Boys and Girls,

Has anybody here replaced a catalytic converter themselves? One of my cats has finally given up the ghost, so it's time for a replacement. Looking on RockAuto, Amazon, et al, I'm seeing some replacements at less than $400 for a pair, with shipping. Seems kinda low, and I fear "getting what I pay for". The brands are Davico, Evan Fischer, and Eastern Catalytic. Local muffler shops wanted close to $2000 for the whole job. As cheap as I am, I wonder if I could tackle it myself.

Any thoughts? Doesn't look like a lot of fun, but I'm thinking I might drop the muffler, too. Then I could loosely join the new cat to the existing muffler, and tighten everything up upon reinstallation. Might be easier than trying to fit the pieces together in situ.

 

Davico and eastern are good. Sometimes you can get the assembly from exhaust manifold to intermediate pipe. Depends on your setup. You are lucky you can get the federal ones to use there. Wish i could

 

i did remove my exhaust myself, and its not that heavy considering that i removed it all in one piece. You can try unlocking it in the middle.

just use an impact air pistol for the nuts on all connections and you're good.

 

Just use your best loosener like pb blaster or kroil for overnite and i bet it will be a breeze

 

Karl take it for what it's worth. Todd who purchased Jon89's 2005 S Type several years ago and I replaced the drivers side cat on his now daughter's S Type, the MagJag.

Todd purchased cat from Amazon. The procedure was pretty straight forward but, we had to use an exhaust pipe widener for where the new cat fit into existing exhaust pipe. Be sure to turn in the old cat yourself, have proof ie.. title at recyclers. I believe Todd recovered about $250.00 for his old one.

Edit part: we did not have to remove any other part of the exhaust system, just the drivers side cat. A couple hours and a couple of beers. Save yourself paying someone else! It's not that bad, even laying on your back.

 

You guys have some brands that work?
I have the v6.
i might need one in the future
many thanks

 

How was the fit of the new converter? I'm concerned with the bend in the pipe at the bottom of the cat. If the front portion (with cat) is too long, the pipe will stick down too far and scrape on every speed bump. If too short, the pipe will hit the chassis.

My thought are to remove the old cat and carefully position it next to the new one on a flat surface. Maybe use some cribbing blocks to get an accurate base reading and then compare the two. I'd really hate to tear it all apart and then discover the new one doesn't fit very well.

 

I got two head pipes with cats from Rockauto. Mine were pacesetters thought. The fit was okay but the diameter of the pipe was a little small so it took a bit to make sure there wasnt any leaks. It was a relatively easy install. I do have a recurring P0420 but I havent determined the cause yet.

 

Exact fitment as oem as far as bends and length. The only problem was we had to expand the rear of the pipe to fit exhaust flare.

We did break the pipe expander in process but the new pipe expanded just enough for us to side the 2 together. My hunch is the expander is meant for steel and not stainless steel.

 

I pulled the trigger and ordered a Davico cat. They offer a basic grade (Exact Fit) and one designed for vehicles with high mileage (Dealer Alternative).

https://davicomfg.com/products/

Big difference in price, but this is a job I only want to do once. With over 350k miles on my car, the "Dealer Alternative" seemed more appropriate.

I kept seeing "Evan Fischer" brand available for much less, but was concerned about getting what I paid for. Only a few reviews, but not very good as far as the physical fit:



I tried to find more details of the company, and it appears to be a trademarked house brand of Carparts.com. I noticed other vendors selling what appeared to be the same product, based on the pictures included with their listings.

So for once in my life, I decided not to cheap out. I ordered the spendy Davico version from this outfit, with free ground shipping:

https://catalyticconverter.net/c-138...deral-epa.html

I had been thinking of replacing both cats, but have decided to hold off for now until I see how well the first one fits. I'll update when I have more details.

 

You should recoup a better part of the new cat price when you scrap your old one!

 

thats funny bc I broke my expander doing the exact same thing

 

Were they made in China? I got a cheapy Chinese kit and found it was not as strong as expected too.

 

What brand(s) of expander did you guys break? I plan to order one soon. Not sure which size I need so was going to wait until the new cat arrives.

 

We "rented" one from O'Reilly auto parts. I do alot of monthly business through them in our little town so the manager just wrote it off. I was thankful and so was Todd.

AIR they come in 2 sizes. I believe we rented the larger 2"-3" one but don't quote me. Might help to heat pipe prior to expanding it. From others above, I believe the expanders are for steel exhaust pipe stock and not stainless steel.

I think we picked up an extra exhaust flange to mate to the exhaust manifold. For some reason or another I can't remember. The $10 zinc compression type.

 

Was it this type?:




Never messed with one, and I thought that was the only style unless you step up to a spendy professional grade hydraulic unit. Then I get to reading up, and apparently this semi-affordable style seems to work well:



I ordered a Fling Dung brand knock-off set that had good reviews. Fingers crossed it works well, and can handle stainless. The Lisle version does say it can handle stainless. Hope my knock-off can, too.

https://www.lislecorp.com/specialty-...-stretcher-kit



Curiously, my initial search was for "exhaust pipe expander" and the results were primarily for the first type. To find the second type, search for "exhaust pipe stretcher". Who'd have thunk?

 

Yes the first picture is what big box stores rent. That is the exact one we broke. The MagJag pipe did not have to be stretched much, it did have to be stretched though.

 

Waiting by my front door this afternoon:




Kinda reminds me of this favorite scene:

 

Dont fall for the banana in the tailpipe trick

 

yup thats the one I broke