I own a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT and I've had the dreaded O2 sensor codes for as long as I can remember. Just the past weekend, I decided to gut out my pre-cats and install O2 spacers for the oxygen sensors (All 4). I was hoping that the codes would finally disappear but sadly it didn't. :sad: It's that bottom O2 sensor on the rear side that's been on for the longest. The P0051 code was after gutting.
There's got to be a way to remove the codes once and for all.
Here are my codes:
1) P0138 *Stored / Oxygen Sensor High Voltage (Bank 1 -Sensor 2)
2) P0037 *Stored / Heater control circuit low (Bank 1, sensor 2)
3) P0051 *Stored / Sensor Heater Control Circuit Low (Bank 2 Sensor 1)
Get them off your upstream sensors right now. Do not drive the car like that.
And your codes are for dead heater circuits in the O2 sensors. Spacers don't fix that, they fix cat efficiency codes when placed on the downstream sensors sometimes
AFAIK, the upstream are the ones used to actually calculate the fuel trims. So these have to stay as the factory designed them to work with the ECU programming. The downstream only check the catalyst efficiency.
Upstream is definitely used for calculating air fuel ratios. By removing them from the stream they see a lower voltage, which will make the car think it's running lean and it'll dump a ton of fuel, potentially affecting the oiling system of the car and causing major damage through sustained use.
Short term is bad fuel economy, and damage to the catalytic converters, as well as reduced power and possible rough idle/stalling.
Downstream sensors are for the ECU to check for a difference in voltage to determine cat efficiency, and removing them from the flow with spacers will bring them closer to the half volt it's looking for
Sorry to change the subject but I’m curious about performance and sound with the gutted cats. Ive heard it’s pretty similar to rre headers. Does the car backfire or pop? Also how was the process do gutting them?
I have gutted cats on my car and the rear o2 sensor comes on even with the spacer.... it’s a pain I get different fuel trims and the car runs different profiles.... sometimes the car feels like it lacks power and sometimes it feels like someone hit a switch and all the power comes back..... the sound is definitely there.... popped ever now and then... but I still have the 3rd cat just because of the smell and smog reasons
Smash them out with a punch and a hammer. Or, buy the RRE, have more power, better fuel economy, and put the $100 scrap value of the stock pair of manifold cats towards the purchase
Gutted cats flow worse than OEM brand new cats. The only time to break them out is when you can't afford another option. Fuel trims WILL be fucky. You're essentially taking a smooth flow chamber where the volume remains a constant, and adding a huge bubble right where you're trying to measure your fuel trims at. It's not good for anything, and any tuners will tell you how bad they are to tune to try and just make OEM power with again
Another idea I had was to remove the converter completely and weld in some tubing in its place. Getting rid of the air bubble but still utilizing the stock manifold
That's a great method, just above what most people will do, so I stopped suggesting it on the open forum
It will definitely work better than gutted cats
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mitsubishi Eclipse 4G Forums
928K posts
23.8K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to 4th Generation Mitsubishi Eclipse owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about technical discussions, part awareness, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!