Re: 2.8 12V V6 Cat

[Chris Newbold <cnewbold@transarc.com>]

At 04:00 PM 5/26/98 -0700, Bryan, Curtis wrote:

>The innards of the driver's side catalytic converter became loose in our
>'93 90 csq (2.8 12V V6) with only 63,000 miles.  I pulled the unit off
>to see if I could shake it out, but nothing came out.  It appears a

Lucky  you. I had the same problem with my 1993 90 last fall. About
the same milage, too...

>rather large chunk is loose.  I have called everywhere for a
>replacement.  Audi wants $1000 for each converter and of course
>recommends replacing both at the same time.  Anybody have any luck with
>aftermarket brands?  Any other solutions?  TIA

As Elliott points out, there is a recall, but it only seems to cover slushbox
models (which, it just so happens, use a different driver's side cat P/N,
since it has a different down-pipe to clear the A/T).

I tried calling Audi this morning to see if there was any way to get some
reimbursement for the ~$1000 I spent repairing the problem. No dice.
5spds are not covered (different P/N), and further more, since I bought the
part myself and had the work done at an independent shop, they basically
said they wouldn't consider the case.

So, you may want to go to a dealer and complain loudly to them and see
if they can motivate Audi for you...

As for finding parts on your own: I bought an OEM cat from Clair Parts
Express for about $750. They also offer a custom-fabricated aftermarket
cat for the 90, which cost about $350. The main reason I didn't go with this
option was that it used a generic "coffee can" cat. It appeared to have about
1/2 the cross-section of the OEM cat and I didn't like the though of the
extra restriction...

-Chris
1993 90CS 64k mi