Sounds like your cat is definitely toast. Most cats glow red at night but
only a dull red, not bright and glowing. Try looking under the car one
night after a long drive. Also make sure you have heat sheilds in place
that is the reason for its existence. Aloha, Ed

On Sat, 13 Apr 2002 09:56:20 -0400 Ben huot <huotx@VIDEOTRON.CA> writes:
> Hi Robert,
>
> Strange problem!!!
>
> How was the engine temperature when the cat was red hot? Bang the
> cat with
> a hammer, look for loose parts inside, if nothing is loose, remove
> the cat
> and inspect this one, could be clogged (if clogged you should have
> loose
> parts inside). But red hot??????
>
> The muffler could also be the problem, if this one is clogged it
> could do
> restriction!!! But something else is wrong, with a clogged cat or
> muffler
> you should have a very rough or not running engine. How is the
> temperature
> of the rest of the exhaust system? Is the end of the muffler (near
> tail
> pipe) warm, or almost cold when the cat is red hot.
>
> Remove the cat and inspect this one, no other solution.
>
> If clogged and you NEED to run the van for a short period of time:
> The following is a temporary solution (don't bash me), remove cat,
> take a
> hammer and a big screw driver and bang the inside of the cat until
> there is
> nothing left inside (ceramic)!!!! ONLY IF YOU ARE SURE THAT THIS ONE
> IS
> CLOGGED.
>
> But I doubt that this is the problem if the engine is running
> normally
> (temperature and stable idle)
>
> Note: the cat is the only restricting place in the exhaust system
> (anti
> pollution!!!!), that's why it could get hotter than any other
> exhaust part.
> Also, this is not good for the engine.
> Removing the inside of the cat will a least save the engine!!!!
>
> Ben
> http://www3.sympatico.ca/huotx/engine1.htm
>