Some welding content...Got a sort of free 2003 V6 Ford Escape a few
months ago. Front brakes were shot and I needed a 20 tons on the press
to remove one of the front rotors from the hub...major rust between
the OD of the hub and the ID of the rotor hat. Bearings in hubs were
shot anyway, so replaced them also. Car has three catalytic
converters. It appears the underbody cat was replaced at some point
with aftermarket part that sort of fit...probably melted due to a
failed coil pack...Major exhaust leak on the rear bank manifold
cat...can was cracked in two places. Had to pull intake manifold,
wiring harness, alternator, under pan, etc. etc to remove. The
substrate looked fine, so I TIG welded up the can with some Inconel
wire and reinstalled. Before putting back the Y pipe, I put a
borescope up the outlet of the front manifold cat..and guess what...
the substrate in the front manifold cat is totally gone. It seems
that there are no aftermarket front manifold cats made for this car,
so I may have to shell out 500+ bucks to the Ford stealer. Just out of
the 80K mile emission warranty too. Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! Car is running
fine now, but is setting a code for the front bank cat, and won't pass
inspection next month....arghh.

On Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:54:13 -0700, oldjag wrote:

Some welding content...Got a sort of free 2003 V6 Ford Escape a few
months ago. Front brakes were shot and I needed a 20 tons on the press
to remove one of the front rotors from the hub...major rust between the
OD of the hub and the ID of the rotor hat. Bearings in hubs were shot
anyway, so replaced them also. Car has three catalytic converters. It
appears the underbody cat was replaced at some point with aftermarket
part that sort of fit...probably melted due to a failed coil
pack...Major exhaust leak on the rear bank manifold cat...can was
cracked in two places. Had to pull intake manifold, wiring harness,
alternator, under pan, etc. etc to remove. The substrate looked fine, so
I TIG welded up the can with some Inconel wire and reinstalled. Before
putting back the Y pipe, I put a borescope up the outlet of the front
manifold cat..and guess what... the substrate in the front manifold cat
is totally gone. It seems that there are no aftermarket front manifold
cats made for this car, so I may have to shell out 500+ bucks to the
Ford stealer. Just out of the 80K mile emission warranty too. Local
junkyards, (not in CA by the way), tell me they are not allowed by law
to sell perfectly good used units....they must be scrapped! I'm really
****ed! Car is running fine now, but is setting a code for the front
bank cat, and won't pass inspection next month....arghh.

I thought the emissions warranty had to be 10 years, per the feds -- or
is it that many years or 80000 miles?

Every time I follow one of those I wonder if someone's put that
independent rear suspension under a Model A -- it looks like it'd fit
just dandy (and in most states you wouldn't need the cat...).

--
Tim Wescott
Control systems and communications consulting
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Need to learn how to apply control theory in your embedded system?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" by Tim Wescott
Elsevier/Newnes, http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 19:54:13 -0700 (PDT), with neither quill nor qualm,
oldjag quickly quoth:

Some welding content...Got a sort of free 2003 V6 Ford Escape a few

Good scrounge!


months ago. Front brakes were shot and I needed a 20 tons on the press
to remove one of the front rotors from the hub...major rust between
the OD of the hub and the ID of the rotor hat. Bearings in hubs were
shot anyway, so replaced them also. Car has three catalytic
converters. It appears the underbody cat was replaced at some point
with aftermarket part that sort of fit...probably melted due to a
failed coil pack...Major exhaust leak on the rear bank manifold
cat...can was cracked in two places. Had to pull intake manifold,
wiring harness, alternator, under pan, etc. etc to remove. The
substrate looked fine, so I TIG welded up the can with some Inconel
wire and reinstalled. Before putting back the Y pipe, I put a
borescope up the outlet of the front manifold cat..and guess what...
the substrate in the front manifold cat is totally gone. It seems
that there are no aftermarket front manifold cats made for this car,
so I may have to shell out 500+ bucks to the Ford stealer. Just out of

Makes me glad to have bought a Toyota, and I now see how Ford has been
able to fight off the impending bankruptcy by screwing folks on parts
even harder and nastier than before. A rebuild on my 4OD tranny in
the old F-150 cost me $1,850 7 years ago. Over $1,000 of that was
consumable parts (clutch packs, bands, filter kit, sprags.) UFR!


the 80K mile emission warranty too. Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped!

Perhaps you could arrange (with them) to break in one night to steal
one, unbeknownst to them?


