Good aftermarket catalytic converter?

[ziggy]

Hi all! It's new CAT time. Old one now is neat gone. It is a bosal. Put over 34000 miles and 4-5 years on it. It's rattling,eating up gas ect.
Walker? Eastern? Adp? I always wanted to try walkers..it's a 98 Buick LeSabre.and factory is discontinued,and it was a $900 part,or I thought I once saw.putta question regardless!
What a very good aftermarket brand that will,could last longer than bosal?

 

[blufeb95]

The best catalyst would be whatever you can find that's carb compliant, anything that's only EPA compliant will likely have the least amount of catalytic material they can get away with.

 

[wag123]

When it comes to aftermarket CATs, Walker is about as good as you can get. They are also a major OEM supplier.

 

[atikovi]

it's a 98 Buick

25 years old in 2 months. Does it still need emissions inspection?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Eastern Catalytic is the best.

How rusty is the rest of the car?

If you still plan on having the car another 5 years, get the cheapest CARB cat. Rock Auto has one for $450.

 

[01rangerxl]

I've had a Walker direct fit y pipe on my 3.0 Ranger for about 10 years and over 100k with no issues. Not the prettiest thing, but the fit was good and it works.

 

[Lubener]

There's probably something wrong with the way your engine is performing to ruin a converter in short time like that. There's a good chance the new one will also fail prematurely.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Walker

 

[SC Maintenance]

I have Eastern's on one of my rigs, and while they have lasted OK the fit was terrible. Took all kinds of contortions and a donut gasket to get them to not leak. Won't do that again.

x2 on something is wrong if your only getting 34K out of the last set. Is it an oil burner?

 

[Timmastertech]

I would never put an aftermarket cat on a newer vehicle but I have put plenty of Walker cats on GM products of that vintage with no issues

 

[jeepman3071]

The best catalyst would be whatever you can find that's carb compliant, anything that's only EPA compliant will likely have the least amount of catalytic material they can get away with.

The carb compliant ones will also be MUCH more expensive. In some cases more than the vehicle is worth if you go to a shop.

Since OP is in CT, he just needs to satisfy the check engine light. The cat was recently stolen from my sister's 2003 Acura 3.2TL. I put on a cheap $99 Magnaflow universal cat and new NTK O2 sensor and it passed emissions with flying colors. I've used Magnaflow and Walker on a few different vehicles with good results. I know Walker used to sell their "higher loaded" convertors meant for older vehicles having trouble passing emissions. They weren't much more money, but not sure if that is still something they offer.

 

[ziggy]

25 years old in 2 months. Does it still need emissions inspection?

No! Interesting.because I had code p0420 inneficiency catalyst,bank 1,sensor 1..I have a code reader so erase it. I was using tcw3 in gas(never again,at 1 oz per 5 gallons,18 gallon tank,it fouled up my spark plugs and they dropped tank too clean it out). I erased code 2&3 months ago..and reregistered my car,emissions..I passed! Have the paperwork... It was just this past week,code kept popping up every 80 miles.3 times in one night last week. Though I erased the code..I passed emissions! I had upper 02 sensor replaced last year code came back more when I used Mmo in my gas.stopped MMO code went away.
Right now CAT is kinda shaking, burning gas on fast side.sounds like a tin can with marble in it lol.

 

[ziggy]

Monday morning I'll ask mechanic how much,and can he do get a carb compliant CAT. Prices lol.mechanics usually charge more about $100 more.
Hard too find mechanic who'd install m charge labor.2 places I used,tried skrewing me,after agree
ing too install n charge labor.one I waited 7 hours in November cold..only too find they did nothing. Then played a weird get lost gamebwith me.yjat was universal auto,stford ct.they skrewed others too.
Last mechanic put radiator on for me,but didn't follow the overflow.cae made steam..mechanics helper gave me that weird smirk. It means Thier not making any money off me,it means don't ce back.

