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2005 OEM catalytic converter 220k miles

Discussion in '1st Gen Tundras (2000-2006)' started by stevechumo, Dec 22, 2024.

  1. Dec 22, 2024 at 1:43 AM
    #1
    stevechumo

    stevechumo [OP] New Member

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    My Tundra is a 4.7. It has 220k miles. It has a bad smell. I read that the typical mileage of the OEM catalytic converters is about 150k miles. At what mileage did you replace your cats because they went bad?
     
  2. Dec 22, 2024 at 4:40 AM
    #2
    Riverdale21

    Riverdale21 Speed seeker

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    When I was a kid and my dad would pass gas in the car, he would blame the smell on other vehicles on the road. "Must be the catalytic converter on the car in front of us."

    That being said, I think my experiences are tainted. But I have never heard of a catalyst being stinky as a sign of needing replacement.

    Is your car throwing any check engine lights or codes?
     
    whodatschrome likes this.
  3. Dec 22, 2024 at 5:20 AM
    #3
    KNABORES

    KNABORES Sarcasm incoming

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    Catalytic converters will give off a terrible smell when bad, most report a sulphur stench. That being said, my 2000 4.7 Tundra has 276k miles on it and still has the original cats. I’ve kept it pretty well tuned up and most importantly have not ignored a bad O2 sensor. Bad O2 sensors will create a rich running condition that will ruin cats.
     
    des2mtn likes this.
  4. Dec 22, 2024 at 2:51 PM
    #4
    shifty`

    shifty` We skipped the light fandango

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    Smells like rotten eggs when they’re bad. But these trucks won’t hesitate to bitch about them being bad, in my experience.

    Thing is, as long as you’re not a dumbass, and don’t ignore a failed O2 sensor, or intentionally ignore the truck running rich, or you don’t do top-end cleanings, or the common power steering leak into the intake for long periods, we have guys on here with the original cats at 400k miles. As long as you don’t ignore stuff that will smoke and clog stuff, they won’t jam up.

    Do you have any codes, have you had any codes historically?
     
  5. Dec 23, 2024 at 6:36 PM
    #5
    stevechumo

    stevechumo [OP] New Member

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    The story is my catalytic on the passenger was stolen about 70k miles ago. I replaced it with an aftermarket cat and ran for 70k miles. Recently, it threw the code P0430 along with the bad smell. I replaced with another aftermarket cat, but it didn't fix the problem. Therefore, I'm wondering if the original cat on the driver side went bad.
    I already bought 2 new O2 upstream sensors and still waiting for arrival.
     
    shifty` and KNABORES like this.
  6. Dec 23, 2024 at 6:46 PM
    #6
    shifty`

    shifty` We skipped the light fandango

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    Suspect you know this, but P0420 / 0430 can be the result of bad upstream or downstream. Mentioning it just in case. But doesn't explain the smell.

    When I lived in the burbs SW of DFW back in the 80s, my friend's dad across the street had a Bronco with a bad cat. I went with them on a camping trip to whatever the park is with the river running thru it that has dinosaur footprints everywhere. He had a bad cat. It literally smelled like someone opened a tupperware with rotten eggs in it when that thing started to stink.

    One way to test effectiveness of cats is to use a thermal gun, and after driving it around for 15-20 minutes, check the temps at the front, middle, and rear of the cat, see how much variation there is. It shouldn't be outrageously different but if your cat is clogged and nothing is really flowing thru it, it'll be considerably cooler on the back of the cat.
     
  7. Dec 24, 2024 at 7:19 PM
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    PNW15

    PNW15 New Member

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    Top end cleanings... Did I miss a sticky somewhere? I heard there was a three piece kit for this, including a funky tool to put some juice thru the intake? Along with an efi additive and throttle body cleaner...
     
  8. Dec 25, 2024 at 7:40 AM
    #8
    shifty`

    shifty` We skipped the light fandango

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    Seagram sells an easy kit with bendy straw. I can dig up a link to it. I wouldn’t do it more than once every other year.
     
