Passenger side Catalytic Converter rattles + P0420

[Mikochem]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've been experiencing exhaust rattles on my 2002 986 S for quite a while now.

 

The last time I brought my car for maintenance I've asked the shop to take a look at the whole exhaust system.

 

Conclusion was that the honeycomb structure in the cat built in the passenger exhaust manifold is failing apart causing the rattling noises I'm hearing.

 

Shortly after this the ECU started to throw the error code below :

P0420 - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)
 

I haven't taken the manifold out yet but the diagnostic seems pretty conclusive to me, my car needs a new exhaust header.

 

I was initially tempted to replace the headers with a cheap catless design but my car being a US model seems to be more trouble than it's worth.

Long story short I'm looking for a used stock exhaust header to fix this problem, I live in Canada and as of now I don't have to deal with smog checks that being said I don't want to deal with either DTCs or drones.

By any chance would someone have a used exhaust header for sale ? also is Bank 1 indeed the passenger side ?
 

Any other alternatives or suggestions ?

Thank you for your time !

 

Regards,

 

Michael

Edited April 14, 2021 by Mikochem

[Ike84]

Hey Michael, I have a set that I just removed from my 00 base with 40k miles.  They work fine, I switched to aftermarket headers.  I'm not willing to separate the pair but will sell them both to you if you are interested.  

Edited April 14, 2021 by Ike84

[Silver_TT]

This happened on my 996. The vibration kills the cats on this car and, indeed, the honeycomb breaks apart.  Sometimes you can hear this if you hammer on the cat with a rubber mallet.  For sure you can hear it once the cat is off and you shake it.

 

You can take your old cats to a scrap metal yard and get $200 or so (metal prices have changed a lot don't know market price)

 

Chances are your bank 2 is not far behind (you can monitor this with Durametric, I have posted on this in the past) so I would replace them both if you get a good deal on a used set.

 

Once you put the new cats on you may have to drive 100 or 200 miles to pass your smog checks (you can check readiness states in Durametric)

Edited April 15, 2021 by Silver_TT

[Mikochem]

@Ike84, I'm definitely interested I've sent you a PM.

 

@Silver_TT, Thanks for your advice ! I'll replace both and try to recoup some money selling my old cat to a scrap metal place.

Hopefully the header bolts won't cause me too much trouble to remove ...