If one catalyticn converter goes bad is the other not far behind?

Joined
Aug 14, 2019
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Location
NYC
I replaced one catalytic converter at 114000 miles...the left one or "Bank 2"...should now I be looking at the right one or "Bank 1" as suspect? Should I be ordering the right cat getting it ready for the next episode?
 
No necessarily, the real question is what caused the cat to fail? Something like higher misfire count, running lean on one cylinder causing that bank to dump more fuel in an attempt to bring it to stoichiometric on that bank among other things could be the root cause and if not not corrected the new one may also have a shorter lifespan.
 
I suspect the cat failed as a result of #6 fuel injector going bad causing misfire. However before that situation I waa hearing noise come from the left cat as if sand or pebbles was inside. So I cant be certain if the fuel injector going bad caused the cat to go bad or vice versa.

In other cars I owned the cat went bad when the car reached a certain point after 100k miles. For a Toyota Solara 4 cylinder it was 160000 miles and that was cheap using a RockAuto sourced aftermarket version. For the Suburban Chevy made you buy both cats at the same time and this occurred after 120k. Both times there wasnt another obvious event which seemed to cause it.

Also I had the spark plugs and wires replaced after the cat went bad because of the miles on the truck and as preventative maintenance...just in case that had anything to do with it.
 
The bigger question is, with all the problems you've had with this vehicle and all the time it has spent in the shop, when are you going to decide it's time to dump it for something more reliable?
 
These cars I have were going to be replaced this year. That was the plan back in February but as a result of the current times Im not exactly certain. I will be thinking hard about this during the current week. Business volume is 1/4th of what it was pre-pandemic. There have been signs its picking up but its nothing what it was back in February. Thus Im confronted with a situation of making the cars last as long as possible or replacing them and incurring debt...etc...

I will do that analysis, however, right now I need to make sure the cars are working right AND try to squeeze more life out of them like through lowering the operating temperature and of course thicker oils and such. Also more conservative driving, etc...
 
Driver's side cat on my XTerra was killed by a misfire. Passenger side is still good with 178k on it. I'd only replace the one that's bad, and fix what caused it if you can figure it out.
 
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