Re: Rattling Cat box

[Don Hoefer <hoefer@cary.eng.pko.dec.com>]

Anyone who works on exhaust should know how to tell if the catalytic converter
is bad or not.  Even my Bentley manual gives a procedure to check it.  
Those guys do not want to take the time to remove it and replace it if 
they cannot put on a new (profitable) part.

I was once rear ended and my brand new exhaust system was accordioned 2 to 3
inches shorter.  I thought that a muffler shop could rebend the pieces so 
that they would fit properly and not rattle against the body.  Wrong!  
Either they could not see that that was the problem or they wanted to sell me 
a brand new system, their brand parts of course.  I was amazed that they did 
not want my money.  

My origional cat lasted 12 years.  The element was still good.  The exterior 
metal had rusted away so much that there was nothing left to mount it 
with.  A friend of was getting rid of his 5000 so he gave me his cat.  I do 
all of my own exhaust work.

Stay away from voids of intelligence.  You will only be frustrated.


       Don Hoefer
       '82 Coupe