Catalytic Converter

[clv_083]

i have a 2000 Toyota Celica with 50 000 miles on it. Last Saturday the engine check light came on and this morning i paid a visit to the local dealer for a diagnostic check up. I was informed that the Catalytic convertor should be replaced. The cost of the convertor (excl labour and taxes) was quoted to be around USD 1500

Is there any way to bypass the convertor and put off the engine check light?

[jlspec]

At 50,000 miles the cc shouldn't need replacing. If they are saying that it's the issue then you might want to take it somewhere else. My car is a 1990 Celica Turbo alltrac with the orginal two CC and they still work like a charm.

[clv_083]

the dealer blamed the fact that i have a 4 in 1 manifold. The foreman told me that this manifold also needs to be replaced if i am to change the cc.

A friend of mine advise me to bypass the convertor. I like this idea but am still concerned about the engine check light. Can this be put off if the cc is bypassed?

[new echo owner]

What was the code?

N.E.O.

[catric69]

Originally Posted by clv_083

i have a 2000 Toyota Celica with 50 000 miles on it. Last Saturday the engine check light came on and this morning i paid a visit to the local dealer for a diagnostic check up. I was informed that the Catalytic convertor should be replaced. The cost of the convertor (excl labour and taxes) was quoted to be around USD 1500

Is there any way to bypass the convertor and put off the engine check light?

Seems like you are out of the emission warranty of 8 years/80,000 miles. I had my wife's cat on her Celica replace at 100K for under $200 bucks. If you bypass the cat you will need O2 sims so no codes are thrown. Good luck!

[CelicaGirl2003]

hey i have an 03 GT and she has 118000+ miles and her CC went like a month or two ago, my dad told me you can drive it and it wolnt hurt any other parts to drive it like that but i live in Jersey so it wolnt pass inspection when it comes around. So im gonna buy a cat back exhaust and replace the whole thing, you should look in to getting one because you dont have to weld the CC in so some one you know could do it. Good luck.

Originally Posted by clv_083

i have a 2000 Toyota Celica with 50 000 miles on it. Last Saturday the engine check light came on and this morning i paid a visit to the local dealer for a diagnostic check up. I was informed that the Catalytic convertor should be replaced. The cost of the convertor (excl labour and taxes) was quoted to be around USD 1500

Is there any way to bypass the convertor and put off the engine check light?

[catric69]

Originally Posted by CelicaGirl2003

hey i have an 03 GT and she has 118000+ miles and her CC went like a month or two ago, my dad told me you can drive it and it wolnt hurt any other parts to drive it like that but i live in Jersey so it wolnt pass inspection when it comes around. So im gonna buy a cat back exhaust and replace the whole thing, you should look in to getting one because you dont have to weld the CC in so some one you know could do it. Good luck.

You're still are going to need to replace the cat as it does not come with the exhaust. Cat-back-exhaust attaches after the cat converter.

[concealer404]

$1500 for a new cat is highway robbery.

You can build a full custom exhaust with a cat of your choice for that money, and pocket a nice chunk of change afterwards.

4-1 exhaust manifold has NOTHING to do with a cat. At all. Ever.

[clv_083]

Originally Posted by concealer404

$1500 for a new cat is highway robbery.

You can build a full custom exhaust with a cat of your choice for that money, and pocket a nice chunk of change afterwards.

4-1 exhaust manifold has NOTHING to do with a cat. At all. Ever.

yes i know that if i change it from the local dealer i will be robbed right away. So that is certainly not an option for me.

My problems are two:

1) The engine check light...... this is on and i really would like to find a way how to put it off. The dealer claims that the light can only be turned off if i put the standard manifold and convertor from toyota. Anyone knows if this is true or not?

2) Car inspection (vrt).... without a convertor the car will certainly fail the vehicle roadworthiness test which is due next February. So at the end of the day i surely have to install a new convertor (which from another local supplier that has nothing to do with toyota is selling for USD 350)

[clv_083]

Originally Posted by catric69

Seems like you are out of the emission warranty of 8 years/80,000 miles. I had my wife's cat on her Celica replace at 100K for under $200 bucks. If you bypass the cat you will need O2 sims so no codes are thrown. Good luck!

so if i understand correctly the engine check light is coming on because of the O2 sensor placed after the convertor.

Correct me if i am wrong, so if i purchase a new convertor (the USD 350 one and not the one from the local toyota dealer), i shall be able to get rid of the check light as no codes wil lbe thrown by the O2 sensor?

[concealer404]

Originally Posted by clv_083

so if i understand correctly the engine check light is coming on because of the O2 sensor placed after the convertor.

Correct me if i am wrong, so if i purchase a new convertor (the USD 350 one and not the one from the local toyota dealer), i shall be able to get rid of the check light as no codes wil lbe thrown by the O2 sensor?

Should be able to.... you may have to replace the O2 sensor, but that's cheap, relatively. VERY cheap when comparing against a $1500 bill from the stealership.

What i was saying was that for that $1500, you can have a completely legal performance exhaust done. With a catalytic converter (what i was referring to as a "cat," sorry, we're a little redneck out here. )

[jlspec]

From my experiences even a bad cc doesn't throw a code. Even if the O2 is after the CC, and the CC is bad it won't throw a code inless the the O2 is bad.

[new echo owner]

So what was the code?

The post cat O2 sensor is there to monitor the cat's effieciency, however, there are other conidtion which would affect the cat's efficiency. You can all talk about replacing this and replacing that, what is comes down to is that if there is something wrong upstream before the cat, it still needs to be repair. Unless you knwo what is going on, simply ignoring the CEL may not be a good route to take. Except for the heater going bad, the chance of the post cat O2 going bad is minimal; have seen cars with over 300k with the original post cat O2 sensor without having any problem.

N.E.O.

[clv_083]

Originally Posted by new echo owner

So what was the code?

The post cat O2 sensor is there to monitor the cat's effieciency, however, there are other conidtion which would affect the cat's efficiency. You can all talk about replacing this and replacing that, what is comes down to is that if there is something wrong upstream before the cat, it still needs to be repair. Unless you knwo what is going on, simply ignoring the CEL may not be a good route to take. Except for the heater going bad, the chance of the post cat O2 going bad is minimal; have seen cars with over 300k with the original post cat O2 sensor without having any problem.

N.E.O.

I do not have the code as i did not ask for it. I will certainly call the dealer tomorrow and ask for it.

The dealer told me that there is nothing wrong upstream and the problem is being caused by the cat, so i presume that they are getting an error message on the computer from the downstream O2 sensor.

what is the code that they should be getting if the problem is from the O2 sensor after the cat?

[clv_083]

Originally Posted by jlspec

From my experiences even a bad cc doesn't throw a code. Even if the O2 is after the CC, and the CC is bad it won't throw a code inless the the O2 is bad.

i just googled around and found the following info on autotap.com......

A NEW ROLE FOR O2 SENSORS WITH OBD II

Starting with a few vehicles in 1994 and 1995, and all 1996 and newer vehicles, the number of oxygen sensors per engine has doubled. A second oxygen sensor is now used downstream of the catalytic converter to monitor the converter's operating efficiency. On V6 or V8 engines with dual exhausts, this means up to four O2 sensors (one for each cylinder bank and one after each converter) may be used.
The OBD II system is designed to monitor the emissions performance of the engine. This includes keeping an eye on anything that might cause emissions to increase. The OBD II system compares the oxygen level readings of the O2 sensors before and after the converter to see if the converter is reducing the pollutants in the exhaust. If it sees little or no change in oxygen level readings, it means the converter is not working properly. This will cause the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) to come on.