HELP!!!!!! Please (Cat converter)
12-29-05, 02:23 PM
#1
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HELP!!!!!! Please (Cat converter)
OK as i was running around doing christrmas shoppin last week and my baby was hesitatin on start up but i attributed it to cold weather and my constant short trips from store to store...So last wednesday I get up 2 go 2 work and nothing, the engine didnt respond @ all! 
so i call the wonderful people @ AAA (who take 3 hrs to get to my car) and they tow me to the dealership...My worse fears were confirmed (my worse fears @ that time, trust me it gets better) the starter went up (3 days b4 christmas and me being the Notorious procrastinator i am i was only 5% done) so I pay the 1330.00 (I have no credit cards, law student, with a 2 year old son needless 2 say that REALLY hurt) so i get the car back friday (after 2 days in my Altima loaner, when did lexus start giving mid level, base model, rival company cars as loaners 
) so christmas eve i'm drivin and lo and behold the check engine light comes on...So last night i drop my baby back off and 10 mins ago it GOT BETTER!...Whenever your service person starts off by not sayin your name but just goes into "Are you sittin down?" you know the proverbial **** is about to hit the fan and so guys and gals it did and right now i smell like i just rolled around in a pig sty it seems my Catalytic convertors (yes both of them are shot) how who knows and they need 3K 2 replace them...She made it seem like if it wasnt done 2day i would die of carbon monoxide poisoning and my car would explode...I baby that machine always have and when i bought her 3 years ago the guy did the same and i have all the records...This isnt good please someone help because honestly I dont have it... 
so i call the wonderful people @ AAA (who take 3 hrs to get to my car) and they tow me to the dealership...My worse fears were confirmed (my worse fears @ that time, trust me it gets better) the starter went up (3 days b4 christmas and me being the Notorious procrastinator i am i was only 5% done) so I pay the 1330.00 (I have no credit cards, law student, with a 2 year old son needless 2 say that REALLY hurt) so i get the car back friday (after 2 days in my Altima loaner, when did lexus start giving mid level, base model, rival company cars as loaners ) so christmas eve i'm drivin and lo and behold the check engine light comes on...So last night i drop my baby back off and 10 mins ago it GOT BETTER!...Whenever your service person starts off by not sayin your name but just goes into "Are you sittin down?" you know the proverbial **** is about to hit the fan and so guys and gals it did and right now i smell like i just rolled around in a pig sty it seems my Catalytic convertors (yes both of them are shot) how who knows and they need 3K 2 replace them...She made it seem like if it wasnt done 2day i would die of carbon monoxide poisoning and my car would explode...I baby that machine always have and when i bought her 3 years ago the guy did the same and i have all the records...This isnt good please someone help because honestly I dont have it...
12-29-05, 02:27 PM
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Tell them to kiss off and take the car to a reputable exhaust shop and they can probably replace them for a few hundred bucks.
Hell, if you find the right shop they might just cut them out and replace them with straight pipe for you.
Smog legal? No. Fix your problem?Yes
Hell, if you find the right shop they might just cut them out and replace them with straight pipe for you.
Smog legal? No. Fix your problem?Yes
12-29-05, 02:32 PM
#3
ok I have never heard the cats being to so bad that you need to replace them right away. The check engine is most likely being caused by the oxygen sensors.
My suggestion. Leave it alone untill you have some time. Yes you will suffer some bad gas mileage. But who gives a ****, at least you will still have your car.
Next thing, stop going to the dealer for these kind of repairs. You are getting raped. $1300 for a starter is absoluely insane. The catalitic converters can be changed at a local mufler shop. Trust me they can do it, for much much less. My last car I had a high flow cat custom welded to flanges, bolted up for about $200. With labor. I bought the cat on my own from summit racing. They had deals back then on Catco cats. Not the best, but lasted 3 years untill i took the car apart.
My suggestion. Leave it alone untill you have some time. Yes you will suffer some bad gas mileage. But who gives a ****, at least you will still have your car.
Next thing, stop going to the dealer for these kind of repairs. You are getting raped. $1300 for a starter is absoluely insane. The catalitic converters can be changed at a local mufler shop. Trust me they can do it, for much much less. My last car I had a high flow cat custom welded to flanges, bolted up for about $200. With labor. I bought the cat on my own from summit racing. They had deals back then on Catco cats. Not the best, but lasted 3 years untill i took the car apart.
12-29-05, 02:55 PM
#4
Unless you're coming up for an emissions check, ignore the problem until you pass your bar exam and are gainfully employed. I doubt that both cats went bad simultaneously, but that's always a possibility. Also, ignore any terror talk from your dealer that your cats will clog up, or that permformace will suffer, or that your passenger cabin may fill up with noxious fumes, etc. Cats don't "clog up", they just lose efficiency at thermally converting the bad emissions to the good emissions. And I agree with both posters above. Good luck (with the car and your studies). JB.
12-29-05, 03:04 PM
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Thanks fellas i did alotta research on the starter before and the concensus was that 1100 or so was the going rate depending on region my personal mechanic wanted a grand so i just let the dealer do it for me...I was really in the dark about the cats good to know its just gonna mess up gas mileage and not kill my car...I'm gonna check with my mechanic and see what he says...Sorry if i was ranting earlier had to just let it out...
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12-29-05, 06:56 PM
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Is the car runing alright except for the CEL? I've had a couple of cats go out in previous vehicles and when they disentegrated and clogged the container, the car wouldn't rev over 2K no matter what I did. If they are bad you will need to fix ASAP. Any reputable shop will not replace with straight pipe, too much to loose if it ever came back on them. Shop around, hopefully you can find a better price.
