catalytic converters

[equ]

I know next to nothing about them (will hit wiki later today). It appears that equ's gf's Civic Si (2002, 105800 miles) has a CEL now that is traced to one. Shop cleared it, asked her to drive for a week or so to see if it comes back. In that case, they say we'll need a new catalytic converter.
1. Any general ideas? Could this be sensors and stuff rather than physical cat degradation?
2. Oem or aftermarket? Prices are $1000 :eek: and about $300 respectively...

[lupinsea]

Sounds about right if I'm remembering a thread from a while ago correctly. I think the game plan was to go aftermarket if it works. Might ahve had something to do with how long the car was likely to be kept. Not sure.

[clyde]

I know next to nothing about them (will hit wiki later today). It appears that equ's gf's Civic Si (2002, 105800 miles) has a CEL now that is traced to one. Shop cleared it, asked her to drive for a week or so to see if it comes back. In that case, they say we'll need a new catalytic converter.
1. Any general ideas? Could this be sensors and stuff rather than physical cat degradation?
2. Oem or aftermarket? Prices are $1000 :eek: and about $300 respectively...

Why would you buy OEM for 3x+ the cost?

[equ]

No drivability issues, no CEL yet. Fingers crossed that it was a hiccup. If we need to, we'll go aftermarket. I just don't know any honda shops in the area (only one that does older ones) and her Si hatch is a rather rare car in this neck of the woods.

I had the mileage wrong, we're at 108k+ now.

[John V]

My co-worker is fighting this with his CR-V. He's getting a "catalyst efficiency" CEL. Nine times out of ten, that is a bad catalyst. The other time, it's a bad O2 sensor. Trouble is that with Hondas the O2 sensors expensive enough that it isn't worth it to replace them as an experiment.

I would go with an aftermarket cat. Good luck.

[equ]

The CEL has not come back. Fingers crossed...

[equ]

Unfortunately this thread needs a bump. The CEL has been back for a few months now, at her last service (130k), mechanic cleared it and it came back in days. This mechanic also says it's the cat not the sensors. OEM cat is $1000! Interestingly, this shop (gf's favored spot) refuses to put in a much cheaper aftermarket converter.

I did a bit of research. The oem cats have federally mandated 8/80,000 warranties. Aftermarkets, not so much, perhaps 25k. A lot of people seem to have issues with aftermarket converters in months or 1-2 years after install. Sure it passes inspection right away, but not good enough or simply not enough substrate and the actual emissions go to hell rapidly.

On a different note, we've had this car for more than 44k miles now and for its age, nothing else has gone wrong. Just oil, tires and brakes so far. A few bulbs have gone, all but one DIY'ed. Passenger side door lock not working with remote, that is the only other fault of this car with 130k miles on it. But spending a $1k to 2k on a car that's worth about 5k is a bit hard to swallow.

[Rob]

If you want to keep the car, I think you have to suck this up. I thought I was in a similar situation with the 200k 328 I had awhile back. In that case, it turned out I just had to be careful to let the exhaust warm up before using large amounts of throttle, but mechanics that I trusted said this wasn't a part that was worth cutting corners - you just end up paying for it again in a year. Some of these were "discount" mechanics that would keep the cars running forever with $50/hour labor without doing repairs the car didn't need, too.

[equ]

Yup, it's not like this guy is super fancy, he just won't touch an aftermarket cc. In the meantime, did some research, magnaflow somewhat highly rated. Random technologies, very highly rated, and that's $416, so about half the oem cost. So you bought a bmw one? What was the cost?

[Rob]

It turned out that I just needed to let the old one warm up before I stomped on the power. So I didn't have to replace it. As far as I know, the next owner is still loving the car without any emissions repairs.

The guys I were talking to referenced bargain brands, not stuff like Magnaflow. My OEM cost quote was $1100 - $1200 off the top of one guys head (he didn't look it up, he said to see if the code came back first). I don't know if I got into oem price with the other two.

[equ]

Of course in California, there may be a requirement to use oem. Good to know, thanks again!

[Terri Kennedy]

Yup, it's not like this guy is super fancy, he just won't touch an aftermarket cc. In the meantime, did some research, magnaflow somewhat highly rated.
The Magnaflow lasts about 2 laps in an Atom or 250 miles on the street if driven gently. But that may be the Atom's fault. Fortunately, a cat-less Atom will usually just pass in the more lenient states.

[equ]

That's not encouraging in the least... I wonder if it were the magnaflow or the atom. We were thinking of going with random technology, if for nothing, for its name.

[Terri Kennedy]

That's not encouraging in the least... I wonder if it were the magnaflow or the atom. We were thinking of going with random technology, if for nothing, for its name.
I'm pretty sure it was the Atom. Since the Atom is rear-engined, the cat is only a foot down the header from the exhaust ports on the block. So it gets very hot gas as well as the occasional flame.