Bad (pre) Cat

[slavrenz]

If you have a bad cat you have or had other issues to make it go bad... I think I still have my pre-cat from my old p5 in storage. I can dig around and see if I can find it some time tomorrow if you would like. However the thing is decent sized and I wouldn't know how to go about packaging it for shipping either.

This is a good point, and something that I did not really clarify. In my case, I had bad ignition coils that were causing a random misfire. However, once those were fixed and the car was running smoothly, I installed a new eBay catalytic converter (which, I searched for my old tracking number, and discovered that mine shipped from Toronto, similar to the ones being discussed in this thread).

My car ran fine (and completely stock) for the next several months until one day when the P0421 code came back. Keep in mind that this was after having replaced my ignition coils, spark plugs, and spark plug wires, and there were no other problems with my car at all. The cheap catalyst in the eBay converter just crapped out and I was never able to get in touch with the seller to get a replacement.

For those of you thinking a $100 converter from eBay (I am not talking about used OEM ones) is a good deal, keep in mind the metals that make up the catalyst in a typical converter - platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Palladium is currently going for about $360 per ounce, while Platinum is fetching about $1450 per ounce and rhodium is about $2350 per ounce. These metals are not cheap, and the only way the eBay converters can be sold for so cheap is because they barely put any in there to begin with.

Now this doesn't make a very good case for the Walker converter, since it is still only about $260, but at least it comes with legitimate support staff, as well as a 5-year/25,000 mile warranty. I don't know about you, but I think that's a helluva lot better deal than paying $800+ for a new OEM converter every 8-10 years or so.

 

[StealthWyvern]

This is a good point, and something that I did not really clarify. In my case, I had bad ignition coils that were causing a random misfire. However, once those were fixed and the car was running smoothly, I installed a new eBay catalytic converter (which, I searched for my old tracking number, and discovered that mine shipped from Toronto, similar to the ones being discussed in this thread).

My car ran fine (and completely stock) for the next several months until one day when the P0421 code came back. Keep in mind that this was after having replaced my ignition coils, spark plugs, and spark plug wires, and there were no other problems with my car at all. The cheap catalyst in the eBay converter just crapped out and I was never able to get in touch with the seller to get a replacement.

For those of you thinking a $100 converter from eBay (I am not talking about used OEM ones) is a good deal, keep in mind the metals that make up the catalyst in a typical converter - platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Palladium is currently going for about $360 per ounce, while Platinum is fetching about $1450 per ounce and rhodium is about $2350 per ounce. These metals are not cheap, and the only way the eBay converters can be sold for so cheap is because they barely put any in there to begin with.

Now this doesn't make a very good case for the Walker converter, since it is still only about $260, but at least it comes with legitimate support staff, as well as a 5-year/25,000 mile warranty. I don't know about you, but I think that's a helluva lot better deal than paying $800+ for a new OEM converter every 8-10 years or so.

You shouldn't have to replace the cats EVER if everything is working 100% in your car. The car should rust away before the cats ever go bad... so back to my orig statement... "If you have a bad cat you have or had other issues to make it go bad"

My truck is almost 20 years old and still has the orig cats and it runs like its brand new just about(can't say new because its not new).


Edit: Obviously I'm talking OEM here... not that cheap ebay knock off crap.

 

[slavrenz]

You shouldn't have to replace the cats EVER if everything is working 100% in your car. The car should rust away before the cats ever go bad... so back to my orig statement... "If you have a bad cat you have or had other issues to make it go bad"

My truck is almost 20 years old and still has the orig cats and it runs like its brand new just about(can't say new because its not new).


Edit: Obviously I'm talking OEM here... not that cheap ebay knock off crap.

I agree with you...somewhat. There are some cases/specific vehicles (not ours) where the catalyst will just wear out after 10 years/150,000+ miles. It's not very likely, and 99% of the time you have another problem going on, but it can happen.

To the OP, I guess I assumed you already figured out why your cat went bad. If not, do this first, or you're going to be looking for a second new one in short order.

