bad catalytic converter advice please?
03-01-11, 12:09 PM
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bad catalytic converter advice please?
Hi guys, my car just threw a CEL today so I went into Pep Boys and had them pull the code to find out that my cat is bad. Called my mechanic to check for quotes and he said the part from Lexus would run me $1700. And I was told that it is illegal for a junkyard to sell me a cat in cali. However I have a friend that said he might be able to find the part for me though. So what do you guys think I should do?
1. just drive the car and just deal with the cat when its time to smog
2. save up for the oem lexus part <---not likely
3. install a cat that my friend finds for me
4. ca legal cats from magnaflow http://www.car-sound.com/02product/s...ayproducts.asp
really curious about the magnaflow option. have any of you guys swapped in the magnaflow cats?
or if you guys could recommend some other options if any?
Don't know if this would help, but car is a 96 ls4 with 241k on the clock.
Also, the code that was pulled was P0420
1. just drive the car and just deal with the cat when its time to smog
2. save up for the oem lexus part <---not likely
3. install a cat that my friend finds for me
4. ca legal cats from magnaflow http://www.car-sound.com/02product/s...ayproducts.asp
really curious about the magnaflow option. have any of you guys swapped in the magnaflow cats?
or if you guys could recommend some other options if any?
Don't know if this would help, but car is a 96 ls4 with 241k on the clock.
Also, the code that was pulled was P0420
Last edited by vietstuh; 03-01-11 at 02:51 PM.
03-01-11, 02:27 PM
#2
your mechanic is either a complete and total idiot or higher than a kite and trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
when you get either p0420 and/or p0430 and no other codes 95% of the time you just have a small post-cat exhaust leak. check the exhaust gaskets before the y-pipe (from the cats to the center pipe) and replace them. also check the entire exhaust for rust/holes/leaks.
when you get either p0420 and/or p0430 and no other codes 95% of the time you just have a small post-cat exhaust leak. check the exhaust gaskets before the y-pipe (from the cats to the center pipe) and replace them. also check the entire exhaust for rust/holes/leaks.
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CamelKool (09-03-20)
03-01-11, 02:49 PM
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i'm gonna be driving the car down to his shop tomorrow so he can actually check it out, so i'll have him check for leaks. thanks for the help guys. and i'll update tomorrow after he checks it out.
oh and to clarify, the pep boy guys told me that i needed to replace cat. I just called my mechanic to ask him to start looking for quotes.
oh and to clarify, the pep boy guys told me that i needed to replace cat. I just called my mechanic to ask him to start looking for quotes.
03-02-11, 01:55 PM
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the cat is bad for sure. it sounds like a can full of beans rattling around. no exhaust leak. found a great deal for a magnaflow cat so i think i'm going to be going that route.
03-02-11, 05:19 PM
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Just make sure whatever caused your cat to go bad has been corrected, so it doesn't damage the new one. For example, if your O2 sensor(s) are degrading and causing your fuel mixture to be rich, thereby causing unburned fuel to flow through your exhaust, this can cause your cat to fail. Another example would be coolant in the exhaust due to a head gasket leak. There are other examples as well.
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