Calling on 986 Forum Master Mechanics

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by Jager

OK, so I got a forth mortgage and purchased the factory manifold catalytic converter for my car, I plan on installing it tomorrow. Any recommendations on removing the original bolts on the original catalytic converter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Ouch ! I had a set that came off the D-mobile with barely 18k miles on them - that I practically gave away ! Where were you ?

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Ouch ! I had a set that came off the D-mobile with barely 18k miles on them - that I practically gave away ! Where were you ?

You should have held on to them until I needed them... What were you thinking??

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by Jager

You should have held on to them until I needed them... What were you thinking??

Not to make you feel any worse, but it would have been my pleasure to have given them to the Bard of the 986 forum.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Not to make you feel any worse, but it would have been my pleasure to have given them to the Bard of the 986 forum.

I am honored by your words and thoughts of generosity. You did not make me feel worse, you brightened my evening! Thank You.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by san rensho

Make a concoction of acetone and auto tranny fluid, one to one (I said tranny, heh, heh) and spray all fasteners while they are hot. Easy when loosening. If the fastener is stuck, try some taps with a hammer, then try tightening the fastener. I know it sounds crazy but sometimes tightening will break the fastener free.

I would set your torque wrench at twice the torque spec for the fastener and tighten, loosen the fastener until the torque wrench clics and if doesn't come loose, try some more solvent and taps. Take it easy, many horror stories of having to drill out and tap the manifold bolts.

If no luck, then a torch to heat up the fasteners may work.

san rensho,
You are confirming an email that I received from a good friend that contained University test results of the tranny/acetone mixture, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, and different oils. The results showed the acetone and transmission fluid mixture out-performed all other fluids for removing corrosion and breaking bolts loose. Looks like I need to go buy some acetone.
Thanks

[Jager]

Replaced the catalytic converter on Bank 2 (Driver Side) today, I had no problems removing the old bolts. I installed new gaskets and new bolts (anti-seize on the threads). Using Durametric I see a slight difference in the O2 sensor voltage behind the converters. On the new converter the voltage is now flat-line and higher than it was (see earlier posts). In comparing all the O2 sensor voltages there is a difference, I am wondering how much longer the other converter (Bank 1) will last? Any bets on when I get an alarm on that side?

[san rensho]

Those graphs look really good. Just keep monitoring the other after cat o2 sensor and replace the cat as necessary.

Just out of curiosity, my understanding is that a bad cat doesn't cause any driveablity problems, so why spend big bucks to replace it?

[Jager]

Originally Posted by san rensho

Those graphs look really good. Just keep monitoring the other after cat o2 sensor and replace the cat as necessary.

Just out of curiosity, my understanding is that a bad cat doesn't cause any driveablity problems, so why spend big bucks to replace it?

No drivability issues but I live in California... The smog laws are tough and don't allow modifications unless authorized by California Air Resources board (CARB). There is only one aftermarket catalytic converter approved by CARB for the Boxster and that company is not making them at this time, so I had to buy factory converter to continue registering the vehicle... Legally.

[san rensho]

Originally Posted by Jager

No drivability issues but I live in California... The smog laws are tough and don't allow modifications unless authorized by California Air Resources board (CARB). There is only one aftermarket catalytic converter approved by CARB for the Boxster and that company is not making them at this time, so I had to buy factory converter to continue registering the vehicle... Legally.

Ouch. I live Republican Florida where we don't have no gub'ment intervention. We can pollute at will because there are no yearly emissions tests.

By the way, did you use the acetone tranny fluid to loosen the fasteners?

[Jager]

Originally Posted by san rensho

By the way, did you use the acetone tranny fluid to loosen the fasteners?

Yes I did, thanks for the advice.

[Jager]

A big THANK YOU! out to JFP for your assistance on this, I learned more about the O2 sensors and catalytic converters... Buy them from Sunset!!

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by Jager

OK, so I got a forth mortgage and purchased the factory manifold catalytic converter for my car, I plan on installing it tomorrow. Any recommendations on removing the original bolts on the original catalytic converter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Given your mileage, I wouldn't even dream of only replacing one side header/ cat.

Replace both cats and at least both pre-cat O2 sensors.

As to the bolts, while I have yet to have one shear off in a head, def take your time and use a quality penetrating oil like PB Blaster.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Given your mileage, I wouldn't even dream of only replacing one side header/ cat.

Replace both cats and at least both pre-cat O2 sensors.

As to the bolts, while I have yet to have one shear off in a head, def take your time and use a quality penetrating oil like PB Blaster.

All O2 sensors were replaced not too long ago.

Spending $4000 to replace both manifolds on a car that is worth not much more than that on trade-in is a little hard for me to justify. I'd rather spread the pain out over time, maybe replace the other side in four to six months. If I lived in another state no problem, there are many choices on after market catalytic converters at a fraction of the cost.

[hancock1701]

Hey guys, I'm kinda in the same boat as Jager. I've had code P0430 on and off for about a year now. The CEL seems to only come on when I'm driving slowly in traffic or parking structure. I used a OBD2 bluetooth adapter and the Torque app to gather some data. From what I understand, the O2 sensor after CAT should be a relatively flat line around 0.7V. My O2 voltages look pretty bad, don't you think? I haven't had a P0420 on bank 1. I'm trying to find out if my bank 2 CAT is going bad or not in the near future.

[hancock1701]

Forgot to add RPM graph, the time span is about 4 minutes.

[Jamesp]

Looks like you've got dead cats. Itsnotanova may be able to fix you up with some used cats. New are very expensive. See Timco, it's not true that the only good cat is a, well, never mind.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Jager

OK, so I got a fourth mortgage and purchased the factory manifold catalytic converter for my car, I plan on installing it tomorrow. Any recommendations on removing the original bolts on the original catalytic converter would be greatly appreciated.

Why not peel off a set of these from a low mileage wrecker? I see them on Ebay now and then.

EDIT.

Did not see that this thread is from 27 B.C.

[NewArt]

You can probably find a used cat from various suppliers. Make sure it is guaranteed and that they will replace it if it doesn't do the thing it is supposed to do! The job is an easy one, you need new gaskets and that's all.

[Jager]

So far the cat on Bank 1 is hanging in there (original catalytic converter), I have over 277,000 miles on it!

[Jager]

Oh no... I just got a P0420 error code. Over 284,000 miles on CAT bank 1.