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Skylark and the cat...

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Post by Raggy Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:22 pm

Sitting comfortably? Coffee in hand? Well let me begin this story of woe.
A week ago I noticed that my 993 camper (Skylark) was starting slow on the slight gradients on my usual route to work down the A1, nothing major, just noticeable to me. Didn’t think any more of it (fatal error) until I was going home, set of from a round about on an incline and just over the brow I hear what I assumed to be a rumble of a loud exhaust, Oh a boy racer near me I thought! Then again didn’t think any more about it. Now the following day pulling into work definitely noticed that the performance had decreased and Skylark was resisting my request to go under acceleration (not something you want at junctions!). Left it till the end of the day and trying to go home was terrible, any attempt to accelerate or put it under load on anything but a light throttle ended up with a growly exhaust note and a resistance to accelerate, so abandoned it at my mums which wasn’t too far away.
So, first point of call after a cuppa was the wise old owl, the ObiWan Kenobi of Hijets...Mr Woody. His thoughts were logical and came to the possible conclusion of a blocked exhaust, not that I had heard of that happening before. So as I had a spare exhaust system I decided to swap them to see but and here’s the but I had time to sleep and overthought things and decided that a fuel related issue was the reason...and as it was forecast wet and I don’t cope well these days with working laid down (don’t ask), I thought I will pop it to my usual garage to test the filter etc out then it could be done while I was at work.
Well they tested the filter, flow rate, compression etc and found no problem and as he was going away for a few days let me have the van back in case I could figure it out. As all the things I couldn’t or didn’t want to do had been tested I plumped to try what was suggested by the wise one...the exhaust.
So, waited for a dry Sunday and took off the existing exhaust, took off the Cat and eureka...problem was obvious...the cat rattled, not meowed, rattled! For those not in the know it shouldn’t! Compared it to my spare And silence not a peep. The middle honeycomb section of the cat was completely loose and now rattling around inside hence why the poor performance, it had been blocking the flow of exhaust gas and strangling poor Skylarks breathing. So a well earned mug of tea was downed. Swapped the exhaust and cat over, (after turning a nice shade of green, said I don’t cope with working lying down),quick test drive and all the horses were back available under the bonnet...result!
There was only one thing to do now and that was to lay down facing the Isle of Wight and worship the almighty Woody!
Lesson learnt, don’t discard the obvious, don’t ovrthink things and trust your uncle Woody!

Hope you coffee hasn’t gone cold by now!
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Post by Guest Wed Dec 19, 2018 8:55 pm

Raggy and I chewed this one over and I discounted the likelyhood of the Speedo Sensor or the fuel filter being the cause, as if it is restricted fuel flow it will cause a weak mixture and particularly on overrun the exhaust will pop and bang.
But as Raggy wasn't feeling up to much and the weather pretty lousy too, the option was to put it into his local garage.

I was sure that it was either a blocked Cataclysmic Pervertor or the sound deadening pipe full of holes had burned through and the long strands of fibreglass sound deadening was causing a blockage under engine load. But then Raggy reminded me that he had bought a new Silencer last year from Neil Farrier at Regis Exhausts. So it certainly wasn't going to be the Silencer.

It seemed to me to be that it had to be the the Cat. It can be so difficult trying to diagnose problems over the phone. If I have got the vehicle in front of me and can experience the fault that someone who isn't Mechanically minded has described the problem before bringing it to me and then I can try it out - often it is nothing like the symptoms they have described. Fortunately Raggy has certainly picked up a lot of knowledge on Hi-Jets since owning Skylark.

I have come across the problem before with ones that have carbon filter. A Fiesta I had bought into me, had the same problem and the owners garage couldn't find the problem. I got underneath it and banged the cat and silencer with a large spanner. The Cat rattled. So I took it off the carbon had burned away making it smaller. As soon as you put it under load the exhaust gas pushes the carbon filter into the outlet of the Cat acting like a one way valve. I cut the Cat in half and that was what I found. The owner could not afford a new Cat at the time. So I emptied it of its entire contents and welded it back together. Certainly gave it a sportier sound. I told him to get a new Cat ASAP.

So when Raggy told me what he had found and sent me pictures of the problem lump of Carbon in the Cat I wasn't surprised - but very pleased that his problem was solved.
And for me it always feels good to know that I have helped someone out and that I was using past experience to diagnose the problem and it hadn't cost Raggy a fortune.

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Post by Raggy Thu Dec 20, 2018 6:41 am

Couldn’t agree more with that reply Sir Woody. Going to cut the cat open and post some pics later.
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Post by Guest Thu Dec 20, 2018 7:24 am

YEUK!!! Just picturing the thought of a dissemboweled cat. Seen plenty of squashed ones on the road. pale

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Post by Raggy Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:00 pm

Shocked Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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Post by kernowjon01 Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:33 am

So that is 2 of us with exhaust problems - which were fixed after making homage to Nitton IoW.
Mine was simpler to diagnose i drove through a flood and the flat plate joining front pipe to manifold tore around one fixing bolt.
Woodie has supplied me with a length of front pipe and the flange - a spare bolt, a spring and advice on how to undo these bolts.
Still not done due to my health and inclement weather - but Saturday is forecast dry and it will be done.
Wierdly for all the leaking joint - loud exhaust and yes a drop in power - the EML has not so much as flashed.
Jon
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Post by Lex_Michdebus Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:51 am

One question remains unanswered after all these long sentences, who (what) fucked your cat?
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Post by Raggy Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:07 pm

That is a good question and I unfortunately have no answer as yet for it.
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Post by Lex_Michdebus Fri Dec 21, 2018 2:06 pm

Not just a good question, but the most important if you don't want your cats fucked!

-edit- Fuel mixture too rich fucks cats? Play in the outlet port fucks cats? Is there something you can see on the old one? Did it get too hot?
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Post by Raggy Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:13 am

I will let the pics tell the story when I get chance to pick it up from mums garage.
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Post by Raggy Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:15 pm

Eventually got around to taking some photos of the cat (meaow) to show what had happened. The inside honeycomb had come loose and vibration rounding off tge soft edges had allowed it to rotate and semi block the exit pipe thus creating back pressure and strangling engine performance.
Skylark and the cat... Imag2312
Skylark and the cat... Imag2311
Skylark and the cat... Imag2310
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Post by Lex_Michdebus Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:44 pm

Was there something you could have done to prevent it from coming loose?
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Post by Guest Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:25 am

It's nice to know that you have found the problem and that I was able to point you in the right direction Raggy - not because of having expert knowledge of Hi-Jets - DEFINITELY NOT - but that I have had it happen before with another make of car. It is just experience and a pretty good memory. Sorry, what was your name again?? Rolling Eyes

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Post by luigi7890 Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:17 pm

Wow, I found many posts and pictures about your Skylark, Raggy. It' a wonderful machine, the inside is so well done. Excelent.
(And congratulations Woodie, I would have never suspected the cat.)

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Post by leopard_pagan Mon Feb 04, 2019 8:19 pm

cheers cheers cheers cheers cheers cheers cheers
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