 

[ziggy]

So hopefully this mechanic,shell gas station And state certified issions inspection..won't skrew meif I buy n they charge labor only. That universal auto place,opened andpoured distilled water I keep I back car all over the floor.for another labor only job. Iteans don't come back. I've removed the entire cat n exhaust of my old 98 Corolla.bought m installed a cheap eastern cat n pipe n muffler assembly,using hacksaw and ratchets once.but landlord then I had permission.ove moved since and have no permission to do anything auto did my spark plugs n wires last year,landlord saw me,street parking but her house.she called me n was not happy at all.
I do my own oil changes at a local below level stop n shop Gunna do my own brakes n rotors thier too now on

 

[slacktide_bitog]

So hopefully this mechanic,shell gas station And state certified issions inspection..won't skrew meif I buy n they charge labor only. That universal auto place,opened andpoured distilled water I keep I back car all over the floor.for another labor only job. Iteans don't come back. I've removed the entire cat n exhaust of my old 98 Corolla.bought m installed a cheap eastern cat n pipe n muffler assembly,using hacksaw and ratchets once.but landlord then I had permission.ove moved since and have no permission to do anything auto did my spark plugs n wires last year,landlord saw me,street parking but her house.she called me n was not happy at all.
I do my own oil changes at a local below level stop n shop Gunna do my own brakes n rotors thier too now on

look on craigslist for someone that'll do it

 

[paulo57509]

Unless you live in CA, you don't need a CARB approved converter. An Federal/EPA compliant converter is all you need. The rub is whether you want a direct fit ($$$) or universal fit ($$).

My preferred brand is Magnaflow.

I would seriously consider some engine diagnostics. Even cheap converters should last more than 35k miles. Your engine is either an oil burner or has a mixture/ignition problem. Both will poison a cat rather quickly.

 

[nthach]

The smog shops here in CA prefer Magnaflow. They seem to “flow” better than Walker.

A CalCat buys you near OE-level metal loading and a longer warranty.

 

[ziggy]

Unless you live in CA, you don't need a CARB approved converter. An Federal/EPA compliant converter is all you need. The rub is whether you want a direct fit ($$$) or universal fit ($$).

My preferred brand is Magnaflow.

I would seriously consider some engine diagnostics. Even cheap converters should last more than 35k miles. Your engine is either an oil burner or has a mixture/ignition problem. Both will poison a cat rather quickly.

It's because I do know,when I used MMO, I always got a p0420 code,even on the 97;Corolla I had upstream sensor code or cat. Always used correct dose it was obviously getting past the combustion process and into CAT,all over sensor same with Buick.stopped MMO, code went away. Was using tcw3, 18 gallon tank, I ran too quarter tank,most cases, put 4-6 ozs tcw3 in. Well Halloween night,car sputtered,kept shutting off plugs were covered in oil.dropped tank oil I. Gas. Or messed everything up,and prob got into the CAT.not sure even using Lucas ucl is safe..

 

[ziggy]

Don't carb compliant cats last longer?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Unless you live in CA, you don't need a CARB approved converter. An Federal/EPA compliant converter is all you need. The rub is whether you want a direct fit ($$$) or universal fit ($$).

My preferred brand is Magnaflow.

It depends on the condition of the car. If the car is rusting on its way out anyway, then a federal cat will suffice because it's longer than the rest of the car will last anyway

But if the car is still in good shape, it's worth buying a CARB cat even outside California.

I would seriously consider some engine diagnostics. Even cheap converters should last more than 35k miles. Your engine is either an oil burner or has a mixture/ignition problem. Both will poison a cat rather quickly.

that's because you're in California, which requires a 5 year/50k warranty. Federal converters only have a 2-year/25k warranty on catalytic performance (though there is still a 5/50k warranty for structural integrity)

Non-CA converters simply do not last very long, but rust is the reason it doesn't matter: because most cars that need new cats are already on their way out anyway.