$2800.00 bucks for a catalytic converter?

[jam0o0]

i've hade 3 after market cats on my truck. i keep changing the exaust due to trail damage. anyway all of them passed smog better than the two factory cats with 130k miles on them. catco, magnaflow both make quality parts.

that said DONT change the cats. replace the O2 sensor. only the after cat one needs to be replaced. and do it SOON. the longer you drive it with that code the more it wears out the cat.

 

[reyna14]

I was quoted 1200 for the pair from Toyota on my jobber

$1200 to replace the O2 sensors?!?!? These guys are just trying to bend you over without the courtesy of using spit. You only need to change the rear sensor to confirm if it is the cat or not and that shouldn't cost much more than $70-80. The front sensor is used to monitor A/F ratio. the rear one just monitors the cat. It's usually the easiest one to replace as well. All you have to do is unscrew the old one, screw in the new one, plug it in, and disconnect the battery to reset the ECU.

 

[Robert Haas]

$1200 to replace the O2 sensors?!?!? These guys are just trying to bend you over without the courtesy of using spit. You only need to change the rear sensor to confirm if it is the cat or not and that shouldn't cost much more than $70-80. The front sensor is used to monitor A/F ratio. the rear one just monitors the cat. It's usually the easiest one to replace as well. All you have to do is unscrew the old one, screw in the new one, plug it in, and disconnect the battery to reset the ECU.

1200 was the price for the two cats, (Toyota parts) I will spin in a new a sensor before spending money on the CC's

 

[billspit]

Robert
Get under the truck and look. I think there should only be one cat on a 4 cylinder. I would replace the fore and after sensors first. Clear the code and drive for a while.

It amazes me that the tech won't use the code scanner to better diagnose the problem. They are using the shotgun approach. Someone is getting reamed because they need some Christmas money. Yours! For what they are charging you could buy a really good Actron scanner and save some money.

 

[Robert Haas]

Robert
Get under the truck and look. I think there should only be one cat on a 4 cylinder. I would replace the fore and after sensors first. Clear the code and drive for a while.

It amazes me that the tech won't use the code scanner to better diagnose the problem. They are using the shotgun approach. Someone is getting reamed because they need some Christmas money. Yours! For what they are charging you could buy a really good Actron scanner and save some money.

2001 4 cylinder has two cats

 

[billspit]

2001 4 cylinder has two cats

Learn something every day.

 

[IH82BL8]

My Mazda needed a new cat a few years ago. The mechanic (I only used a mechanic because the car failed emissions and I needed a diagnosis) said a new one would be $600 installed, and that wasn't even dealer price. I bought an aftermarket one for $180 and installed it myself. It passed emissions test in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

For what it's worth, a friend of mine did the same repair on the same model car and broke off the studs. I used an impact and spun the nuts right off without a problem and mine had considerably higher mileage on it than his.

 

[brianh]

I put a cat in my 98 for around 165 from this place http://www.catalyticconverterwarehouse.com/

It bolted right in 20 min job.

 

[SgtRauksauff]

last cat i got was about 57 bucks for a carsound/magnaflow, shipped. From a guy with an ebay store. I was getting a bunch of mufflers for a few projects, and he had the 'best offer' thing going. I offered what I thought was fair, and he accepted the offer (about 7.5% below what he was asking for the 'buy-it-now' price.

 

[Huyzel]

Theres a few aftermarket companies that make direct bolt-in replacements.. I'd say hit up an exhaust shop.. I am sure they can weld in a replacement for a lot less..

 

[SuperSocket]

keep this in mind... you're going to the dealer.. everything costs MORE at the dealer. Is the work better than the guy down the street??? depends. Every dealer Ive worked at the quality of work varies GREATLY. If the cats are replaced by the dealer they *should* be using "Toyota Cats." I worked for Toyota years ago and their cats are made of heavy guage metal... made to last a long time (as long as the car is maintained). Sure you could go aftermarket but the quality of metal will not be as good. I've put a ton of aftermarket exhaust systems on cars and the quality of aftermarket metal vs. OEM is night and day. If you're gonna keep the car forever put OEM on..... if you're just gonna keep the car another couple years.. put *quality* aftermarket stuff on. Would I want to spend 2800 for a set of cats?? Hell no! I have connections to get OEM parts cheaper (because Im in the business). Thats why I drive a 21 year old car. My cat was 100 bucks. =) (Aftermarket)

Evidently the factory cats he had on did not have such a great life span....

 

[GMCAMARO]

Get an idea of the cost, by trying to buy the cats of the net, ie google it.

Toyota Tacoma cat <== change accordingly and see what you get.

 

[e-tek]

Buy a dog.

