[beastmaster]

I hope some one can give me an idea of the damage I did to my catalytic convertor.
I forgot to put the oil cap back on my 1996 kia rio. Oil got all over one side of the engine and on the belts making them slip and squeal a little. I sprayed some engine cleaner on it and lightly sprayed water from a hose while it was running to rinse it off. I don't have the cover that goes over the top of the motor on it either.
Next morning on the way to work it was lacking some power but I figure it had to burn off a little moisture or something. 10 miles into my trip it starts losing power. Soon I am in the emergency lane doing 5 mph, then it dies. I pop the hood and in the dark I can see the cat glowing orange.
If I let the car sit it'll run OK for a while then slowly start losing power and shifting messed up. I put a code reader on it and come up with P0420. Could I of cracked the catalytic converter? I was going to replace the O2 sensors, but there almost 100.00 a piece. I figure I should check every possability first. Thanks a lot for any advice or help.

 

[DavesSpectra]

Sounds like a very rich condition...
What comes to mind is that the air filter is probably saturated with water...limiting the air in the air/fuel mixture...
Pull the air filter and try it again...
You may have damaged the Cats from driving it rich...Hopefully it's "only" damaged O2 sensors as Cats in California are VERY expensive. The glowing orange is NOT a good omen.
Dave

 

[Dr Bob]

Water on the engine was a bad move. You could get away with it in the old days (before electronics). The only way to get rid of an oil spill is to carefully mop it up with rags, and this may require partial disassembly of belts etc. Once the bulk of the oil is removed, it may be safe to start the engine and let it warm up. Warm oil will drip off the engine; be prepared to catch it. There's a possibility of a fire if oil has reached the cat or other parts of the exhaust system. Only use something like mineral turpentine as a solvent to clean selected parts, rather than petrol, for obvious reasons.