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