New catalytic converter

[PATTERNPART]

Hi Annoyingly my car failed an MOT yesterday due to high CO emissions. (Hydrocarbons well within limits). The old Cat was a £90 Ebay item which was one year old. Can anyone recommend a supplier please? I note that MX5 Parts have got them for £160 or somewhere in that region.

[The Tea Boy]

what model mx5 have you got? I still have my old one from my mk1 1.6 before i de-catted it.

Matt

[PATTERNPART]

Its a 1.8 Eunos 1996. That would be cheeky. Maybe I could borrow one then replace with a straight through section till next time...

[The Tea Boy]

Ah think 1.6 and 1.8 are diff sizes!
My mk1 was a 1989 so didnt need a cat

[MX-5 Lazza]

If you have a Eunos Roadster it should pass the MoT emissions test without a cat. Was it tested as a Eunos Roadster or as a UK MX5?

[ronime]

MX-5 Lazza said:

If you have a Eunos Roadster it should pass the MoT emissions test without a cat. Was it tested as a Eunos Roadster or as a UK MX5?

Not quite.

All cars first registered or first used after 31 July 1995 are subject to the more stringent CO limit (0.3%), even imports.

The OP's car was first used in Japan in 1996 has therefore been tested in complete accordance with the regulations.

Edited by ronime on Sunday 16th October 22:59

[MX-5 Lazza]

Ah, I thought the year was later than that. My bad.

Back to the OP - if your car has already killed 2 cats I'd suggest there is something wrong with it. Maybe it's running rich and dumping fuel into the cat which kills them quickly.

[PATTERNPART]

It had been running with the camshaft timing retarded due to a slipped bottom pulley. I wonder if this has a bearing on the short Cat life experienced.

[Office_Monkey]

I have a cat from a 1.8 somewhere at home if you're looking

[powerandtorque]

It is far from unheard of for cheap pattern cats to fail in the timeframe that yours has, even on an otherwise healthy engine. Clearly engine/management/ignition problems (esp. misfiring or significant overfuelling) will dramatically reduce the life of the cat.

Personally, if you can't justify the cost of a new decent branded cat, then I'd just buy a known-good used OE item.

[PATTERNPART]

I got my garage to fit a cheapish new Cat last week. Nice quick job. After my first trip down a motorway I stopped at lights and noticed a funny smell. Hopefully this is just paint or the sticker burning off the new cat. The smell was present when I arrived at work this morning too.

And ANOTHER thing. I was manoeuvering the car about in the streetlights of the garage block where it lives at night and noticed a surprising amount of water blowing out of the exhaust. The resulting splashes and patches on the ground evaporated quickly in the mild and breezy evening air. It definitley isn't oil or petrol though I would want to drink it.

The car wasn't warmed up as I'd barely coasted half a mile from a friend's place where the car had cooled completely.

I think I will make sure it gets nice and hot by taking a more entertaining 15 mile route home.