 

[protegedude25]

please dont try to correct my grammar its just a forum not school thanks

ok so since i had this code monday and i installed non fouler and dont have the code anymore. then how did the light just go off? only thing i can think of it fixed it. so maybe it just worked for my car.

so i got a question for you slavrenz so your saying that the 2nd o2 is only used to tell the computer that the cat is bad correct this is what your saying right. (not trying to have this huge computer fight with you lol trying to figure this out) cause that would be kinda weird and pointless.

 

[ucMP3]

please dont try to correct my grammar its just a forum not school thanks

ok so since i had this code monday and i installed non fouler and dont have the code anymore. then how did the light just go off? only thing i can think of it fixed it. so maybe it just worked for my car.

so i got a question for you slavrenz so your saying that the 2nd o2 is only used to tell the computer that the cat is bad correct this is what your saying right. (not trying to have this huge computer fight with you lol trying to figure this out) cause that would be kinda weird and pointless.

The secondary O2 doesn't serve much purpose... Just double checks emissions. This is why it's so easy to trick it by doing a non-fouler trick. Primary O2 is what does most of the work.

 

[slavrenz]

please dont try to correct my grammar its just a forum not school thanks

ok so since i had this code monday and i installed non fouler and dont have the code anymore. then how did the light just go off? only thing i can think of it fixed it. so maybe it just worked for my car.

so i got a question for you slavrenz so your saying that the 2nd o2 is only used to tell the computer that the cat is bad correct this is what your saying right. (not trying to have this huge computer fight with you lol trying to figure this out) cause that would be kinda weird and pointless.

The only reason I was asking for you right in sentences is because I was having to read everything 2 or 3 times to understand what you were saying.

Yes, the nonfouler trick worked becaused it "tricks" your rear oxygen sensor into thinking that your catalytic converter is working. It does this by moving the sensor out of your main exhaust stream and sets it farther back inside the nonfouler - this causes it to see a much smaller amount of those nasty emissions, which makes it think that your catalytic converter is cleaning your exhaust (even though it's really not).

Yes, the only purpose of the rear O2 sensor is to monitor the efficiency of the catalytic converter. Only the front sensor monitors your air/fuel ratio - it wouldn't make sense for your rear O2 sensor to do this, since normally it is seeing exhaust that has already been "cleaned" of partially burnt fuel by your cat.

 

[slavrenz]

please dont try to correct my grammar its just a forum not school thanks

ok so since i had this code monday and i installed non fouler and dont have the code anymore. then how did the light just go off? only thing i can think of it fixed it. so maybe it just worked for my car.

so i got a question for you slavrenz so your saying that the 2nd o2 is only used to tell the computer that the cat is bad correct this is what your saying right. (not trying to have this huge computer fight with you lol trying to figure this out) cause that would be kinda weird and pointless.

You're right - I didn't mean to escalate this at all. My original intent of posting here was to make sure that the OP knew what he was getting himself into. As long as you understand the inherent risks of buying a catalytic converter off of eBay from a no-name exhaust company with no warranty, there's not much else I can do to convince you otherwise.

In some cases, they may work fine, but I can almost guarantee that the vast majority of people will be disappointed that they decided to go super-cheap in this area, especially since a quality Walker converter is only about $260.

 

[ucMP3]

You're right - I didn't mean to escalate this at all. My original intent of posting here was to make sure that the OP knew what he was getting himself into. As long as you understand the inherent risks of buying a catalytic converter off of eBay from a no-name exhaust company with no warranty, there's not much else I can do to convince you otherwise.

In some cases, they may work fine, but I can almost guarantee that the vast majority of people will be disappointed that they decided to go super-cheap in this area, especially since a quality Walker converter is only about $260.

Sometimes I think you just come on a little strong and a bit "preachy." Sorta like it's either your way or the highway. But you are knowledgeable so it's generally overlooked. Internetz is confusing, mane.

Kno what I'm sayin home skillet? (cabpatch)

 

[slavrenz]

Sometimes I think you just come on a little strong and a bit "preachy." Sorta like it's either your way or the highway. But you are knowledgeable so it's generally overlooked. Internetz is confusing, mane.

Kno what I'm sayin home skillet? (cabpatch)

Lol, complement and criticism in the same sentence, nice . I get what you're saying - sometimes I get a little carried away when people don't have all of the information about a situation.

I don't want to turn into TheMAN or anything like that (no offense, Edwin, if you're reading this).

 

[ucMP3]

Lol, complement and criticism in the same sentence, nice . I get what you're saying - sometimes I get a little carried away when people don't have all of the information about a situation.

I don't want to turn into TheMAN or anything like that (no offense, Edwin, if you're reading this).

Nothing wrong with a little passion, lol. (rei)

 

[SouthATX]

the feedback about the ebay mufflers being questionable is exactly the type of feedback i am looking for. i don't want to go to the trouble of putting one on just to have it fail in a few months. also, stealthW is right - you generally should never need to replace the cat on any car. however, occasionally you do. i have done so on my old MR2 ( RIP). my P5 was poorly cared for previously, so maybe it's time. it is a last resort as i seem tohave tried everything BUT Seafoaming it. we have emissions testing here, so i might be willing to try the defouler route. either way , i appreciate all the input, it is very helpful to get all perspectives. thanks again.
on a side note, i have only had this car for a few weeks, but it is a blast to drive. despite the issues it has, i am glad to have it!

 

[slavrenz]

the feedback about the ebay mufflers being questionable is exactly the type of feedback i am looking for. i don't want to go to the trouble of putting one on just to have it fail in a few months. also, stealthW is right - you generally should never need to replace the cat on any car. however, occasionally you do. i have done so on my old MR2 ( RIP). my P5 was poorly cared for previously, so maybe it's time. it is a last resort as i seem tohave tried everything BUT Seafoaming it. we have emissions testing here, so i might be willing to try the defouler route. either way , i appreciate all the input, it is very helpful to get all perspectives. thanks again.
on a side note, i have only had this car for a few weeks, but it is a blast to drive. despite the issues it has, i am glad to have it!

If you have emissions testing and you do the nonfouler trick, don't be surprised if your car doesn't pass - essentially, you're down to just the rear cat, and if the front one's bad, there's a good chance the back one is too.

 

[ucMP3]

If you have emissions testing and you do the nonfouler trick, don't be surprised if your car doesn't pass - essentially, you're down to just the rear cat, and if the front one's bad, there's a good chance the back one is too.

Depends if they do a sniffer test or not. You can pass emissions tests with non-fouler tricks if its just an OBD II test... You'll just fail visual inspections & sniffer tests.

 

[SouthATX]

agreed, but for $20, I'll give it a shot.

 

[protegedude25]

ok koo i see what your getting at yea maybe down the line when i have a badass job ill go out and buy a walker cat good luck guys thanks

 

[ProtegePilot]

Hey what's up, I'm a FNG on here but I decided to hijack this thread because I'm having a similar problem. Got the infamous PO421 code so I took it to a dealership to get it checked out and it seems like the front cat (and the manifold maybe?) is bad. Dealership insisted that only OEM part would work and that it would cost 1200-1400 dollars

So I come to you folks to figure out what my options are, I looked at the walker catalog and it looks like they only have the manifold not the actual cat (or am I mistaken?) Anyways I'm looking for advice so my wallet doesn't get ***** by the dealership.

Oh and I'm pretty sure I need the 49 state version since I don't live in CA

 

[SouthATX]

check the rockauto site, they had a walker precat as of last week. then re-read the thread. at least one other owner here had good luck with the walker cat. the other options are for folks who are not as concerned about emissions testing.

if you read the sticker on the underside of your hood, and it even mentions California, chances are very good you have a Calif spec car.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Got one with less than 8k on it in my attic if anyone in TX needs one. PM for official pics if interested. Pick up or meet only-not shippin that boat anchor, lol. Much better deal than dealer too.........

 

[ProtegePilot]

Thanks for the help, any idea why it would go bad in the first place? Cats usually just don't up and die...unless they're in a P5 that is (lol)

 

[tver]

Just out of curiosity, how many miles on the p5. I just had to get mine replaced...I took it to the dealer (Royal Moore Mazda in the Portland area. Had to give em a plug since they had such great service) they and they informed me that it was covered under a federal mandated epa warranty. The Warranty is 8 yr/80,000 miles. I have an '03 with 75k, so mine went out just in time. They were able to replace it the same day at no cost.

Also, I had a misfire due to a bad ignition coil, which is what led to the demise of my pre-cat. I replaced those myself...no more Check engine lights. Those fixes seemed to have resolved all of my issues.