ok guys heres the scoop i was driving along and the ses light came on, I didnt think too much about it since the car was running fine. a day goes by and i reset the comp. Another day goes by and i notice that there is no power so i decide to take it in it throws a ses light and they say that the catalytic converter up by the radiator is bad. Now to my question i can either buy oem nissan for 750 ouch. or i can have it hollowed out and put back on the car. What can i expect if i do the second option. Will the car run good? Does anyone have any experience with this problem?
Thanks in advance all advice is greatly appreciated

 

I just know you can talk to a muffler shop. They might give you some useful info and may even be able to fix somthing like that. All I say is if you do have time, just talk to them and get some more knowledge and maybe alternatives on how to go about fixing this. Goodluck.

 

What year is your car? Cats are covered for 8 years/80,000 miles...

If you're out of warranty... get some Cattman headers!

P.S. I wouldn't drive the car until you get the parts to get this fixed. The catalytic honeycomb material will get sucked into your engine and... kablooey.

 

2004 as of right now i have 82000 miles. does this mean that nissan wont cover the problem?

 

Couldn't hurt to try.

 

will the car run badly with one cat hollowed out or what if i hollow both out and put o2 simulators on it

 

You can't sim the primary a/f sensors. Talk to the dealer tomorrow and plead your case.

 

No offense but how is that possible when the cat is part of the exhaust, not intake???

 

The primary cats on the stock header manifolds... it can happen. It has.

There's a short little thread concerning the Altima at Nissanhelp:

http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/altim...ng-engine.html

No offense taken man.

 

I had the main cat hollowed out on my 2k max, it got more power and had a deeper resonating sound like i had headers

 

But i will only be hollowing ou the one by the radiator since it is the one that failed. Also how much are cattmans and are they worth it? I am a little nervous as to how it will run with only half the motor getting backpressure... Maybe hollow them both out

 

The whole backpressure thing is a myth. If the dealer won't honor he warranty, then hollowing out the failed cat will be a cheap fix.

 

If you can hold out a month or 2 we are working on these right now to see how well we can get them to work ...


OEM ( newer less than 10k on the unit pictured)

Metal Core

 

are those just hollowed out cats and painted? this is such a relief if i know that it will run properly. Are these your own project or did you buy these?

 

No these are high flow Metal Core replacement cats we are working on right now. however we are still in the infant stages of testing. Installation will likley happen later next week on our test car

 

what are the benefits?

 

in point form the projects goals are:

- Better flow = more HP
- Metallic core will not break apart like the OEM ceramic= longer life and no chance of premature engine failure
- no cel/ses lights
- retains OEM locations of o2 sensors
- easier+faster to install than headers
- cheaper than OEM cats

 

so you know that everyone that owns a 6thgen will want these right. Hopefully all works out next week. If so when can we see these on the market? and what are we looking at for cost? I am really excited about this. I am concidering Headers but if these work out I will be going this route due to installation and ses/cel concerns.

 

do headers in this car always throw a ses light? if i hollow out the cat next to the radiator is it a good idea to hollow out the second? how much back pressure does the oem model create for the motor? I want it to run correctly but it seems that the design of the nissan cats on the manifold is faulty. Is this a concern for all 6th gen owners? someone has had ot of tried this out there.
thanks for all the input

 

I'm very interested in Racingline solution.

 

DANG those Racingline guys have a lot of tricks up there sleve. hahaha.

options are great things, thank you

 

Yeah if you're out of warranty, and don't want headers, this just may do the trick.

 

what kind of coating/paint is on these?

 

well i got the max back today and it literally has 50% less power..... which sucks because i really like the car. The mechanic said that to narrow down the problem he disconnected the suspected faulty cat and ran the car and he said that the car ran great. So we knocked out the indside of the faulty cat because of a partial internal meltdown, replaced it on the car and it has no power. He thinks that the internals of the cat may have traveled farther down hte system and this is the new issue. Is this what you fellas think? This all really makes me wonder the condition of the other 2.Also will putting cattman headers or racingline cats and then a diff. y-pipe if need be fix my issues or will the ses light remain on and run funny and loud because it now has headers or are these headers more refined thanones for older cars?
As always thnks for the advice guys

 

Is the cat that was bad the primary one located on the header manifold by the radiator? It is possible some of the material is clogging up the secondary cat... Are you still throwing any codes? I'd drive it for a few more days if you aren't throwing any codes... the ECU could be in re-learning mode.

Headers and y-pipe will make the car noticeably louder, but not that bad if you keep the stock exhaust out the rear.

Some of us with the headers are getting codes for the primary air/fuel sensors under the hood. As for the rear o2 sensors, you should be able to get by with o2 sensor spacers. Your mechanic should know what those are. Or you could get a y-pipe with a high-flow cat, and extend the wiring of the rear o2 sensors behind the cat, weld in some o2 bungs, and screw in the sensors. That will also work.

