Replacement catalytic converters
Discussion
The catalytic converter on my car has started rattling and I understand the elements inside have started breaking up. Looking around it appears Honda will charge around £600 + fitting + VAT for a new one and after market ones are around £250-£300 (including VAT).
My previous experience with cheap exhausts (i.e. a £50 items from a local motor factor) are that they barely last 12 months. Are these cheap cats the same or should I expect to get more than 5 years out of them?
I've changed plenty of exhausts in my time but never a cat. Do I need to watch out for anything? What are the chances the bolts have welded themselves in and I waste many hours try to free them when a garage with the right tools could release them in minutes?
My previous experience with cheap exhausts (i.e. a £50 items from a local motor factor) are that they barely last 12 months. Are these cheap cats the same or should I expect to get more than 5 years out of them?
I've changed plenty of exhausts in my time but never a cat. Do I need to watch out for anything? What are the chances the bolts have welded themselves in and I waste many hours try to free them when a garage with the right tools could release them in minutes?
Legally if your car was registered on or after 1st March 2001 (Y plate onwards) then a Type Approved replacement cat has to be fitted. If a supplier or a garage provides or fits a non type approved cat they can be fined up £5000. This was introduced for 'green' issues but Type Approval does mean aftermarket cats should be of a certain standard.
Having said that I have seen some aftermarket cats where the fabrication of the pipework looked like it had been done by a blind, one handed monkey.
If you can find a decent make aftermarket cat (Walker, Bosal, TIMAX etc.) then there shouldn't be an issue.
As for fitting it depends on the car. Bear in mind that some Cats may have Lambda/O2 sensors fitted into them (rather than in other parts of the system) which can be a pain to remove and could require replacement.
If you don't want the hassle let a garage do it who should have better tools to remove the sensors.
If you decide to do it yourself don't use any exhaust putty or gum up stream of the Cat unless you let it set before using the car. The fumes produced when setting can kill a Cat.
Having said that I have seen some aftermarket cats where the fabrication of the pipework looked like it had been done by a blind, one handed monkey.
If you can find a decent make aftermarket cat (Walker, Bosal, TIMAX etc.) then there shouldn't be an issue.
As for fitting it depends on the car. Bear in mind that some Cats may have Lambda/O2 sensors fitted into them (rather than in other parts of the system) which can be a pain to remove and could require replacement.
If you don't want the hassle let a garage do it who should have better tools to remove the sensors.
If you decide to do it yourself don't use any exhaust putty or gum up stream of the Cat unless you let it set before using the car. The fumes produced when setting can kill a Cat.
Mroad said:
Legally if your car was registered on or after 1st March 2001 (Y plate onwards) then a Type Approved replacement cat has to be fitted. If a supplier or a garage provides or fits a non type approved cat they can be fined up £5000. This was introduced for 'green' issues but Type Approval does mean aftermarket cats should be of a certain standard.
That's a new one on me, you got anymore info on it, like how it's regulated and who and how they check?I just thought as it stands at present a car only needs to pass the MoT emissions test and there is no legal requirement for a CAT to be present on a car. Even for Type Approval, as many Land Rover TD5's didn't run Cats as they could pass the emissions standards without, whereas the older 300Tdi needed a Cat.
OP - as for buying. Try a search on ebay.com (US ebay) for Magnaflow cats. You should be able to pick up a good quality performance cat for around $80
Just to follow this up.
Honda quoted £1250 + VAT + Fitting kit (bolts+gaskets) + labour. I actually laughed down the phone. I got the £600 quote from some forums so either the dealer tried ripping me off or the forum quotes were out of date.
Bought a £266 (inc VAT) cat from the Internet which came with fitting kit. Spent about 2 hours with a dremel removing the old bolts. New cat was missing the heat shield brackets so we fashioned some new ones to hold the heat shield in place.
Honda quoted £1250 + VAT + Fitting kit (bolts+gaskets) + labour. I actually laughed down the phone. I got the £600 quote from some forums so either the dealer tried ripping me off or the forum quotes were out of date.
Bought a £266 (inc VAT) cat from the Internet which came with fitting kit. Spent about 2 hours with a dremel removing the old bolts. New cat was missing the heat shield brackets so we fashioned some new ones to hold the heat shield in place.
I replaced my shed's cat with a bosal one - there is new legislation about it having to have a specific mark now which is stamped onto the cat, apparently can be mot failure if it doesn't have the mark... not sure how true that is...
anyway, Honda wanted almost 1k for oem on a 1999 1.4 civic, so the £100 properly marked up bosal one did just fine
anyway, Honda wanted almost 1k for oem on a 1999 1.4 civic, so the £100 properly marked up bosal one did just fine
vxsmithers said:
I replaced my shed's cat with a bosal one - there is new legislation about it having to have a specific mark now which is stamped onto the cat, apparently can be mot failure if it doesn't have the mark... not sure how true that is...
The one I bought is 'E' marked for the new rules. It's wrapped in a heat shield though so there's no way they could check during an MOT.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff