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[bob.dent]

EML came on again yesterday so dropped into my garage to have fault codes read. The diagnosis was that the cats are operating below proper efficiency.

I assume at some point I'll have to get them replaced but my mechanic said to try some Lucas fuel additive (upper cylinder lubricant)which might help as sometimes poor quality fuel can cause the problem.

Anyone had any experience of this stuff? I did use Cataclean a little while ago but not sure if it did any good.

Also, what sort of cost am I looking at to have the cats replaced? I know they are really expensive but not sure how much.

[Marie]

depends whether you want a GM one or not........how long do you intend to keep the car???
look at this tread it might help......

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1202932346

Trust me make sure your sat down when you get your quotes

and i would speak to ANDY C he sorted mine out for me and way cheeper then getting it myself from VX.

[tunnie]

could try some de-cats? and keep the current ones just for the MOT

[VXL V6]

Nothing wrong with your CAT's (and if there was you'd be looking at £711 each side).

You have Codes P0420 and P0430, reset the codes and run some cataclean through the system. The codes still come back but just a case of reseting them when they hit the threshold.

Ifyou do an emissions test i'm sure you'll find they are still working fine.

[bob.dent]

depends whether you want a GM one or not........how long do you intend to keep the car???
look at this tread it might help......

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1202932346

Trust me make sure your sat down when you get your quotes

and i would speak to ANDY C he sorted mine out for me and way cheeper then getting it myself from VX.

Thanks for that Marie. If I do have to replace them I'll get in touch with AndyC.

Guess I might have to see a mortgage advisor first though!!

[bob.dent]

Nothing wrong with your CAT's (and if there was you'd be looking at £711 each side).

You have Codes P0420 and P0430, reset the codes and run some cataclean through the system. The codes still come back but just a case of reseting them when they hit the threshold.

Ifyou do an emissions test i'm sure you'll find they are still working fine.

Forgive my ignorance but not sure what you mean about resetting the codes when they reach threshold. :-/ My mechanic presumably did reset the codes as the EML light is no longer on.

I did use Cataclean a little while ago.

[VXL V6]

Basically it's the precats which are the trouble (only seems to happen on the 3.2, though the 2.6 shares the same setup).

Basically the precats aren't good enough for the job although the main cats are, hence why if you do an emissions test you will find the car would pass no problems.

There are a number of us 3.2 owners who have this re-occuring issue, Kevin Wood, SP3.2 and I for a start.

The EML comes on when the lambda readings have added up to a certain level (hence 'threshold') over time. Better quality fuel and Cataclean seems to help but the problem remains that the precats aren't big enough to do the job.

Simply a case of getting someone with a code reader to clear the codes when they put the light on.

[bob.dent]

Basically it's the precats which are the trouble (only seems to happen on the 3.2, though the 2.6 shares the same setup).

Basically the precats aren't good enough for the job although the main cats are, hence why if you do an emissions test you will find the car would pass no problems.

There are a number of us 3.2 owners who have this re-occuring issue, Kevin Wood, SP3.2 and I for a start.

The EML comes on when the lambda readings have added up to a certain level (hence 'threshold') over time. Better quality fuel and Cataclean seems to help but the problem remains that the precats aren't big enough to do the job.

Thanks for the info. So hopefully I might not have to replace the cats then. Is there any complete solution to the problem or is this something us 3.2 owners have to live with?

[VXL V6]

Basically it's the precats which are the trouble (only seems to happen on the 3.2, though the 2.6 shares the same setup).

Basically the precats aren't good enough for the job although the main cats are, hence why if you do an emissions test you will find the car would pass no problems.

There are a number of us 3.2 owners who have this re-occuring issue, Kevin Wood, SP3.2 and I for a start.

The EML comes on when the lambda readings have added up to a certain level (hence 'threshold') over time. Better quality fuel and Cataclean seems to help but the problem remains that the precats aren't big enough to do the job.

Thanks for the info. So hopefully I might not have to replace the cats then. Is there any complete solution to the problem or is this something us 3.2 owners have to live with?

Kevin and I had a discussion about faking the signal from the first sensors by somehow mimicking the second sensors or creating some sort of signal that the ECU would be happy with.  :-/
Ideal solution would be for GM to modify the ECU software to compensate for their rubbish precats...  

But I can pretty much guarantee that there is nothing wrong with your main cats and the car will go through an emissions test. Most places will do you a free or cheap emissions only test.

[Kevin Wood]

Mine has done this a couple of times too.

It seems to be that either the pre-cats are not quite up to the job (by design) or the ECU is expecting them to be working in situations when they aren't.

Either way, the main cats work fine. My emissions barely showed anything on the HC and CO measurements to MOT in December yet the damn light came on in January.

I would just get a cheapo code reader to reset it when it happens and ignore it.

Certainly don't worry about shelling out for cats unless they are proven to be knackered by an MOT emissions test.

Kevin

[bob.dent]

Mine has done this a couple of times too.

It seems to be that either the pre-cats are not quite up to the job (by design) or the ECU is expecting them to be working in situations when they aren't.

Either way, the main cats work fine. My emissions barely showed anything on the HC and CO measurements to MOT in December yet the damn light came on in January.

I would just get a cheapo code reader to reset it when it happens and ignore it.

Certainly don't worry about shelling out for cats unless they are proven to be knackered by an MOT emissions test.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, that's a real relief I haven't got to take out a mortgage for new cats. My last MOT emmission tests were fine so my guess is that you guys are spot on with your diagnosis.

Any idea how much a cheapo code reader is? My garage is normally pretty good with checking fault codes for me as they normally do it FOC or just a drink for the mechanic, but I don't want to push my luck. They normally charge £44 for a diagnostics check but they regard me as a good customer as I've been with them for years.

[Entwood]

Bob .. some discussion going on here :

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1202857680

I've just bought one as well shade over £30 with postage .....


ebay item no 310021810151

[Elite Pete]

Bobs local parts manager has just cancelled the order for a large tub of vasaline

[bob.dent]

Bob .. some discussion going on here :

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1202857680

I've just bought one as well shade over £30 with postage .....


ebay item no 310021810151

Cheers mate. Which one did you get and is it easy to use? (needs to be for me, not being very technical when it come to cars!)

**edit** sorry, just noticed the ebay part No.

[bob.dent]

Bobs local parts manager has just cancelled the order for a large tub of vasaline

GIT!!