Don't remove the muffler/cat for a visual inspection unless you like getting
dirty.
Go get a emissions inspection at a garage or your local state/county office.
However if it were me, I would leave it and just wait for your next
inspection to come up (if you have them) in your state/city/county (?).

Sean Garrett
1981 Westy (his)
1995 Eurovan Camper (hers)
Soon... 1987 Syncro project
sean.garrett@asu.edu

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric Unrau [mailto:eunrau@YAHOO.CA]
> Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 12:34 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Loss of power - super hot muffler - Shame on me
>
>
> I'm hanging my head in shame.
>
> After all the suggestions and diagnostic discussions around my engine
> problems - I replaced the ignition wires today and she's
> running smooth
> and the cat isn't glowing.  (Ken's wire swapping suggestion confirmed
> the need for new wires - thanks Ken)  Should have done this
> in the first
> place, but somehow the glowing cat and muffler distracted me from the
> obvious.  Thanks for all the advice, and sorry for the waste of
> bandwidth.
>
> That said; did I fry my catalytic converter during this
> little episode?
> How would I tell, short of removing and inspecting?
>
> ~Eric~
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> > Eric Unrau
> > Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 11:45 AM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Loss of power - super hot muffler
> >
> > Hi folks.  I drove my Westy today for the first time in a couple of
> > weeks.  Oil level was ok, coolant level was ok - started up
> fine.  As
> we
> > drove to the airport, about 10km, the engine seemed to lose some
> power,
> > but I wasn't too concerned - just thought it might be time
> to swap in
> a
> > new set of ignition wires.  On the way home from the
> airport the power
> > loss worsened until we were barely able to hold 40kph.  Noticed that
> the
> > muffler was really hot, in fact so hot that the body coloured shield
> > below the rear bumper has discoloured from the heat.
> >
> > In my search through the archives I've found a few possible
> explanations
> > for these conditions:
> >
> > 1) plugged cat
> > 2) slipped timing
> > 3) failed O2 sensor
> >
> > Any other possibilities or thoughts on steps toward determining the
> > actual problem??
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > ~Eric~
> > '89 Westy
> > Vancouver, BC
>