Anyone had any experience

[ktmlew]

with this company:

 

http://www.catalyticconverterwarehouse.com/

 

My landlord has a 2004 Kia Amanti that needs a bank 1 pre-cat. Kia says $1085.00 for converter and around $300.00 labor. Ouch!

 

This site lists it but I'm always nervous about something being too good to be true.

[ktmlew]

More info. This appears to be the manufacturer.

 

http://www.easterncatalytic.com/products/carb/

[Bruce Amacker]

The exhaust shop guys will cut and weld in a generic one-size-fits-all for a fraction of that. If you have a Mig you can too, or send it out. The cheapest exhaust shops are in the inner city around here, we did many that way when I had the shop.

 

 

Edit- Universal cats seem to work fine and keep the rear O2 and tailpipe tests happy. I have heard of rare times in Cal where they didn't quite make emissions.

[Aaron]

Most shops around here used to be $150 installed for a universal cat, for most cars.

[YukonTyler]

you get what you pay for. back when i was in ontario we installed quite a few of those universal catalysts to get some old clunkers to pass the e-test. often they would do the job for their first test, but often in two years time when they were due to be run again they again weren't up to grade.

 

the guys buying used cats knew this, too. there's a reason why you could sell a used universal cat for $20 while the OE version would net close to $100. the guts just aren't the same.

[Aaron]

Oh, I agree. It will get you through one tailpipe test.

 

That being said, as long as it completes the monitor now - it passes. We have gone to OBD2 plug in, everything OBD compliant. Everything 88-96 is two speed idle now.

[ktmlew]

The problem is these have 3 catalyst monitors. The pre-cats MUST work or you get a MIL which is an immediate failure. They put a universal "rear" cat on last year, it has a pre-cat on each manifold and another (rear) after the crossover pipe, which didn't turn the light off. The laws also state the car MUST have the same number of converters as OE. So you can't gut the pre-cats and install one big converter.

 

If you spend $200.00 you get a one year waiver. But if these converters are any good you can actually fix the car for 2 years worth of waivers. If the pre-cat is damaged, it's a victim of an aggressive FI service, then it likely will run better too. I didn't do the FI service.

 

I remember this type converter on the early Mitsubishi/Chrysler engines. They used to get melted down pretty often.

[Aaron]

Wow what a pain in the ass.

 

And I also remember those converter meltdowns.

[ktmlew]

The pre-cat from Eastern is just over $200.00. Since it's the rear bank might be several hours labor though?

 

I just prefer FIXING shit instead of bandaging...

[Aaron]

They said 300 labor, I wouldn't think you would be much more than 3 hours book time less rusty fasteners depending on where you are located.

[YukonTyler]

Just a heads up on the upstream cats ..... before I wen to Ford I worked for the Kia/Subaru store in the Yukon. While we don't have many Amantis up here (maybe one or two in town) we did see a lot of their V6 engines in the Sportage and Rondo. Does this one have the smaller V6 or the bigger 3.6?

 

We had a hard time keeping cats in these things - don't go crazy trying to sort out why the upper one took a dump. On the old 2.7 V6 I remember having issues with the TP sensors - there was a bulletin on them. Often the ones which came in with driveability due to the TP potentiometer would wind up blowing out the cats five or six months down the road. The rear cat was usually a casualty, too.

 

Otherwise, many of them simply bit the dust without symptom. These things always started nicely in the (extreme) cold, which I attribute to rather generous fueling strategies on cold start. I think they just mildly flood themselves and the cats pay the price.

 

Also, there is a bulletin for lack of activity (usually stuck lean) from the upper 02s on some years. Check the build date on the 02 sensors against the bad range if the bulletin applies.

[Fredsvt]

Oh man, older Hyundai and Mitsu precat melts. What fun.

 

But, they don't beat late model Nissan 2.5s, they begin to break up, and the design of the motor causes it to inhale chunks of the matrix back into the motor. In short order you have trashed rings and destroyed cylinder walls.

 

I've probably sent a dozen of our customers that HAD them back to Nissan, they all got engines and primary cats under warranty.

[ktmlew]

Just a heads up on the upstream cats ..... before I wen to Ford I worked for the Kia/Subaru store in the Yukon. While we don't have many Amantis up here (maybe one or two in town) we did see a lot of their V6 engines in the Sportage and Rondo. Does this one have the smaller V6 or the bigger 3.6?We had a hard time keeping cats in these things - don't go crazy trying to sort out why the upper one took a dump. On the old 2.7 V6 I remember having issues with the TP sensors - there was a bulletin on them. Often the ones which came in with driveability due to the TP potentiometer would wind up blowing out the cats five or six months down the road. The rear cat was usually a casualty, too.Otherwise, many of them simply bit the dust without symptom. These things always started nicely in the (extreme) cold, which I attribute to rather generous fueling strategies on cold start. I think they just mildly flood themselves and the cats pay the price.Also, there is a bulletin for lack of activity (usually stuck lean) from the upper 02s on some years. Check the build date on the 02 sensors against the bad range if the bulletin applies.

Thanks for the info. I'm dealing with a 78 y/o woman with a head as hard as concrete...she just won't make a decision. She had the

cat monitor replaced, which qualifies her for a waiver on cost, and said it "passed"...then said she was getting it inspected on Monday?

 

So what "passed"?

 

I have no idea what she's talking about 1/2 the time. So the drama continues...