Dead-ish Truck, fix or scrap?

I'd also keep and fix, no way you finding a replacement for anything less than 4K

On that platform, Cat failure is common for some reason. With that said, fix it and sell it if you don't like it. I've never seen one kill a motor because of it though. The Cats are pretty far downstream to get sucked back in. 

definitely a strong consensus here to fix. I'm on board, especially with the likelihood of internal engine damage low (not sure how I came up with that idea).

For a little background on the mechanic, I have no reason to believe he's trying to pull one over. I do 99% of my own work, but will bring stuff to him occasionally as I know he won't ever upsell. In fact, the biggest issue I have is that he tries to talk me of doing work, which I don't appreciate to be honest. He has no interest in buying the truck, didn't even want to entertain OEM cats due to price, and wouldn't install aftermarket cats as he didn't feel comfortable standing behind the work based on his experience with failure rate. 

Either way, i'm looking to get it back on the road, so on to another mechanic it will go. He said he pulled the 02 sensor to relieve some backpressure, so that should allow me to limp it a mile or two for another opinion on Monday. I'll experiment with disconnecting the MAF to see if that makes any difference on the way.

I was tempted to drag it to my shop (also only about a mile or so away), but it's currently occupied with a bigger project. Also, my elbow has been bothering me for a few months, finally made it in for PT and it seems I may have caused some ligament damage while climbing. I'm going to hold on big car projects for a bit until I get that sorted.

Overall, i'm feeling much better about the truck's future after the feedback here. If it costs me 2k to get it back on the road that's an easy decision to make. That will give me time to find a suitable replacement and get decent value when it's time to sell. If anyone has a line on a clean 2nd gen Tacoma double cab w/ a manual, I'm in the market!

I'll keep this thread updated once I hear back.

As far as aftermarket cats go, there's a huge quality spread amongst brands. You can buy a California legal CARB compliant Magnaflow universal cat for $200. I'm not sure what the CARB certification entails, but I'm sure it can't be that horrible. 

In reply to Fupdiggity (Forum Supporter) :

Good to hear the mechanic is not trying to screw you over.

The issue is that just running that P0420 code on "the google", you will think to yourself that you have to replace the exhaust. Sadly most "mechanics" dont have knowledge past the scan tool so they are going to tell you what it says. Its exactly why i got my 2003 pathfinder for 2k$ instead of a few $k more. Mechanic told them the same thing that you were told because thats what the mechanic knew.  
 

on mine i have tracked the actual issue is most likely having to do with the variable runner length intake and its various vacuum pots and sensors. It sends you to limp mode with general codes that sound scary and big $$. 
 

i dont think nissans MAF's are more fragile really, its just that when they have an issue, they cause bigger, not so obvious problems that will be confusing. Lucky im pretty good with electronics and a multimeter and have been wrenching on nissan trucks for a good 20 years. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Fupdiggity (Forum Supporter) said:

I got a call from the mechanic today, apparently the cats (multiple?) failed and the exhaust restriction caused the coil packs to fail. 

I would have expected the other way around -- coil packs fail (might only be one), it misfires, starts dumping raw fuel into the cats, and the contamination causes the cats to fail.

I have a hard time imagining that a running truck isn't worth the thousand bucks you suggested it would take to fix.  Why do you think the engine might be bad?

 

That is the normal order of things.  Have seen cars catch the carpet on fire due to a bad coil pack.

The diagnosis sounds like the service manager does not want to bother with it, so they made it unpalatable.  Some shops are only interested in work that can be done in an hour.  I know we would certainly do the work, if it needs it and you are willing to pay for it.

That truck would probably sell for $5-6k as is up here...

truck now safely tucked away at mechanic #2, they'll start poking/prodding & give me an update either today or tomorrow. I've got my trusty bike to get around in the mean time.

Mechanic 1 pulled the front passenger O2 sensor to relieve some backpressure, I didn't have any problems driving it the 3/4 mile or so to the new place. Idle was smooth initially but started to roughen up as it warmed, ran fine with light throttle (enough for residential speeds, no apparent misfire) but misfired bad with anything more than 1/2 throttle. No indication there's any engine damage from the short trip (as expected). I could smell fuel even on the short trip, it was clearly running rich.

Talked w/ mechanic 1 for a minute, it was the passenger cat(s) that are clogged. He figures either the front melted down or broke apart and plugged the 2nd. This aligns w/ my P0420 code indicating passenger cat efficiency. The downstream O2 sensor is between cat 1 & 2, so the computer can only see the 1st cat. He also confirmed the misfire likely caused/contributed to the cat failure, I must have misunderstood him when we spoke last. He noted again he's been burned too many times with aftermarket cats to stand behind them and doesn't feel comfortable doing work he can't warranty. I'm sure if I wanted to pay for OEM level cats he'd do the work, but neither of us thought that was the right path. He wished me luck and was sure someone would be able to fix it for a reasonable fee either w/ aftermarket cats or less than scrupulous methods (i.e. hollow em out). Diagnostic fee was $80, no complaints from me.

