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Hello all,
New to this forum, looking for members who may have experience with similar issues/workarounds.
I am working on a 2000, 300ES, and all codes seem to indicate catalytic converter issues.It has undergone a full diagnostic at the dealership which indicated the same.
However, the estimate for cat replacement was north of $3500... Needless to say dropping $3500 into a car that books out at $2000 isn't an option.
I have found aftermarket cats ranging from $150/each (universal cut and weld) to $400 (bolt in replacements with manifolds)
my question is has anyone replaced cats with aftermarkets, and what was your experience with the results?
The car really isn't running poorly, but the check engine light remains on which will cause an emission inspection failure.
Of course, the popular opinion (locally) is to hollow out the converters, and re-install, but that I'm sure is a slippery slope.
I replaced my Y-Pipe with a Walker unit by mistake. The flanges had to be cut and rewelded to fit with no leaks. Also, the system has no corrosion protection - it comes with a 2 year warranty and they mean it! It starts to fall apart from any moisture.
If you have a 2000 ES300, that means your main cat is part of the center section, unlike the 97-98. I would recommend having an aftermarket cat welded into the factory pipes.
Look up O2 spacers. You can find them everywhere including Ebay and Amazon.
It's just a simple spacer for your O2 sensor that turns off the CEL.
I had a similar issue with a worn out catalytic converter, for a few dollars it turns the "check engine" light off. It's not worth dumping $3,500 for a new catalytic converter.
Look up O2 spacers. You can find them everywhere including Ebay and Amazon.
It's just a simple spacer for your O2 sensor that turns off the CEL.
I had a similar issue with a worn out catalytic converter, for a few dollars it turns the "check engine" light off. It's not worth dumping $3,500 for a new catalytic converter.
Just another option
This is some shady stuff, I'm gonna look into it for a friend...
you can guy 2 spark plug defoulers and do the same thing.
They sell those for a few bucks at the parts store, the have the same thread as o2 sensors so should thread in fine.
We did this for a long time on my dad's honda odyssey van, the catalytic engine code went away.
However, eventually the cat will become so obstructed that you will start seeing misfires and performance problems when going on the freeway or higher speeds.
We had to replace the cat anyway to solve the performance problems.
Normally people only run this type of thing if they have a test pipe installed or something in order to bypass the check engine code.
The idea behind it is to push the O2 sensor further out so that it becomes less sensitive to the amount of unburned gases and returns a good reading.
This will prob work in the short term but the long term solution will still be to replace the cat. Not sure if hollowing it out and running the defoulers will work, haven't seen anyone verify it.
you can guy 2 spark plug defoulers and do the same thing.
They sell those for a few bucks at the parts store, the have the same thread as o2 sensors so should thread in fine.
We did this for a long time on my dad's honda odyssey van, the catalytic engine code went away.
However, eventually the cat will become so obstructed that you will start seeing misfires and performance problems when going on the freeway or higher speeds.
We had to replace the cat anyway to solve the performance problems.
Normally people only run this type of thing if they have a test pipe installed or something in order to bypass the check engine code.
The idea behind it is to push the O2 sensor further out so that it becomes less sensitive to the amount of unburned gases and returns a good reading.
This will prob work in the short term but the long term solution will still be to replace the cat. Not sure if hollowing it out and running the defoulers will work, haven't seen anyone verify it.
Sounds like this method will only work if there is no test for exhaust gases. Good to know.
11-13-16, 07:03 AM
Aftermarket Catalytic Converters