 

yes the cat that failed is the on clossto to the radiator. As of right now the engine code is still on. im not sure if i should have the cat on the other side of the motor hollowed out, then a new y-pipe with a high flow cat, or replace the cat that is bad then a y-pipe, or if i should go the header route and have the secondary cat hollowed out? Im just not sure what route to take all this? Or maybe i should shell out 2000$ and have the thing fixed right? Im trying to find some other options.
WIll adding headers and a different y pipe make me lose my low end torque and throw codes? As for the primary air fuel sensors are you talking about the mass air sensor? Damn i just want to be able to drive my car like it was but 2000$ is a lot of money. I wonder if all my torque is gone becouse that cat by the radiator is hollowed out and i got now backpressure, if so then wouldnt adding headers and a y pipe just decrease my torque even further or is there some more steps i need to atake after a mod like that, perhaps maybe with the computer or intake?
Thanks alot guys

 

replace both the cats closest to the headers or hollow them out, then have the other cats checked to see if they are still good. If they are leave them and have the ecu reset. that should do it. I mean the only cats that seem to go bad are the ones near the headers. Probably getting way too hot and causing a breakdown faster. You should not have to get a y-pipe or new headers as they have absolutely nothing to do with the cats. I mean unless the cats on the y-pipe are bad then you might want to concider a new y-pipe. but fix the problem then play with new ideas. When the CEL is on you will only get about 50% of power. fix the issue, clear the codes, and drive around to see if they return. If the CEL returns post up the codes so we can help you figure it out. Just because one thing is fixed does not mean there isn't another problem being masked.

 

I guess im a little confused. I believe there are three cats on our system 1 on each side of the motor right after each manifold and 1 inside the y-pipe where both tubes meet. Having one blow out by the radiator left left bank i can only imagine what the one in the y-pipe looks like considering that all the internals of this thing had to go somewhere. The mechanic i took it too said that he test drove it with the cat completely off and it ran great..... he hooks it back up with that one hollowed out and has 50% power and not much exhaust coming out which makes me think its the next on down. By replacing the system whith a new y-pipe i thought i would be fixing the one that i believe is faulty, thats why i was considering such. The fact that these things are so expensive and they are prone to fail makes me want ot bypass the whole system or hollow out the other cat and i guess maybe the third. Any thoughts? or maybe bite the bullet oem parts? Aftermarket is almost cheaper

 

Pull off the y-pipe and check it. Should take your mechanic 10 minutes.

 

thanks oolatec i appreciate your advice it should by visible whether the cat is burned out i believe. If it is then iguess its y-pipe time that should fix it dont you think? I guess unless its the mufflers? Just one other wuick question? How many o2 sensors does our system use? Oh and by the way fellas the code that come on was P0430 not sure what that means

 

Could anyone please tell me what the engine code P0430 means and how many o2 sensors are on our cars and their location? Oh and does anyone have the 2 cats on motor hollowed out?Thanks

 

P0430=bad cat mainfold idk front or rear one

u need replaced cat mainfold asap cause after that ur motor will be gone plus oil will burn to. It happen to me bec I didn't fix the CEL. Then I bought 2nd motor which will cost u around $1000-6000 depend on miles n year plus labor cost around 500-1800.

So is time for u upgrade header.

 

Ok guys got the codes pulled from the computer and today to try and figure out the condition tf the rear cat and here they are
1. P1168 closed loop control
2. P0430 catalyst below system threshold bank 2
3.P1051 not sure
4.P0301 cylinder 1 misfire
I have 50% power does this mean that my engine is blown? or could the 3rd cat on the y-pipe be clogged causing all this?

 

VERY INTERESTED IN RACINGLINE SOLUTION! I been wantin headers but they are SO COSTLY and for all the problems everyone has been experiencing I do not want to take a chance. My cats are fine right now with 75K miles but I wanna prevent any potential engine problems. KEEP US UPDATED RACINGLINE!

 

one of mine went out with only 83k right by the radiator. got it bored out as well as the olne in the y-pipe and my car now has more power than it ever has, which is hard to believe. Also it's only thrown an ses light once in 500 miles. I thought that it would throw an 02 code earlier than that. Now the only thing i worry about is the condition of the motor, it doesn't burn any oil..........yet. I'm skeptical about its longevity though as my cat did start to break down so much so that it clogged the one in the y-pipe.

 

I just threw a P0420 code yesterday and the Max was running rough like it only had 5 cylinders. Filled it up w/ 93 Octane and it seems better.

Have appt. w/ the dealership tomorrow. My guess is they will say its a Catalytic Converter and $1500.

Hate the dealership!!

 

not sure if the op got the problem fixed, but I have my precats left over from my header install. pm me if you are interested

 

Hey just out of curiosity did you lose any low end with your header install and how much top end did you gain? Also how long or expensive was your header install? Im running with hollowed out cats and seems to be ok. so far

Also price$ of precats and condition?

 

If you can Let me know what they say and ask them how probable it is that pieces of the cat get sucked back in after 120 miles of driving with a bad one? Thanks

 

I'm absolutely terrible at remembering stuff like this, but I should remember to ask them. I already had a $2000+ fix last year on the ABS actuator, I'm hoping this isn't another giant fix.