Cat plot thickens-

A

andysat

Lifer
Hi all-i rang a different indy today to get a quote for replacing the cat,he seems to think over the phone it wont be the cat,apparantly he said the engine will misfire to protect the cat from further damage if going bad?-i dont know how true this is?
He asked if the stealers had done an emission test at the rear of the exhaust-i am pretty sure they did not.
He asked if i had poor running-no
He asked if i had a sulphur smell-no
He asked if it knocked-no
All this on top of the fact that the light has been off for over 2000 miles,surely if the cat had gone it would come on more frequently?-i have had a mixture of town driving and motorway,steep hill driving etc without it coming on.
Sorry to keep going on about this problem but it is getting me down :(
Thanks for reading-any input/thoughts appreciated.
 
Did a search and it seems there are various opinions:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070424090317AAU7smX
 
contact these as they are breaking a 2.0i 2007

based in west midlands

BEHSUD AUTO SPARE PARTS AT: 07830310747 OR 01384891000
 
forums are a great place to offload thoughts & concerns so carry on posting . ultimately it helps us all .
my thoughts ?
a knowledgeable & trusted indy is priceless .
as proven on Watchdog last night there are no end of mechanics/garage owners/dealers who hook up the diagnostic machine,read the fault code & simples :cry: that's the part that needs replacing ! only it isn't :roll:
my next move would be to take the car to the guy you spoke on the phone with & see what develops .
best of luck :thumbsup:
 
mr wilks said:
forums are a great place to offload thoughts & concerns so carry on posting . ultimately it helps us all .
my thoughts ?
a knowledgeable & trusted indy is priceless .
as proven on Watchdog last night there are no end of mechanics/garage owners/dealers who hook up the diagnostic machine,read the fault code & simples :cry: that's the part that needs replacing ! only it isn't :roll:
my next move would be to take the car to the guy you spoke on the phone with & see what develops .
best of luck :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks mate-its going in on Saturday morning for an emission test there.
 
mac27040 said:
contact these as they are breaking a 2.0i 2007

based in west midlands

BEHSUD AUTO SPARE PARTS AT: 07830310747 OR 01384891000
Click to expand...
Cheers for that i will give them a ring if Saturday proves its the cat.
 
mr wilks said:
forums are a great place to offload thoughts & concerns so carry on posting . ultimately it helps us all .
my thoughts ?
a knowledgeable & trusted indy is priceless .
as proven on Watchdog last night there are no end of mechanics/garage owners/dealers who hook up the diagnostic machine,read the fault code & simples :cry: that's the part that needs replacing ! only it isn't :roll:
my next move would be to take the car to the guy you spoke on the phone with & see what develops .
best of luck :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Have to agree, one of the firms F30's has been in due to a knock. Our driver told them what was wrong. They chose to ignore him, three visits later they finally replaced the part he said after replacing the steering rack, strut and so on. guess what, of course the problem is now fixed.

Garages rely to much on error codes.

Still think you need to give it a good blast though Andy. :wink:
 
srhutch said:
mr wilks said:
forums are a great place to offload thoughts & concerns so carry on posting . ultimately it helps us all .
my thoughts ?
a knowledgeable & trusted indy is priceless .
as proven on Watchdog last night there are no end of mechanics/garage owners/dealers who hook up the diagnostic machine,read the fault code & simples :cry: that's the part that needs replacing ! only it isn't :roll:
my next move would be to take the car to the guy you spoke on the phone with & see what develops .
best of luck :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Have to agree, one of the firms F30's has been in due to a knock. Our driver told them what was wrong. They chose to ignore him, three visits later they finally replaced the part he said after replacing the steering rack, strut and so on. guess what, of course the problem is now fixed.

Garages rely to much on error codes.

Still think you need to give it a good blast though Andy. :wink:
Click to expand...
Cheers mate-would you bother with additives?
 
Not sure about additives. Think BMW says they are a No No but many swear by them.

If the Indi is local go and talk to them, and if you can find one others on here have used even better.

There are also companies that clean/recon cats although I have no experience of this and no idea if it's even worth looking at.
 
srhutch said:
Not sure about additives. Think BMW says they are a No No but many swear by them.

If the Indi is local go and talk to them, and if you can find one others on here have used even better.

There are also companies that clean/recon cats although I have no experience of this and no idea if it's even worth looking at.
Click to expand...
Someone at work said there is a place locally who refurb cats-but i thought that was illegal?
 
The car will NOT misfire to protect the cat....That is complete tosh..


What are the fault codes that are coming up when the EML has been illuminated..?

If the EML is sporadic and fault codes are long term fuel trim codes or similar,then 99% of the time it is unmetered air that is causing the problem be it vacuum or air leak.
 
I don't know about legality, but I would be highly suspicious of proper functioning beyond the immediate short term of any refurbed cat. I can't imagine any way to properly treat every pore in the entire matrix to ensure proper long term function.

The reference material I have available does not indicate the DME will shut down or misfire cylinders to protect the cat if it is going bad. The purpose of the second O2 sensor is to monitor proper functioning of the cat. It will trigger a trouble code relating to diminished cat efficiency if it detects a problem, but there is no mention of altering engine operation. Even if it did, you would surely notice a problem in the engine operation. However, the system is capable of detecting misfires for what ever reason, and will shut off fuel supply to the affected cylinder in order to protect the cat. I think this might be the source of confusion somewhere along the line. Unburnt fuel vapours will certainly damage the cat.

I think getting the emissions checked before replacing the cat is a good idea, my instinct says it will pass with levels not anywhere close to limits. As mr wilks indicated, blindly doing repairs based on trouble codes alone is foolish. They should always verify malfunction by other means. The trouble code shown can be the result of a knock on effect from the failure of a related component.
 
bcworkz said:
I don't know about legality, but I would be highly suspicious of proper functioning beyond the immediate short term of any refurbed cat. I can't imagine any way to properly treat every pore in the entire matrix to ensure proper long term function.

The reference material I have available does not indicate the DME will shut down or misfire cylinders to protect the cat if it is going bad. The purpose of the second O2 sensor is to monitor proper functioning of the cat. It will trigger a trouble code relating to diminished cat efficiency if it detects a problem, but there is no mention of altering engine operation. Even if it did, you would surely notice a problem in the engine operation. However, the system is capable of detecting misfires for what ever reason, and will shut off fuel supply to the affected cylinder in order to protect the cat. I think this might be the source of confusion somewhere along the line. Unburnt fuel vapours will certainly damage the cat.

I think getting the emissions checked before replacing the cat is a good idea, my instinct says it will pass with levels not anywhere close to limits. As mr wilks indicated, blindly doing repairs based on trouble codes alone is foolish. They should always verify malfunction by other means. The trouble code shown can be the result of a knock on effect from the failure of a related component.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input-yes you sound right about fuel shut off,the knock on effect i think is from the fact all the other components have been replaced :cry:
 
Catalytic converter conversion....

This should be easy to ascertain with correct diagnostic kit.... Pre flow lambda readings should be looked at in live data and compared to post cat lambda readings..

Switching rate alone should tell you if the cat is working at low effiency...
 
Yep..

Its a pity he is so far away..... I would have put it on our machines and had a look for him.
 
Andy is you car used for short journeys ? Short journeys where the cat doesnt reach operating temp will allow the cat to soot up , a good blast on a Sunday morning would help
 
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