Hey all, my '09 Outlook has been running with a P0420 code for quite awhile. Even after I clear it, it returns in pretty short order. It has also been feeling like it lacks some power, and I sometimes get a burning oil type smell, especially when going up hills. My scan tool says "Bank 1", but does not specify any particular sensor.
I have had to replace 4, maybe 5, coil packs over the last couple years.
Based on online articles, I did other diagnostics, and everything I could check with the tool seemed to be ok, so I figured a cat had her ne bad, maybe due to the faulty coil packs.
Most everything I have read online said "Bank 1" is the firewall side, so I finally tore into it today, pulling that cat off. Looking at it, there is no obvious damage to the honeycomb. That said, whereas I was able to easily see light through the rearmost cat (the one right in front of the muffler), I can only see light through the firewall one by taking it into a dark room and shining a flashlight through it.
I came inside to do a little more research, and found a couple places saying bank 1 is the radiator side, so many w I really have no idea which is right. I won't be able to pull the radiator side cat off until I buy an O2 sensor socket, but I'm thinking Inshould go ahead and pull it off to check its condition, in case that is actually bank 1.
Also, the downstream side O2 sensor for the radiator side cat has a lot more carbon type buildup on it than the downstream side sensor for the firewall cat.
Can anyone tell me, definitively, which side is "bank 1"? And whether I should be able to see light easier through the cat? Any other ideas?
I have had to replace 4, maybe 5, coil packs over the last couple years.
Based on online articles, I did other diagnostics, and everything I could check with the tool seemed to be ok, so I figured a cat had her ne bad, maybe due to the faulty coil packs.
Most everything I have read online said "Bank 1" is the firewall side, so I finally tore into it today, pulling that cat off. Looking at it, there is no obvious damage to the honeycomb. That said, whereas I was able to easily see light through the rearmost cat (the one right in front of the muffler), I can only see light through the firewall one by taking it into a dark room and shining a flashlight through it.
I came inside to do a little more research, and found a couple places saying bank 1 is the radiator side, so many w I really have no idea which is right. I won't be able to pull the radiator side cat off until I buy an O2 sensor socket, but I'm thinking Inshould go ahead and pull it off to check its condition, in case that is actually bank 1.
Also, the downstream side O2 sensor for the radiator side cat has a lot more carbon type buildup on it than the downstream side sensor for the firewall cat.
Can anyone tell me, definitively, which side is "bank 1"? And whether I should be able to see light easier through the cat? Any other ideas?