My regular authorized dealer, who I'm usually very happy with, just told me that my 2002 E320 needs new left and right catalyst (clogged and clanking) but that as I've done 85,000 it is no longer covered by warranty. The dealer wants about $1,500 for each side which seems expensive and I was wondering if I should go to Midas or if their after-market cats would give me problems with the onboard computer.

Anyone any good or bad experiences with Midas catalysts?

Mark

 

You can get universal cats oem obd2 approved and splice them in at any good muffler shop.
call or inquire at
http://www.racepages.com/auto/exhaus...converter.html
they are about 50 bucks each
for ones to fit you model.Also if the dealer failed to inform you,at 85000 miles it is possible for a cat to fail,but unlikely.If both failed some underlaying problems may need to be ruled out.
ohlord

 

Hi,
Rattling (intermediate) cats are a known and regular occurrence on M112 V6 and of course other similar installations.
Basically the material that separates the catalyst "brick" from the casing breaks down and allows the brick to rattle.
IMHO this is partially a design issue (strange trilobar shape of MB cats) but is also partially an endemic industry problem since the temp cycle on cats (especially the horizontally installed intermediate cat is very demanding.
The clam shell triangular design makes it VERY difficult to adequately control the pretension loads required by the packing material. Circular shaped cats are much easier to control packing material pretension BUT these do not package (i.e. require more space) than the triangular design.

I personally remove the brick from the casing and this works wonders since the secondary cat (adjacent to the gearbox) is only required to meet the "new vehicle" emmission standards (at least in the UK) and is not required to meet the aftermarket annual test requiremnts which are met very easily. UK CO after market limit is 0.2% and without the cat I get 0.02% and likewise HC limit is 200ppm and I get 10ppm AT 100k miles!! this approach introduces a VERY slight tinkling noise in the exhaust for the first 30 secs or so after startup but then totally disappears and makes no difference to the overall refinement or exhaust note.
Not sure what emmissions limits exist in USA but new will undoubtedly be more stringent than annual test limits and I would be surprised if similar limits weren't specified in USA with the exception of California.

Use of none OE cats poses problems from the point of view of installation / packaging. The trilobar OE cats have the inlet and outlet pipes offset and replacement with a "straight" round cat upsets the pipe runs and potentially introduces strain into the exhaust mountings etc.

The rear/intermediate cats also degrade due to sudden temp changes caused by water spray. The front cats rarely suffer from rattle since they are installed in a more vertical orientation and are better protected from water spray.

Hope this helps a little.

I would give the remove brick approach some consideration but as I have already stated I cannot confirm whether your local regs will/will not be met without the secondary cat. I think you will be surprised!

Stuart

 

The eastern cats are oem and oe inlet and exit,they are the same ones fitted into the oe system,so no problems with the pipes.
ohlord.
Hi Stu!!

 

Hi Ohlord,

"eastern cats are oem and oe inlet and exit,they are the same ones fitted into the oe system,so"

Eastern cats. URL so I can have a look on the web?

Triangular casing?
Offset inlet and outlet just like the OEM?
One of the OEM suppliers is Zena Starker (Austrian). not too sure of spekking.

Stuart

 

Apparently spelling is Zeuna Stärker. Not sure if the umlaut will work in html! They have been absorbed into Arvin. interestingly Midas is an Arvin customer.

Stuart

 

Stuart,
A quick question. Am I mistaken that the US MB models have O2 sensors before and after the CAT, and the computer monitors an expected 12% drop in monoxides from O2(1) to O2(2) or the CEL will stay on and the car fail emmisions?The percent dropwas how it was determined that My cats were working properly, and believe me they would have loved to replace them.

Indifferent to world opinion, emmisions regulations are red hot in the US,and they are throwing teenagers in prison under Federal Law fortampering/removing their CATS. An officer checked my tag, sticker, tires, window tint, and used a mirror to look under my car to confirm the CATS were present during a roadside traffic stop. Here, you will get kicked off the property if youask a shop to tamper withCATS.

Another note,I remember that there is a FederalImplied Warranty Law in the US,that requires ALL emmisions equipment, regardless of manufacturer's warranty statement, to last 80k miles.A few years ago, when I began studying Law, it was 100k miles. Sorry, I was hoping you would get them under warranty.

Blue

 

I got DEC cats for my '97 E420 - 2 for about $800 instead of 1 for $1300 from MB. They are garaunteed to fit and perform as originals & my mechanic said they were of a quality at least as good as MB. No probs after 50K miles. I was pissed that the originals only went about 80 K; I have had a VW cat go for 200K.

 

TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 85 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part A > §7541
§7541. Compliance by vehicles and engines in actual use
(a) Warranty; certification; payment of replacement costs of parts, devices, or components designed for emission control
(1) Effective with respect to vehicles and engines manufactured in model years beginning more than 60 days after December 31, 1970, the manufacturer of each new motor vehicle and new motor vehicle engine shall warrant to the ultimate purchaser and each subsequent purchaser that such vehicle or engine is
(A) designed, built, and equipped so as to conform at the time of sale with applicable regulations under section 7521 of this title, and
(B) free from defects in materials and workmanship which cause such vehicle or engine to fail to conform with applicable regulations for its useful life (as determined under section 7521 (d) of this title). In the case of vehicles and engines manufactured in the model year 1995 and thereafter such warranty shall require that the vehicle or engine is free from any such defects for the warranty period provided under subsection (i) of this section……



(2) Specified major emission control components
In the case of a specified major emission control component, the warranty period for new light-duty trucks and new light-duty vehicles and engines manufactured in the model year 1995 and thereafter for purposes of subsection (a)(1) of this section and subsection (b) of this section shall be 8 years or 80,000 miles of use[/b] (whichever first occurs). As used in this paragraph, the term “specified major emission control component” means only a catalytic converter, an electronic emissions control unit, and an onboard emissions diagnostic device, except that the Administrator may designate any other pollution control device or component as a specified major emission control component if—


Source:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/h...1----000-.html

 

If you want to know what's going on with aftermarket CATS, here's a link you ned to read. Some of them do not meet specs, you have to use the right ones, huge fines,etc.etc. this should help you be on top of things when you negotiate.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/factshts/catcvrts.pdf