Best price for Exhaust Cats

[Shox Dr]

Just had to be recovered off the M62 The nice AA man thought it might be a blocked cat, and on checking the temp pre cat/cat and post cat showed temps of 160c 260c and 60c.

So it looks like the cat is blocked, not sure on the reason. So I need to replace the cat.

Any good places to weight the damn thing in

 

[ryan]

I had the same problem on my BMW e46 320cd,i just took the whole lot off,cut a square out of the top side removed the honey comb stuff so the cat was empty and re welded back together, didn't make car louder just improved turbo lag and response of car and saved me ££££

 

[mike 109444]

Ryan does it still pass an MOT?

 

[outofthefire]

The last cat I bought was pretty cheap but I had to given them the old one in exchange.

 

[Shox Dr]

According the AA man they don't make them out of the same stuff, and older (cars a 06) are worth a bit, so much so I might (ha) be able to finance to new one. On the other hand I might just cut the old one out weight it in and weld the exhaust back up

 

[philsmin]

Just make sure the replacement cat is type approved, we fitted a cheap one to the mother-in-laws vectra and it failed the mot on emissions (wasn't even a week old!) was about £30 cheaper than a type approved one.

Changed it for a proper one and it sailed through! managed to get our money back luckily......

 

[ryan]

Ryan does it still pass an MOT?

not sure as i sold it before it was up for new one but could of got around it easy enough, i was told the newer diesels dont actually need cats to pass an mot but they put them on anyway to help with the emissions.dont quote me on that though only what a friend said.

 

[brightspark]

my mates car hasnt the cat the emision tests done on sumone elses car theres allways a way if u know sumone

 

[hotrodder]

A mate of mine has a recovery business, from the last time he was having a rant (prices/regulations/illegals that get away with ignoring regulations etc) ISTR cats fetching (or adding to the value of a car) something like £40-£80ish, presumably depending on size/exact flavour
Cars first registered after 2001 (1st March?) are type approved replacement only. Diesels aren't subject (currently) to a cat test i.e. removing one (or gutting it) won't have any effect at MOT time although there's some additional bits being added to the MOT next year- there was talk of 'illegal engine modifications' being a fail. Quite how that'd work i don't know, presumably all testers will need a 'second sight' course but a gutted cat is obviously less conspicuous than a missing cat. Having said that the illegal modifications thing is supposed to be about ecu mods

If you're replacing it be worth finding out what killed it first...

 

[Ducati]

Just had to be recovered off the M62 The nice AA man thought it might be a blocked cat, and on checking the temp pre cat/cat and post cat showed temps of 160c 260c and 60c.

So it looks like the cat is blocked, not sure on the reason. So I need to replace the cat.

Any good places to weight the damn thing in

Evening Shox, a couple or few questions;

How old is the car ?
Petrol or diesel ?
What type of journeys ?
Approx. mileage ?
Engine management light been on ?
Any codes registered when ECU read, either present or pending ?

The 100 deg difference pre to cat ( and post cat ) is about normal, showing that the cat must be working ie cleaning up the gasses.

The 60 deg post cat and my presumption that your symptoms were that the car ' ran out of breath ' at motorway speeds / hills obviously points to a restriction in the exhaust.

Before you plump for a new cat make sure that it is the cat and not the back box that has collapsed, in doing their job cats produce lots of water, the coolest part of the exhaust system is the back box, mild steel and water = the baffles collapsing and the rockwool sound deadening blocking the box.

Get some one to run the car at a fast idle 2,000 - 3,000 rpm whilst you examine the tailpipe, there should be a high volume of exhaust gasses being emitted.

If not, disconnect the rear cat flange, try the 2,000 - 3,000 fast idle, if the gasses from the cat are what you would expect normally from the tailpipe it would appear that the back box, the favorite, is the problem, or any other silencer between cat and tailpipe.

Another way is to check either the manifold vacuum with a vac gauge, or exhaust back pressure ( usually by removing the lambda sensor, screwing in an adapter, then monitoring the pressure as above ).

Presuming that it is the cat the next thing is to determine why it failed, so you won't fit a new one which fails a week or two later

Early days the cat substrate ( honeycomb ) was ceramic based and was subject to collapsing due to vibration, thermal shock ( splashing through those puddles at bus stops ), impact damage and meltdown due to misfires and over - fueling.

Modern cats have a metallic substrate and are more robust, however they are still prone to impact damage, meltdown and old age.

Sorry if this is a bit long winded but I have seen the sad results of the symptoms being attended to and not the cause.

Or a cat being replaced but it was only the back - box blocked.

When twin cats on a V6 or V8 have been changed at £700 + each and they fail a week or so later rude words start to fly

P.s. ref. scrap value, have a word with your local scrappy or car dismantler, the noble metals contained in them are the prime mover in their value, it's not unknown for our caravan dwelling friends to raid such as council vehicle compounds and remove all the cats

 

[Shox Dr]

Cheers lads. A bit more info for you;

Car slowed down losing power and revs, then stalls. Pulls over cars starts ans runs, and revs freely, but no power on moving off. Wait a few minutes and all is well again until 3-4miles down road same with happens. Back box is blowing and has been for some time. Burning (IMO) a slight amount of oil. Hesitates on hard acceleration. Currently mileage 154k Motor replaced at 128k. 2006 S60 T5

edit


No error messages either

 

[the snooper]

that sounds a little odd to me if you can travel 3 or 4 miles i would expect a blocked exhaust to cut the engine well before that, sounds to me as you could have fuel tank breather problems and unable to pull fule due to the vacuum in the tank

 

[Shox Dr]

Well... Dropped the middle section and the cat showing oil. Turbo me thinks? ********

 

[tigler]

Well thats the CAT screwed anyway then ! Any smoke from the exhaust ?

 

[hareng]

Sure its oil not unburnt fuel?

Can get aftermarket cats just cutout and weld back in place. Had a 200 cell on last car, 100 cell meant for race etc bit risky on emissions. Went through mot 4 times, the last one with engine management light on. Paid £75 for cat, reducer and flexi pipe but prices have risen from Ashley in Walsall.

I have a similar prob scanner says turbo boost leak, lambda is trying to rectify cylinder 1. Made an adapter up and pumped in 20psi in to intake after MAF, no leaks. Upon starting had plumes of smoke like a shot engine for 2 mile then cleared. PCV?
VAS coming Monday full on check.