Great time to get a straight pipe exhaust. or hollow out the cat. . . who needs a CAT.... oh yeh emissions.

 

I do notice this new vibration/rattling noises coming from the CAT last weekend. Took the car to Wilkie Lexus in PA, they want $1000 to rid of the "bad" CAT. I then asked him if it is infact BAD as in "failing emission"? Wilkie Lexus answers NO it's not like that. So look like i just need to live with that heatshield rattling noise until this weekend when I have time to work on it...... If you guys can direct me exactly what to look for under my car to tighten up, 1000x appreciated.

Thanks

chuck

 

I was worried about my cat too (i had another thread on this), turned out I passed emissions yesterday w/ no problem so the smell i was getting once in awhile may not have been a bad cat after all. During the time that I thought it might be the cat, i tried to look up alternatives to the lexus cat and didn't find anything for my car (01 gs430)... however, i did find a cat for the 99-00 gs400 made by catco for under $200... i was surprised that these two cars would use different cats (anyone want to elaborate on this?) - anyways, glad to hear that you don't have to do this right away, let us know what ends up working for you!

 

I am not completely sure I understand this Cat Converter business, but the rattling noise coming from the bottom of my car becomes a major pain in my ears. But this only happens sometimes, very random.

The dealer did diagnos the issue is with the CAT being rusted inside the heatshield/wrap and there is nothing they can do but replacing one for $1000 (included labor). Keep in mind, there is no sign of emission failure (said Lexus Tech).

So after search and searching, I couldn't find anything for a 1999 GS300 CAT-Con. However the Borla Exhaust system part#11733 keeps showing up. Will this solve the issue? or I am jsut completely out of the park ????

If anyone knows where to buy one or suggest a good alternative, rather than the STEALER, i mean dealer... please do post!

Thank you...

 

The Borla part you mentioned should fit with your car. I searched in here and ebay, and that seems to be the right part for 2GS. Not 100% sure if that will solve your problem tho.

Not stealing the thread but got question related to all this cat business. Apology if this came out rude.

Other than emission is there any other use for cat? Is it true that if I remove the cat, performance would go up? I'm looking at the Borla sysem too but purely for performance. Where I am we don't have to take emission test, so if I remove the cat, performance would be higher? what about noise?

 

Ok, so i took it to Lexus of Westport here in CT. the guy told me that my front end pipes need to be replaced, and that my heatshield is cracking. He's going to call me later on tonight with a price. What should i be expecting?? Any alternative suggestions?