cause a huge exhaust leak they may not get fixed immediatly lol

Depends on how heavily rusted they are. In FL, you shouldn't need it. After 56,000 miles and 2 New England winters, the nuts were basically rusted to the flange, and the nuts had to be torched off, then the bolts hammered out.

Soak them down with some PB blaster for as long as you can ahead of time and start cranking on them.

Most likely just going to snap the bolts tomorrow and then hammer them out of the flange and replace with new hardware. That seems the best to keep the bolts fresh to prevent again. Did this on my integra and it proved to work better in the end

Ok, i ended up calling my Exhaust guy who did all my previous exhausts. He told me the Catalytic Converter is under warranty with Mazda because of the 80k warranty. I spoke with a mazda rep at the local Stealership and he stated my car is under warranty (VIN confirmation) and stated to bring the car in today. I will be going to the "stealer" after work today around 4 and will keep you guys updated with the results.. Lets hope this doesnt turn into a you need new this and that. Just give me my cat and Let me GTFO! Hop to be seeing
9k again safely! Thanks for the help and if any probs.. CRH i will send u a vid of me pounding on them babies!

i used this freeze stuff from auto zone broke the first off cause i didnt use the stuff then used it on the next to they came right off no problem but is there any reason i would be gettin p0302 missfire in chamber 2 now that i gutted my cat

if you are going to go with a midpipe, B&B's are pretty good that is what I use. mine is not resonated. sounds good you tube it