12-29-05, 07:00 PM
#9
Originally Posted by slickgt1
ok I have never heard the cats being to so bad that you need to replace them right away. The check engine is most likely being caused by the oxygen sensors.
My suggestion. Leave it alone untill you have some time. Yes you will suffer some bad gas mileage. But who gives a ****, at least you will still have your car.
Next thing, stop going to the dealer for these kind of repairs. You are getting raped. $1300 for a starter is absoluely insane. The catalitic converters can be changed at a local mufler shop. Trust me they can do it, for much much less. My last car I had a high flow cat custom welded to flanges, bolted up for about $200. With labor. I bought the cat on my own from summit racing. They had deals back then on Catco cats. Not the best, but lasted 3 years untill i took the car apart.
My suggestion. Leave it alone untill you have some time. Yes you will suffer some bad gas mileage. But who gives a ****, at least you will still have your car.
Next thing, stop going to the dealer for these kind of repairs. You are getting raped. $1300 for a starter is absoluely insane. The catalitic converters can be changed at a local mufler shop. Trust me they can do it, for much much less. My last car I had a high flow cat custom welded to flanges, bolted up for about $200. With labor. I bought the cat on my own from summit racing. They had deals back then on Catco cats. Not the best, but lasted 3 years untill i took the car apart.
I don't take my car to the dealer anymore only for minor things. I found some Lexus technicians with their own shop. Maybe you could find the same.
Last edited by Lexizm; 12-29-05 at 07:04 PM.
12-30-05, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by BmoreGS4
Thanks fellas i did alotta research on the starter before and the concensus was that 1100 or so was the going rate depending on region my personal mechanic wanted a grand so i just let the dealer do it for me...I was really in the dark about the cats good to know its just gonna mess up gas mileage and not kill my car...I'm gonna check with my mechanic and see what he says...Sorry if i was ranting earlier had to just let it out...
12-30-05, 09:36 AM
#11
I would not recommend going with CEL eliminators for the oxygen sensors. The fuel curve will be wrong for the car, and you will mess up your new cats faster that way.
Oh, and don't wory about them clogging up an messing up your cars performance. With this beast of an engine, I guarantee you that they will just fall apart inside, and you will get some more high end power. Your low end might get a little weaker.
The only bad things I have ever experienced with messed up cats (read: 6 cars i had, I destroyed the cats on 4 of them), was that the exhaust smells like ***, especially in the summer when you are standing at a light with your window open. The other thing was that the car got raspier / louder.
Oh, and if one Cat. goes bad, chances are that the second one will follow shortly. So when you decide to change them, replace them both.
Oh, and don't wory about them clogging up an messing up your cars performance. With this beast of an engine, I guarantee you that they will just fall apart inside, and you will get some more high end power. Your low end might get a little weaker.
The only bad things I have ever experienced with messed up cats (read: 6 cars i had, I destroyed the cats on 4 of them), was that the exhaust smells like ***, especially in the summer when you are standing at a light with your window open. The other thing was that the car got raspier / louder.
Oh, and if one Cat. goes bad, chances are that the second one will follow shortly. So when you decide to change them, replace them both.
12-30-05, 10:02 AM
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IMHO, you should go to Autozone and have them pull the code, then report it back here. Might not even be the cats, could be a bad O2 sensor that the dealers says it's a cat. Code 161 anyone?
12-30-05, 11:38 AM
#13
yeah, bad O2 sensors would be far more likely than both cats failing at the same time. Is your only symptom the check engine light? If so it is almost certainly not the cats. If you idle is really bad and you have lost power (indicating clogged cats) then yes maybe they are bad.
Actually, since they have to pull so much stuff to get to the starter it is very possible they did not hook up a connector or sensor wire correctly and that threw a CEL. Getting a light right after major work generally points to an error made during the major work, not a new problem.
This is rather disturbing coming from a Lexus dealer. I would ask them what the code is and why do they think it is the cats?
Actually, since they have to pull so much stuff to get to the starter it is very possible they did not hook up a connector or sensor wire correctly and that threw a CEL. Getting a light right after major work generally points to an error made during the major work, not a new problem.
This is rather disturbing coming from a Lexus dealer. I would ask them what the code is and why do they think it is the cats?
12-30-05, 12:05 PM
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Originally Posted by slickgt1
I would not recommend going with CEL eliminators for the oxygen sensors. The fuel curve will be wrong for the car, and you will mess up your new cats faster that way.
Oh, and don't wory about them clogging up an messing up your cars performance. With this beast of an engine, I guarantee you that they will just fall apart inside, and you will get some more high end power. Your low end might get a little weaker.
The only bad things I have ever experienced with messed up cats (read: 6 cars i had, I destroyed the cats on 4 of them), was that the exhaust smells like ***, especially in the summer when you are standing at a light with your window open. The other thing was that the car got raspier / louder.
Oh, and if one Cat. goes bad, chances are that the second one will follow shortly. So when you decide to change them, replace them both.
Oh, and don't wory about them clogging up an messing up your cars performance. With this beast of an engine, I guarantee you that they will just fall apart inside, and you will get some more high end power. Your low end might get a little weaker.
The only bad things I have ever experienced with messed up cats (read: 6 cars i had, I destroyed the cats on 4 of them), was that the exhaust smells like ***, especially in the summer when you are standing at a light with your window open. The other thing was that the car got raspier / louder.
Oh, and if one Cat. goes bad, chances are that the second one will follow shortly. So when you decide to change them, replace them both.