Honda Car Forum

I have an 89 Prelude SI, fuel injected. I had the car for about a year with out probelm, before the clutch went out. While it was sitting waiting for clutch repair, someone stole the catalytic converter. I had it replaced, and a week later the eliment broke up and clogged it. I had it replaced again. 2-3 months later it went out.

The motor did/has/does run great, the only thing I notice is a ticking sound which sounds like a valve sticking. I am aware a burned valve can kill converter due to the failed seating. Given that my motor runs great, is it very likey that it's an exhaust valve? I've read that the valve problem is accompanied by performance issues.

Otherwise, I've seen that it can be bad plugs not burning all the fuel. Or a bad 02 sensor. Also, I have never had the check engine light come on. Looking at the manual to diagnose the problem through the ECU, it seems there are even more potential causes, but I'm hoping to keep things simple (and cheap, by staying out of a repair shop).

Also, I noticed now that the eliment is burned up the exhaust smells rich like fuel. Not sure if this is because the catalyic converter is no longer catalyizing or that this is the result of the source of my problem.

Based on my engine seeming to run fine w/o check engine light, is there anyway to say (of the normal causes of catalytic converters going out) what can be ruled out and what cannot?