I understand your mechanic. He's seen a ton of aftermarket cats fail, and is reluctant to attach his name to it. It's all too easy to let crappy parts give good shops a black eye from customers who have no loyalty or sense of fair play.

You wouldn't do that, but plenty of others do.

Any chance you can find a similar truck being parted out on Facebook or Craigslist? Buy the whole exhaust and use those cats on the plugged up side? Used ones are a gamble,  but you only want go keep it for a year or 2, right?

Appleseed said:

Any chance you can find a similar truck being parted out on Facebook or Craigslist? Buy the whole exhaust and use those cats on the plugged up side? Used ones are a gamble,  but you only want go keep it for a year or 2, right?

possibly, although I'd have to check w/ the shop on their willingness to install them. Between my current projects, injured elbow, and general dislike of working on this truck I've decided I'm just going to pay someone to have it fixed.

Here's the current state of my E46, oil leak lead to rear main & clutch, which lead to a broken off bellhousing bolt, and now we find ourselves removing the engine to address the broken bolt. This is the definition of scope-creep. 

It is federally illegal to install used cats.  Not sure why, but it is what it is.

Finally making some forward progress. Mechanic #2 quoted $4,200 for the fix using OEM cats (as that's all his supplier could get). He offered to let me supply the parts, so $1,400 later I dropped off (4) cats (walker brand), (4) O2 sensors, gaskets, and a set of plugs this morning. He figured up to $1,200 in labor but that assumes some broken/rusted studs so it should be less. It should be done by the end of the week. Once that work is done, we'll see if there is a lingering misfire. I'm betting another coil went, which would be easy to diagnose & replace. If it's a sticky injector that might be more difficult to diagnose, but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. 

In the mean time, I've decided it's time to replace it. I've got a deposit down on a new taco. No need to rehash the current car market, but based on discussions with way too many dealers I'm expecting 3-9 months before the right truck comes available. It's been an annoying few weeks without a truck, I'll be happy to get it back soon. 

If you still have issues, that sounds exactly like the maf failure on my i30 back in the day. 

and it's (apparently) fixed!

$1,080 in labor later, a few broken bolts, it's back together. Passenger forward cat had broken apart and plugged the back cat, as expected. I left the broken cat there and took the other three so I can get a few $ back on scrap.

Plugged cat, still some remnants of the forward cat stuck behind the 02 sensor:

three good cats for scrap:

Mechanic claimed no codes and drove around the block w/o any misfire, i was dubious. I got in the truck, check engine light is still on, drove fine for the approx. 1/4 of a mile from the shop to my office. After work, I drove it home (about 1 1/2 miles) and it started misfiring again after it warmed up. No surprise there, I didn't think throwing new plugs on it would magically cure the misfire. Pulled codes, P0300 (multiple misfire) and P0420 (cat efficiency passenger side), same codes as before the work, I'm guessing he never cleared them (and apparently lied or didn't see the CE light?). Cleared the codes, went for a short drive, clearly misfiring. CE light came back, P0305 (misfire cylinder #5). That's the passenger bank, good, this aligns w/ the failed cat. It was getting late, but Oriely was open and had a coil pack in stock, the #5 cylinder coil is easily accessible.

Drove to my shop, the bolt holding the coil on was loose, hmmm, no wonder it's misfiring. Pulled the coil just to check and it came apart. I'm getting annoyed at this point as I know they replaced the plugs and just didn't reinstall the coil correctly. I'm not sure if it was already damaged or failed due to poor install. I threw on the new coil, cinched the bolt, still loose. Looks like they had cross-threaded the bolt so it wouldn't properly hold the coil on, argg. I managed to get it threaded correctly after a few tries. I also noticed the pos battery terminal cover was floating around the engine compartment and a few clips on the fender liner were missing, generally sloppy work. 

old coil:

new coil installed:

With the new coil installed, it's back to running well. I put about 15 or so miles on it and there's no CE light (first time in 3 years!), no apparent misfire. Looks like this may have been simply a bad coil pushing an aging cat over the line. We'll see how it fares as I put more miles on it. I may replace the remaining (4) coils as this is the 2nd coil to go in the last year (previous one was driver's side). I'm guessing they're all original.

I'm happy to have my truck back again, as much as I prefer to drive cars, I end up using my truck more than anything, they're just too damn useful! 

Total cost of the endeavor:

Mechanic #1 diagnostics: $80

Parts: $1500 - (4) walker cats, (8) NGK iridium plugs, (4) denso 02 sensors, gaskets (all rock auto), (1) Oreily coil

Labor @ mechanic #2: $1080

Tow: $228 (after my $150 allowance from insurance)

Midnight Uber ride: $100

Time: 3 1/2 weeks (mostly on me not prioritizing getting it fixed)

TBD on cat scrap value, I'm hoping $200-$300

Glad that it is running better.  I agree that at this point, it is probably best to go ahead and replace all the old coils at once, rather than deal with them failing over time.