so, i have a guilty confession.... regarding a check engine light.....
the land rover has been throwing a P0420 (yes, 420) code, meaning that the catalytic converter on bank one is below efficiency. of course, this can mean that the O2 sensors are bad. so, i replace the O2 sensors, which were very old and, visually, hammered. reset the computer and start driving. i drive and drive and drive and drive. it finally throws the same P0420 code, but pending, after about 50 miles of 50MPH driving (the book says it should only take 5 miles). so, i take the truck to midas. because it is saturday. they quote me $825 to change out the catalytic converter.
here comes the confession:
i happen to know that pepboys has a bottle of 'catalytic converter cleaner'
http://exhaustsystemsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/mr_gasket_cataclean-300x300.jpg for $25. i decide that $25 is a hell of a lot less than $825, so i go buy some and put it in the tank. at this point, i am nearly certain that i have lit $25 on fire.
i drive away from pepboys and set the trip odometer. 7 miles down the road, at 50MPH, i check the OBDII reader and everything is online, no codes, no self checks incomplete. truthfully, i am amazed. anyway, i drive it straight to jiffy lube and have the damn thing inspected/emissions.
phew.... i am glad i got that off my chest....