Possible catalytic converter issues

RUSTI DOUGLAS

MEMBER
2006 DODGE CARAVAN
3.8L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
142,000 MILES

Van runs okay/good regular speeds when traveling on flat surface roads or down hills. No missing, no grinding or whining engine sounds fine. However when I go up any incline or try to pull a hill such as Snoqualmie pass etc. I end up loosing torque and compression like I have to flood it out to keep it going and ends up being at 3,000 rpm's at 30 mph if I'm lucky enough to keep it going that fast. Had EGR valve replaced and lines cleaned. Air filter replaced codes cleared it ran good for bout a week and now it's running the same codes as before driving slower though.

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Couple things. First can you let us know what those codes are that keep returning? Second the easiest way to confirm this is a converter issue is to remove the o2 sensors and drive the vehicle. If there is a restriction this will allow the back pressure out and you should have more power. Clearly you won't have all the power but it will be better.

However, a clogged exhaust is normally an issue all the time. It won't care if you are on an incline or not. You would most likely notice decreased power most of the time.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-has-low-power-output

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-low-engine-power

Here are a couple of guides that will help figure this out.

Let us know the codes and we can go from there. Thanks

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing