heat - cooked my catalytic converter

[lofat]

about two weeks ago i noticed that the pipe out of the back of the catalytic converter had come loose. so today i take it to the muffler shop and we get it up and take a look under and you can see that it is cooked.

first thing is we notice the guy who owned the truck before me had them put 1 3/4" connector on the right portion of the Y pipe but also that the catalytic converter is a piece of sh*t. it's tiny and definitely wrong for that vehicle.

but the main issue is the heat. now i have never seen my heat gauge even hit the half way mark. usually once warmed up it hovers around 1/4 to 2/5 of the way. it doesn't seem like it runs too hot. never overheated even in the bumper to bumper traffic in the hot CA afternoon commute. fluids are all good too.

so is this new thermostat time or what....


i am at a loss, but this guy does really nice work, and the last thing i want to do is cook it again.

any ideas are appreciated.

Cheers,
scott