catalytic converter options!

Hi, i got the code of P0420 awhile ago, and i kept clearing it and came back on. I think the cat is bad.

 

however, on one of the sticker post, one member post a catalytic converter, that is relatively cheap.

 

http://www.rpmoutlet.com/powercat.htm

 

Does this one? has anyone used this before?

The 0420 does not mean your cat is bad. Generally its the front O2 sensor that gives this code when it is going or gone.

Replace the sensor before you do a cat.

 

O.

if the o2 sensor is bad, won't it throw a code of O2 sensor blah blah range performance, or low voltage or high voltage.

 

This code has been back for 3 times, and it's only the 0420... Nothing else.

 

So just in case is my cat, does those cat work?

What year car? Mileage? Model? Does your cat have one or two sensors in it?

As long as the cat will fit between the pipes, with or w.o welding,it will work as long as the diameter is close to oem.

The one's shown are not a direct fit as Subaru is not an option given.

Stromung and others have hi flow cats for suby's.

Do a google for subaru cat.

 

O.

its a 96 lgt with a 95 ej22 swapped. do u know the diameter of the cat for my car? thx

Its 1 7/8ths in and out (for the 2.2) But the stock cat has about a 60 degree angle in it.

is there any cheaper ption than oem? aftermarket?

A proper emissions rated OBDII catalytic converter should cost $300+. All the cats lower than that are usually of the high flow type and will not meet the original emissions standards. this may or may not be a problem for you depending on where you live and how your car is registered.

where i live actually do not need to meet emission. so what options i have?

if you don't have emissions, then you can get away with a race cat. I doubt your cats are bad especially if you've never modified anything on your car.

my car has 168k miles. can someone confirm if the oxygen senor goes bad, will it throw a code specificly tell you is the oxygen sensor in our generation.

At a 168k, I would just go ahead and replace the sensor. It is probably bad.

 

A bad sensor can throw many different codes, or none at all. It depends on how it failed.

is there any diagnostics i can do before replacing it?

 

like i said before, is there a code specifically if the O2 sensor fail for our generation of car?

 

Thanks.

How do i know if my cat has one or two O2 sensor?

No, there is no "your O2 sensor is bad" code

 

 

96, not sure if it is OBDI or OBDII You can look and see if it has one or two sensors... if you can't tell if it has one or two, then you shouldn't be doing any of this work yourself.

P0420 DTC is not (on its own) a bad front O2 sensor. It's technically "catalyst inefficiency". What this means is that the ECU compared the readings from the front O2 sensor to the readings from the rear O2 sensor and didn't like the results it got. There's three possible causes for this:

 

1) Catalytic converter is worn out or damaged.

2) Front O2 sensor is giving bad readings

3) Rear O2 sensor is giving bad readings

 

99% of the time, when the P0420 DTC occurs due to either #2 or #3, within a week or two you'll also start getting DTCs for different failures of the front or rear O2 sensor. When the P0420 DTC persists for a long period of time without throwing any O2-sensor-related DTCs as well, it generally means the cat is actually not working properly.

 

It's an old car, it's reasonable that the cat might actually be dead. In the absence of any other DTC, that's still my diagnosis.

both o2 and knock sensors can get old and not work properly with out throwing a code. so if it is old and the symptoms indicate either of those is not working properly, replace it or them as needed.

 

that does not mean replace sensors willy nilly. but i waited over a year to replace my knock sensor waiting for a code. that was over a year of really crappy performance. i should have replaced it as soon as i id it as the problem. i was penny wise and pound foolish.

 

lots of things on these cars can be bad without throwing a code. on the other hand, the ECU is overly sensitive to the o2 sensor. it can still be ok as far as emissions go but still throw a p0420 code. apparently the ECU is more sensitive than the emissions tests.

 

go figure.

is there any diagnostics i can do before replacing it?

 

like i said before, is there a code specifically if the O2 sensor fail for our generation of car?

 

Thanks.

yes

P0420 DTC is not (on its own) a bad front O2 sensor. It's technically "catalyst inefficiency". What this means is that the ECU compared the readings from the front O2 sensor to the readings from the rear O2 sensor and didn't like the results it got. There's three possible causes for this:

 

1) Catalytic converter is worn out or damaged.

2) Front O2 sensor is giving bad readings

3) Rear O2 sensor is giving bad readings

 

99% of the time, when the P0420 DTC occurs due to either #2 or #3, within a week or two you'll also start getting DTCs for different failures of the front or rear O2 sensor. When the P0420 DTC persists for a long period of time without throwing any O2-sensor-related DTCs as well, it generally means the cat is actually not working properly.

 

It's an old car, it's reasonable that the cat might actually be dead. In the absence of any other DTC, that's still my diagnosis.

what he said! a functioning cat will typicly get 100* hotter on the outlet then the inlet you can use a scanner and get a live data stream of the o2 sensors and see what happeneing a p0420 is pretty much a bad cat. forget the titles in this image. the front o2 should look like the picture on the right. switching from .100 volts to .900 volts rapidly while the second o2 should be switching the same value but much slower. a bad front o2 will throw its own code. has nothing to do with cat efficiency. the rear o2 will wither be stuck at a high or low voltage or some where inbetween, not switching. or switching way to slowly. http://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/266999_land2_3.jpg

is there any cheaper ption than oem? aftermarket?

 

try rock auto;)

thanks for all the comments, guys. So you guys are saying replace the o2 sensor first?

 

If the o2 sensor goes bad, don't you also have bad fuel ecology as well?

I would note that "cheaper" than OEM options cost more in the end. In my experience, and that of many others on NASIOC, the 3rd party sensors die soon enough that you end up paying as much (by buying several of them) as you would to just buy the Denso sensor and only have to buy it once. Even the Bosch sensors don't last well especially in the newer cars.

do you have the denso sensor part number? i mean not the Subaru part number, the part number by denso?

Nope, I just get them from the Dealership or WorldPack.

can someone confirm if the front sensor on my 96 LGT is a 3 pin triangle plug or a 4 pin square plug? Rockauto has the front on a 3 pin triangle plug and 4 pin square plug on the rear