Engine Catalytic Converter problem on 2001 Corolla

Catalytic Converter problem on 2001 Corolla

Hi

I have a 2001 Toyota corolla with 95K miles on it. Of late,I have the check engine light appearing and upon taking to a mechanic, they say the cats has gone bad (code 420). The OEM costs around $1100. I was able to find an after market one for $510. Is is worth going for the after market cat? quite confused if I need to do the reparis or just sell the car and go for a new one. I just changed my tires recently (all 4 of them) and when I checked with carmax, I was offered $3500 for it (as it had an accident).

ALso, if I just ignore it for a while, what would be the potential impacts?

Gurus, any advise on this?

Thanks.

I would not ignore a clogged cat. I'd straight pipe it personally, or pull the clogged cat off, punch it out and reinstall it. But that's only an option depending one where exactly you live and the emission laws. If you do punch it out, make sure you wear something to cover your eyes, mouth and nasal passages. You don't want to breath that shit in.

Buy a universal cat that is OBDII complient then take it to a muffler shop and have it installed. A muffler shop will charge you a fraction of what a mechanic will charge and you'll more than likely get a better quality job donw in the end...

Like this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...&category=33629

Thanks.I live in VA. Not sure abt the emission laws here. (if it would allow me to do so!). Again, how long do after market cats last? It comes with a 1 year warranty.

Get a Catco or Carsound one from eBay for ~$75. They are OBDII compliant.

Thanks Vamp! Got thrilled on seeing your message that I can get one for around $75 on e-bay!! I can order it and have it installed by a mechanic right (pardon my ignorance or dumb questions, haven't carried out any of this stuff with my car on my own. had relied on the delaer always for my car care needs.)
Btw, why is the price so different for the one quoted by my mechanic?

Vamp, I had one more question. I was looking at E-Bay and I saw a ton of them. My mechanic says, he needs a direct fit one. Do you have any idea which one I need to go for a 3&quot; or 2.25&quot; outlet one or a universal cat? any suggestions would really be useful!<br />
<br />
Thanks

Thanks. I checked under the hood of my vehicle and it says it is certified for california emmisions too. So, the mechanic refused to put an after market cat on it. Do you think I can still put one given the fact that it is certified for CA emmissions?

Thanks

Correction - He said it would still give a check engine light after putting the catco direct fit becos the computer in my vehicle is programmed for CA emmission standards. So he said he needed to find out one for pertaining to CA emmisions standard.<br />
Do you have any idea where I can find one?<br />
<br />
Thanks

Dude!!! He's just trying to get you to buy one through him... get the Catco cat and have a muffler shop install it. simple as that...

most aftermarket cats if used with the same diameter piping will actually put out less emissions than an old stock cat. its perfectly legal to replace any cat in california after the engine has had 50000 miles on it.


edit

oh yeah and it shouldnt cost more than a muffler install, i wouldnt spend more than 50 bucks for the install

Would like to bring this thread back alive. Can someone post the part # for the OBDII cat converters being mentioned? Any chance a muffler shop carry an OBDII cat in stock? Or are they mostly ordered? Sold my car to a friend and assumed it would pass smog and just knocked off $50 from the sale. The car failed smog.

Just grab one of those bolt on magnaflow cats, they should work fine

But $200+ (bolt on) vs. $65 (universal) makes a lot of difference. Thanks all!

Found a "universal" OBDII complient fit Magnaflow cat converter on Ebay but was unsure if it works in CA. Under the description, it shows "2 In/Out No Air". What does the "No Air" mean? No O2 sensor?

Answered PM.

So now, I'm really confused. The Magnaflow universal cat converter (91004) finally arrived today. I noticed in the box it gave the description, model #, and the notes "EPA and CARB Qualified". But I also notice in parenthesis "(Exc. Calif. OBDII)". Does the "Exc" mean except, exempt, exclude...??? :superconf ... meaning it's not legal in CA?

It should still be fine. It will still do the job of catalyzing carbon monoxide and other free radicals.

Thanks!