Catalytic Converter Advice

[Dicky]

Just finished my service and noticed the poor state of one of the converters. The outer metal housing is badly corroded but not sure if this is a heat shield, or if not does it compromise the converter and do I need replacements??

Are used converters available anywhere and has anyone fitted them successfully ?

Any advice (on the topic of course, I get enough from the wife on every thing else) would be appreciated.

[davey_83]

If the car passes emissions and youre happy with the sound, I would leave them until they become an issue.

[Ridz]

I understand that corrosion of the heat shields on top of the converters can be a problem, often leading them to be loose and liable to rattle.

 

Most owners tend to remove the shields when they are badly corroded as it does not affect the performance of the cats. Had them removed on my Zed.

 

Might be worth seeking ZmanAlex opinion or any of the other zed specialists, just to make sure.

[Kryptek49]

I doubt the stock cat needs replacement - unless you're failing emissions on your MOT?

 

The cats have heat shields round them, which can start to rattle when they corrode, you can remove them and shouldn't have any problems unless you park on dry grass a lot.

 

I managed to remove the heat shield on my cat without removing them by just by jacking the car up, cutting through it with a dremel and pulling it off - I'm sure a garage could do this for you pretty cheaply if necessary.

[Dicky]

Thanks for the replies.

Not due it’s MOT yet so unsure about emissions, but your right, my heat shield did rattle over a year ago and I secured it with copper wire, but it’s deteriorated far more now although no rattles yet.

My main concern was , given the internals are being exposed , would the cat get damaged and you both seem to think not.

Might make tentative enquiry to Alex. Don’t think it’s worth replacing them with new ones if their not failing (the cars 15 yr old now) and when they do give up I’m hoping Alex or someone may have some for sale.

[Kryptek49]

6 minutes ago, Dicky said:

My main concern was , given the internals are being exposed , would the cat get damaged and you both seem to think not.

The internals aren't exposed - just the outer metal of the cat which is very solid.  The heat shields are only there to reduce heat, they don't provide any other function such as reducing emissions or being a structural part of the cat

 

Here's a photo of one of my cats with heat shield removed for reference:

 

[Dicky]

1 hour ago, Kryptek49 said:

The internals aren't exposed - just the outer metal of the cat which is very solid.  The heat shields are only there to reduce heat, they don't provide any other function such as reducing emissions or being a structural part of the cat

 

Here's a photo of one of my cats with heat shield removed for reference:

 

Been looking for a cat construction pic or diagram but your pic tells it all. Thanks for that, it’s very encouraging to see a working cat looking worse than mine. In that case I may well remove the rot on mine all together along with the bit of wire holding it on.

Many Thanks

[Kryptek49]

No problem - these were removed at about 100,00 miles, no MOT issues, but replaced with HFC's

Edited May 22, 2019 by Kryptek49