 

[scbird94]

i've hade 3 after market cats on my truck. i keep changing the exaust due to trail damage. anyway all of them passed smog better than the two factory cats with 130k miles on them. catco, magnaflow both make quality parts.

that said DONT change the cats. replace the O2 sensor. only the after cat one needs to be replaced. and do it SOON. the longer you drive it with that code the more it wears out the cat.

A post cat HO2S does not affect fuel trim. It ONLY monitors catalyst efficiency. You could unplug that sensor, put it in backwards and smear peanut butter on it, it would not affect the way your engine receives fuel.. Your CEL will yell at you, but there is no risk of "further cat damage"

Also It seems odd that you KNOW its the 02 sensor, not the cat. It is possible, but it is still a shot in the dark. Step 1 of a 2 step process. Cheaper route first. Phrase it how you want.

 

[Stick]

A post cat HO2S does not affect fuel trim. It ONLY monitors catalyst efficiency. You could unplug that sensor, put it in backwards and smear peanut butter on it, it would not affect the way your engine receives fuel.. Your CEL will yell at you, but there is no risk of "further cat damage"

Also It seems odd that you KNOW its the 02 sensor, not the cat. It is possible, but it is still a shot in the dark. Step 1 of a 2 step process. Cheaper route first. Phrase it how you want.

I don't know about Toyota, but Ford and GM use the rear O2 sensors for fuel control. The rear sensors are used to switch between the fuel management maps that the front sensors are altering for short term fuel trim correction. Depending on how far out of wack the fuel trims are, "further cat damage" is entirely possible. It's way worse for the cat to be lean than to be rich.

I think the OP needs to find out why the tech said that the cats needed to be replaced. A P0420/P0430 isn't enough to condemn a cat, as others have mentioned the O2 sensors need to be checked for proper operation, and fuel trims need to be corrected if they are out of line (more than +/- 8% or so long term). The cooling system also needs to be checked for leaks into the combustion chamber, because coolant can kill O2 sensors and cats.

 

[jmh21586]

Did the quoted price take into account the scrap value of the old ones or were they going to pocket that money? If you got the old oes that would bring the cost down a little depending on what you could scrap them for.

 

[jmh21586]

How about used ones off a wreck?

 

[ZRX61]

The only reason I even fixed it is because of the NY law where you can't get through an inspection with a CEL on.

Same in Califailure, so they just turn it off & then do the smog test...

 

[scbird94]

I don't know about Toyota, but Ford and GM use the rear O2 sensors for fuel control. The rear sensors are used to switch between the fuel management maps that the front sensors are altering for short term fuel trim correction. Depending on how far out of wack the fuel trims are, "further cat damage" is entirely possible. It's way worse for the cat to be lean than to be rich.

I think the OP needs to find out why the tech said that the cats needed to be replaced. A P0420/P0430 isn't enough to condemn a cat, as others have mentioned the O2 sensors need to be checked for proper operation, and fuel trims need to be corrected if they are out of line (more than +/- 8% or so long term). The cooling system also needs to be checked for leaks into the combustion chamber, because coolant can kill O2 sensors and cats.

Ok, i have spent the last half hour reading into GM service info, and online research. I officially put my hat in my hand, and concede... I admit i was wrong! This is not common knowledge among my group of techs.

I still am unsure of toyota's and their version of post-cat fuel control, but i primarily work on gm's (mainly heavy-line) and new information will be helpful in the future. Thank you!

 

[Lhorn]

How about used ones off a wreck?

I don't know how it is in other states but in calif I dont' think you can buy a used Cc (at least legally). At least that's what they told me when I went to the dismantler

CA passed a law about 2-3 years ago that old cars like mine (92 Accord) had to have more expensive cats (I think the rationale is the replacement cats had to meet the standard of newer cars). So instead of $100 cat, my replacement cat suddenly was going to cost about $500. I went to Summit racing in Sparks, NV bought a Magnaflow cat for about $125. No ca legal but they didn't give it a second glance on visual inspection. Put it on and passed emissions with the lowest numbers of any car that I've had smogged - this on a 250K mile car. Plus I still have my old cat to recycle for a few bucks.

I'm with the other that say you need to find out if something killed that CC. If not you might end up needing 2 more cats in a few years. Not bad if you can get a direct fit for $125 like me, but if it's gonna cost many hundred or even a thousand dollars or more, that'd really ****. I'd take it somewhere else too.

 

[knucklebusted]

Ahh, yes, I completely forgot about that. Any required smog device is covered under that, I think even the O2 sensors. I still think that it's the O2 sensor, though, and not the cat(s)

Everything that can affect emissions is covered, coils, sensors, throttle body, etc, at least once.