    PNW15[QUOTED] likes this.
  9. Dec 30, 2024 at 6:33 PM
    #9
    stevechumo

    stevechumo [OP] New Member

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  10. Dec 30, 2024 at 7:45 PM
    #10
    shifty`

    shifty` We skipped the light fandango

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    Yes. For each bank, you have an upstream sensor (air/fuel ratio sensor) before the cat, and a downstream sensor (O2 sensor) after the cat. The part number you listed is correct for upstream a/f O2 sensor. Downstream part number, the last 4 digits are 4260, it's this part.

    Did you buy your parts from anywhere sketchy, like scAmazon or fleaBay, which are known for counterfeit, bullshit parts? Because this is EXACTLY the type of thing you'd see out of a counterfeit part. Where'd you buy them?

    If not...

    Have your O2 sensor wires ever been cut and respliced? Like, cats ever been stolen and they cut wires? Do you see any unusual tape on the wire leads going to the sensor?

    Did you use dielectric grease on the connectors to ensure waterproofing? Are you 1,000% positive you fully seated the connection? Did you see any corrosion on the pins of either side of the connector? These codes would throw in response to a short between any of the wires, or if someone flipped wires around because they did something stupid like spliced in a connector the wrong way. The sensors you bought should have been plug-and-play, no cutting. You should NEVER cut O2 sensor wiring.

    The FSM is free to download via the megathread, it gives a TON of info on how to diagnose your issue, and it's mostly linked to shorts in the wiring, if you have two brand new upstream sensors, you need to recheck your wiring. I'm going to copy/past some info that will help you with testing. All you need is a multimeter. To diagnose, start at page DI-826 of the FSM for your V8/2UZ.

    upload_2024-12-30_22-38-18.png

    upload_2024-12-30_22-42-59.png
    So you know which wires are AF-, AF+, and +B you can use this:

    upload_2024-12-30_22-44-30.png
    upload_2024-12-30_22-46-9.png
    upload_2024-12-30_22-46-48.png

    upload_2024-12-30_22-43-35.png
     
  11. Dec 31, 2024 at 12:30 AM
    #11
    stevechumo

    stevechumo [OP] New Member

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    Thanks for the very detailed troubleshooting guide there. I bought the O2 sensors that are from a good Ebay seller. The sensors are packaged in Toyota boxes. The sensors look brand new and have the Denso and part number stamped on them. They look just like the old ones. The only differences are the new ones have slightly longer wires.
     
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    #11
  12. Dec 31, 2024 at 9:55 AM
    #12
    shifty`

    shifty` We skipped the light fandango

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    If it came from eBay, I wouldn't trust it, unless you bought it direct from, say, Jegs, or another very-well-known automotive company.

    Counterfeits are remarkably good these days, and those peddling them virtually always aim for places which allow them to third-party sell, like scAmazon, fleaBay, WallyMart, Sears/Kmart, NewEgg, etc. Sometimes they're even legitimate product from the manufacturer, but they're grey market, i.e. produced for another continent/country which has much lower quality tolerances so you're getting an inferior part the seller obtained at a much lower price because the country of origin's production standards are lower.

    We've had quite a few people on this forum and one other forum get counterfit "OEM" parts, and spark plugs seem to be one of the most-counterfeited items you can buy. One of our better-known members here got some fake plugs, and the plugs fell apart after a bit of use, dropping pieces into the cylinder, which could've been disastrous.

    Anyway, enough horror stories. Get testing! It appears you have a short/wiring issue. If you need more help, take time to answer my other questions.

    But yeah. NEVER buy auto parts at any of the sellers I mentioned. You will get fucked. You may've already gotten fucked, actually, but without knowing honestly who you bought those parts from, I can't say. If you reinstall the old sensors and these codes go away, the problem is your new part.
     
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    #12
  13. Dec 31, 2024 at 10:28 AM
    #13
    stevechumo

    stevechumo [OP] New Member

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    Everything that you say makes sense. Lol. I'm trying to clean the old O2 sensors first and put them back in to see what'll come up.
     
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    #13

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