Catalytic Converters

[Fugitive]

My left one just blew out! I heard a noise coming from it for the last 6 months! No one beleived it was a noise coming from inside the converter just missed the warranty. 7 years 70,000 got 71,143, damn! Charge it to the game!
Anway any recomendations on what to pruchase the dealer tried to really bend me over $1000. I was like hell no! Found Bob Maguires auto parts, the left on whole sale price is $592. Not bad but what are the price of random tech? I can't seem to get their web site something is wrong. Thanks Scott

 

[CKA_Racing]

Go to the following web sites for pricing on Random Techs:
More Performance
TPIS


I believe TPIS had the best price but you'll need to check. If you get the Random techs, you'll need to buy new bolts, washers, nuts in order to install them.

 

[Fugitive]

Got Random technology, looks good only one problem. It said no after market converters can be put on California vehicles with ODBII. What's up with that? Scott

 

[CKA_Racing]

Odd but not surprising.

 

[Vettart]

Jegs has the shorty street rod cats. Some bolt on, some weld on. MUCH better price.

 

[Fugitive]

No I got a brand new cat for five hundred dollars. My muffler friend put it on for forty five dollars. Runs a lot better now. Funny when he took it off it had blown out so much only a small fist full of ceramic was left in it. Scott

 

[sothpaw]

Where'd you get a GM cat for $500?

How did the car run when the cat was blown? Mine runs fine until it warms up, then the engine runs rough and stalls. Wondering if it's a cat issue.

 

[Fugitive]

Yo South I got the cat at Bob Maguire auto part online. You gotta order it on the net to get the discount.
As far as how the car ran with the cat blown out it ran kind of rough but still very good, good enough to blow the doors off a few imports.

Sounds like your having a fuel to air mixture problem. Does your information center light up with "Service soon" light? This is critical becuause if the cat is not working properly your ODBII light will come on. But just to rule it out here is the things I noticed. First, the exhaust was louder on the side with the blown out cat. Second, I noticed my exhaust pipe was much dirtier on the blown cat side. Three, I noticed an annoying exhaust rattle due to the small amount of ceramic blowing around and hitting the inside of the cat. Hope this helps! Scott

 

[sothpaw]

I have not noticed any of these things.

The car will limp to the shop today.

 

[Hib Halverson]

If you have a failed cat, the MIL will usually come on. OBD2 diagnostics have cat monitoring designed to detect cat failures. That's what the rear O2 sensors are for.

What kind of noise comes from the cat?

Legally, in California you cannot replace a cat with anything other than the OE replacement part so, techncially, putting on Randoms violates the law. That said, many test/repair and test only stations will not catch the difference. A state referee station will, however,

While it is possible some of these aftermarket "high flow" cats may actually flow more exhaust than stock units, you will find that many of the small, high-flow aftermarket cats are not as durable as the OE pieces. That may or may not be an issue in this case, depending on how much longer you plan to keep the car.

In any event, before buying any new cats, I'd verify that you actually have a problem with the existing units. The fact that the MIL is not on raises a question in my mind.