Did I get shafted???
01-09-2009, 03:42 PM
#1
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Did I get shafted??? My engine light came on and I checked the code. Seems both my cats were toast. I still had a piece of paper from the dealership saying as long as I was within the miles and time they would be replaced for free do to some sort of recall. I'm sure lots of you have see or heard of this? Well, a few years ago shortly after I bought the car I crashed the **** out of it. Jumped a curb, bent three rims, landed in a ditch and bent the unbody. Everything was fixed and the car looked great except the right side cat had a dent in it about 4 inches. So I took pictures and left it alone knowing one day the dealership would have to replace them because of this recall paper I had or I would just get headers. So I had the dealership do the work the other day, took a quick peak under the car before I left and they both looked shiney and new. I looked closer today and noticed that dint is still there. Exhaust sounds alittle louder like the cats are new or have been busted out. They even gave off that burning new smell like new cats do for the first few days. I crawled under the car and unplugged the right side O2 sensor and started the car....no engine light. Is this normal? Am I being paranoid? Do all stock cats have this "dent" in this picture? Did they do what they said or did they screw we rorally???
Last edited by 01T/A88IROC-Z; 01-09-2009 at 03:48 PM.
01-09-2009, 04:07 PM
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Well I let it run for a minute or two and reved it a few times. I'm scared that maybe they knocked the guts out of the old ones and deleted the codes for good. I can be paranoid. If anyone else still has their stock cats and could look under their car and compair I'd feel better. If you work is blocking the pic thats cool I appreciate your help. Get back with me if you don't mind.
01-09-2009, 04:25 PM
#6
If they gutted the cats, you WILL be able to smell the exhaust. I recently had mine replaced about a month ago, but couldn't tell you about the dent. If it looks like more of a clean crease as opposed to a dent, I'd say it prolly is there from the factory. But the key is the smell of the exhaust. I don't think there's any way you wouldn't be able to tell if they are gutted by smell. Justin
P.S. Still no pic on your original post.
P.S. Still no pic on your original post.
01-09-2009, 04:38 PM
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Ok what am I doing wrong, I can see the pic but others can't? well lets try with another one. This is a pic of the "new" cat but I think it might actually be new cause I noticed something on this on thats not on the old one, a part number decal. Of course this all would be easier if you guys could see the pics. Well here goes.
New cat
Old cat
New cat
Old cat
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01-09-2009, 05:17 PM
#8
Ok what am I doing wrong, I can see the pic but others can't? well lets try with another one. This is a pic of the "new" cat but I think it might actually be new cause I noticed something on this on thats not on the old one, a part number decal. Of course this all would be easier if you guys could see the pics. Well here goes.
New cat
Old cat
New cat
Old cat
01-09-2009, 06:17 PM
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this is funny. Dealerships cant legally gut cats and remove codes from a PCM. They also dont have the software to remove codes from the PCM unless for some reason they have HP Tuners, EFI live, etc...
For the record I think my cat had that dent too. Maybe for clearance or something.
For the record I think my cat had that dent too. Maybe for clearance or something.
01-09-2009, 07:03 PM
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I told you I was paranoid. Thats why my main consern was is the dent stock or did it happen in my accident like I previusly thought. I would just like confermation that it is stock so I don't go cuse them out for doing something they didn't do. so yes I am stupid and yes this thread is for real. But I think my question has been answered. Did the pics show up this last time at least?
01-09-2009, 08:48 PM
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I know the dent isn't on the "cat" but on the pipe. I said cat cause if you unbolt it from the car the dent is between the front two bolts and back two bolts that hold up the cat. But so be it. Question answered. Thanks guys
01-09-2009, 10:06 PM
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If you want solid confirmation, pull them off and look inside...
You can also get a laser temp thingie, cause the motor to go rich and see the temp of the cat go up - fuel makes the cat burn hotter.
Also, the cat will always be hotter than the pipe after it - not sure about the pipe before it, but would assume so as well. That's due to the PCM causing the fuel mixture to bounce lean/rich. The up stream O2 sensor watches for this fluctation and the down stream O2 sensor watches for it to be 'flat', signifying the cat is actually working. If the down stream o2 sensor notices it's fluctuating closely to the up stream, a code will be set.
You can also get a laser temp thingie, cause the motor to go rich and see the temp of the cat go up - fuel makes the cat burn hotter.
Also, the cat will always be hotter than the pipe after it - not sure about the pipe before it, but would assume so as well. That's due to the PCM causing the fuel mixture to bounce lean/rich. The up stream O2 sensor watches for this fluctation and the down stream O2 sensor watches for it to be 'flat', signifying the cat is actually working. If the down stream o2 sensor notices it's fluctuating closely to the up stream, a code will be set.
