Catalytic converters

[bikemat]

Hey guys.
I smashed up my cats (one of them a lot worse than the other) and the computer is telling me that one of them is no good, so i guess this causes poor economy and low power.
What's the cheapest type to replace it with? I need to replace the whole system as currently it hangs too low - gets me hung up on stuff and gets bashed, so i want it to be cheap and nasty. Alternatively, should i just put up with it until i get a whole new exhaust?
Cheers
Mat

[Bear TJ]

Have a look at the exhaust - see if you've got o2 sensors after the cats, if you do going cheap and nasty could cause problems. The o2's after the cats monitor that the cats are working properly which cheap cats probably won't do. (Does that make sense - the word cat is possibly overused!)
I've got a 2001 TJ which has a "post cat o2 sensor", ADR's didn't require them to be used till 2006 but regs in the USA would have required them heaps earlier.

[bikemat]

i'm not entirely sure... i think it might and given that the computer is telling me it's operating below efficiency, i'm guessing it must.

[bikemat]

well was just in at midas and the guy there reckoned that having one out of two cat's blocked up is very bad for the engine. He said 1 bank of cylinders will run lean and may cause all sorts of issues - think he said burning of valves or something that causes an engine REBUILD!! Scary given i've been driving it like this for 6 months!
So i'll be putting it in as soon as i get the money for 2 new cats costing about $550. The upside is i'll get an extra 2" clearance underneath and because they'll be the correct cats for the car, more power and economy.

[MRGC]

Originally Posted by bikemat

well was just in at midas and the guy there reckoned that having one out of two cat's blocked up is very bad for the engine. He said 1 bank of cylinders will run lean and may cause all sorts of issues - think he said burning of valves or something that causes an engine REBUILD!! Scary given i've been driving it like this for 6 months!
So i'll be putting it in as soon as i get the money for 2 new cats costing about $550. The upside is i'll get an extra 2" clearance underneath and because they'll be the correct cats for the car, more power and economy.

What brand are they, flowmaster , magnaflow.

[bikemat]

Not a clue.
The old ones are apparently commodore high flow cats (dodgy!!)
The new ones i don't know about, the midas guy reckoned they're the best ones to use, he said he also put them in a mercedes that day, that's about all i know. They're fairly small round ones.