Hey gang. I noticed a weird rattle when letting off the gas and my mechanic found that my passenger side cat is going bad (no code, 155k miles). He said he's replaced dozens of the "front" or driver cat but never that one.

OEM is of course ridiculous at ~$700 but since I'm a Cali-spec car, I figured that the common Stillen/hi-flow options probably aren't the best choice for me passing smog. So what do you guys recommend? Some googling found cheap Magnaflows for $180 but I figure there's better out there. Thoughts?

Thanks!
-Seedy

 

All 02-03 are considered "Cali-Spec" as in no difference in 02-03 wherever the car came from.

Passenger side? Hmm, our cats are on the front and rear, (near radiator and firewall). Also, I wasn't aware Stillen had HFC's for our cars. How did he interpret it going bad?

In any case, here are a couple of decent replacements and other related links.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ighlight=bosal
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ighlight=bosal

 

Interesting, thanks. I had found those same links in searching but some of the info inside is old/dead links and I hadn't realized they were the same across all 50 states with emissions and such. Good to know.

Which cat it was confuses me because originally he said "rear" to me but searching sites, I'd see "front passenger", "front driver" and "rear" and he changed his mind to say it was the passenger front since he meant rear of engine and ours is sideways compared to the Z32, which he also works on. So now I'm really confused but I'll try to clarify exactly which one it is.

 

His problem is that California and now New York require CARB certified cats to be installed. They cost about twice as much as a general cat.

 

Right, that's what I was afraid of. I don't want to buy the wrong thing. Now, I'm sure my mechanic would have no problem installing one without the carb sticker/cert but I'm not sure if Smog shops these days actually check for that kind of stuff after the fact.

With my Z32 I never had to worry about that...for other reasons

 

I bet if you let your car warm to operating temperature, you would still pass, even with just the main cat in place.

In any case, you could try and find CARB certified pre cats.

 

You can, I have passed with hollowed out precats.

Unfortunately as californians the joke is on us. All OEM quality replacement cats are the same since all 02+ were cali-spec no matter what state you bought it in, but we get to pay a couple hundred extra for a CA stamp of approval for the exact same cat. I bought one out of state and conveniently scraped it on speed bumps until the labeling was all gone. I got some flak from the smog guys but there was nothing they could do about it. That cat smogged just fine until I melted it with an overfueling condition that went on for too long.

 

Okay, so if all of the above is true about all 02+ being 50-state, then why wouldn't I go with the Magnaflow since it has the CA approved CARB and is under $200?

Or are they just not good enough quality and it's still safer/better to stick with Bosal/Eastern? I keep searching for the Bosal/Eastern though and all the sites say "No California shipping" and don't seem to offer the more expensive CA one anyway. So where the heck can I even buy them? What a pain...

 

go with whatever is CA approved unless you have some reason to believe that you need the best possible one for smog reasons. Honestly if youre replacing the rear precat, dont worry about the CA requirement no tech is going to look/see the CA legal stamp. Just buy a 49 state one and have it forwarded from another address out of state. Do you know anyone that lives in another state?

here is a CA legal rear precat, if you must

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I figure that one you linked being a 2003 doesn't matter and will fit the 2002, right? For some reason that site doesn't have Maxima as a 2002 model...

 

Yes it will....

I had both precats and main cat was nothing there, pretty much a Test Pipe, and I passed the smog no problem, so if main cat is there and Whatever precats that are good shouldn't have no problem passing...

 

Awesome, thanks everyone!

 

yeah anything 03 will fit 02. if I think somewhere should have something and its not showing up I try both years. Its amazing how many places have things that fit an 02 max but dont fit an 03, or vice verse

 

It seems things got confusing again. I know 02/03 are *supposed* to be the same but now I've got my mechanic saying the photo doesn't look right (too short) AND the catalytic seller says it's only certified for '03 models and not '02, citing some difference in California CARB rules. The one I've got on my Max is part# 208A2-5Y826.

At this point, I'm ready to say screw it and just get whatever the normal, federal 49-state rear precat most people get is. I don't care about CARB/smog, I just want it to FIT. So I tried to buy the Bosal listed above but the three sites I found all say "No California shipments" so they wont even let me risk it.

Is there a seller .ORG recommends? What can I do?

 

it looks wrong because the picture is all jacked up and compressed. If its a rear pre-cat it will fit. 00-01 didnt have a rear precat. 02-03 every single part on the car is interchangeable, 100% of parts that fit an 03 fit an 02 and vice verse.

the whole passenger side, drivers side conversation is screwy. Is it a front precat, rear precat, or main cat? The link I posted is for a rear precat. The front precat is REALLY different and obviously the main cat is different. I can tell from the picture that the flanges on that cat are for the 02-03 rear precat and it is nothing like the front precat and also not much like the main cat.

 

Well, the part# of the cat in my '02 Max is 208A2-5Y826 and Nissan lists that as "three way catalytic converter" when I google it. And it makes sense about the squished photo so I THINK that's the rear pre-cat (as you guys call it).

Now, Nissan lists the '03 model as a different part number but it's very close (208A2-5Y827) so do you still think I've got a reasonably good chance the above '03 CA-legal one you linked will work? If so, I'll just get it and hope it fits because NO ONE will ship a non-CA version to me

Thanks so much for the advice.

 

courtesy parts shows them the same. They probably updated the part for 2003.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/-c-1956...1981_1983.html

I would just call the place before ordering and make sure the picture is just a stock picture since it doesnt have the turn that courtesy parts shows. If it is actually a direct replacement it should be the same, you would think.

 

02 and 03 parts are the same. I just cross referenced the non-CARB precats on rockauto and they use the same part numbers.

 

Awesome. Then I'll confirm with the place that Gemner linked that their return policy is good (just in case) and I'll grab the '03 CA legal one for $250. Sure beats $700 from the dealer!

Thanks to everyone.

 

There are some on ebay for 100bux. Some say they won't ship to ca but
others don't so I think it's all good?

 

Since precats are a PITA to swap, I would just stick with a reputable product.

 

Yeah, that was my thinking too. I can certainly live with $250 vs $700 (actually closer to $800 with tax/etc)