I'm really ****ed! Car is running
fine now, but is setting a code for the front bank cat, and won't pass
inspection next month....arghh.

That sucks.

--
A great preservative against angry and mutinous thoughts, and all
impatience and quarreling, is to have some great business and
interest in your mind, which, like a sponge shall suck up your
attention and keep you from brooding over what displeases you.
-- Joseph Rickaby

oldjag wrote:
Some welding content...Got a sort of free 2003 V6 Ford Escape a few
months ago. Front brakes were shot and I needed a 20 tons on the press
to remove one of the front rotors from the hub...major rust between
the OD of the hub and the ID of the rotor hat. Bearings in hubs were
shot anyway, so replaced them also. Car has three catalytic
converters. It appears the underbody cat was replaced at some point
with aftermarket part that sort of fit...probably melted due to a
failed coil pack...Major exhaust leak on the rear bank manifold
cat...can was cracked in two places. Had to pull intake manifold,
wiring harness, alternator, under pan, etc. etc to remove. The
substrate looked fine, so I TIG welded up the can with some Inconel
wire and reinstalled. Before putting back the Y pipe, I put a
borescope up the outlet of the front manifold cat..and guess what...
the substrate in the front manifold cat is totally gone. It seems
that there are no aftermarket front manifold cats made for this car,
so I may have to shell out 500+ bucks to the Ford stealer. Just out of
the 80K mile emission warranty too. Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! Car is running
fine now, but is setting a code for the front bank cat, and won't pass
inspection next month....arghh.

Yep, that is one of the Federal laws regarding emissions. Makes it fun
when you have a vehicle that the aftermarket doesn't support. However
all is not lost. You just need to figure out which other vehicle used
the same type of cat but is supported.

--
Steve W.

"oldjag" wrote: (clip) Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do you need a license to buy scrap metal? I would offer them a REALLY GOOD
price for a small pile of scrap.

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"oldjag" wrote: (clip) Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do you need a license to buy scrap metal? I would offer them a REALLY GOOD
price for a small pile of scrap.

That's what this pair was looking for...

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...er_thefts.html

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"oldjag" wrote: (clip) Local junkyards, (not in CA by the

way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! (clip)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do you need a license to buy scrap metal? I would offer them a REALLY GOOD
price for a small pile of scrap.




If they have a junked unit there, buy the whole vehicle, take what you
need and sell the rest back for scrap value. Get with the guy that
manages the place and offer him an incentive to call you immediately
upon receiving a like unit, then go get it.

Jim

3 cats, what a POS. Ford can't even make an engine that runs clean. ANY
pre-lambda VW gas Rabbit would run fine at .6 CO and 100 ppm HC up
stream or no cat. No EGR needed. Either. Better specs than alot of '00
up domestic **** boxes can blow after cat.
I suggest you Escape-junk it.
JR
Dweller in the cellar


oldjag wrote:
Some welding content...Got a sort of free 2003 V6 Ford Escape a few
months ago. Front brakes were shot and I needed a 20 tons on the press
to remove one of the front rotors from the hub...major rust between
the OD of the hub and the ID of the rotor hat. Bearings in hubs were
shot anyway, so replaced them also. Car has three catalytic
converters. It appears the underbody cat was replaced at some point
with aftermarket part that sort of fit...probably melted due to a
failed coil pack...Major exhaust leak on the rear bank manifold
cat...can was cracked in two places. Had to pull intake manifold,
wiring harness, alternator, under pan, etc. etc to remove. The
substrate looked fine, so I TIG welded up the can with some Inconel
wire and reinstalled. Before putting back the Y pipe, I put a
borescope up the outlet of the front manifold cat..and guess what...
the substrate in the front manifold cat is totally gone. It seems
that there are no aftermarket front manifold cats made for this car,
so I may have to shell out 500+ bucks to the Ford stealer. Just out of
the 80K mile emission warranty too. Local junkyards, (not in CA by the
way), tell me they are not allowed by law to sell perfectly good used
units....they must be scrapped! I'm really ****ed! Car is running
fine now, but is setting a code for the front bank cat, and won't pass
inspection next month....arghh.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

"Jim Chandler" wrote: If they have a junked unit there, buy the whole
vehicle, take what you
need and sell the rest back for scrap value.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That certainly is a theoretical possibility, but, with that concept in mind,
would they sell you less that the whole vehicle--say, the exhaust system
from the manifold on back? Of course, if there are other things you could
use, by all means add them to the package.