3.0 Catalytic Converter

[tech2400]

Anyone with aftermarket converters on a 3.0, i found a few sellers that are all located in canada, wondering if anyone has any experiance with aftermarket cats, thanks.

here is a link
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330918054231...#ht_1228wt_896

[Jake@JHM]

Click HERE to check out our 3.0L Downpipes with High Flow Cats!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Jake

[tech2400]

Click HERE to check out our 3.0L Downpipes with High Flow Cats!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Jake

thanks jake, but those are out of my price range.

[road_tripper]

why don't you buy it and let everyone know how it goes. I've been running an eastern catalytic converter for 60k? 80k? miles, no problems.

that $200 including shipping is the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

[themadscientist]

why don't you buy it and let everyone know how it goes. I've been running an eastern catalytic converter for 60k? 80k? miles, no problems.

that $200 including shipping is the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

I've been installing those on customer cars for a while. No problems with them.

[tech2400]

why don't you buy it and let everyone know how it goes. I've been running an eastern catalytic converter for 60k? 80k? miles, no problems.

that $200 including shipping is the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

actually i just came across a eastern cat, which one do you have ECOII or ECOIII

[MikTip]

Back when I had my 1993 90 V6...I bought a couple of Catco cats and had cut and welded into place...

[SJorge3442]

actually i just came across a eastern cat, which one do you have ECOII or ECOIII

link? Both of mine are throwing codes. Going for inspection tomorrow, but I think they will pass. The Torque app is saying that the emissions system is ok, probably just wont pass next year.

[tech2400]

http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/x,cata...ers_40643.html

link? Both of mine are throwing codes. Going for inspection tomorrow, but I think they will pass. The Torque app is saying that the emissions system is ok, probably just wont pass next year.

[SJorge3442]

so apparently the Audi gods hate me. Cat got clogged the other night and the car wont start. Are these eastern cats a good idea?

[Darwood]

I got a set of Eastern cats when I bought my 3.0 since the stockers were already shot. I wish I had demanded OEM replacements, the Easterns don't fit quite right. There are leaks around the flanges, and after two years, they're starting to rattle like they're coming apart internally. Cheaper is seldom better in Audi-land, I'm afraid.

[SJorge3442]

I got a set of Eastern cats when I bought my 3.0 since the stockers were already shot. I wish I had demanded OEM replacements, the Easterns don't fit quite right. There are leaks around the flanges, and after two years, they're starting to rattle like they're coming apart internally. Cheaper is seldom better in Audi-land, I'm afraid.

dont tell me this. Im literally 3 miles from their office and was going to use theirs since I need cats asap. Perhaps you had a bad set? Did you use new nuts? Maybe a bad gasket? If they start rattling I'd be pissed, but I have no idea how long I'll have my car. With the issues im having now, i would say im in the <12 month range.

[SlickFix]

So, do I understand correctly that installing an Eastern Cat would require cutting off the old one on the side near the cross pipe(or whatever that thing is called), and then welding the new one in?

[road_tripper]

when i put the eastern cat on, there were only aftermarket cats for 6-speeds (any brand). years later, mine is still working fine and I have no leaks or strange fitment issues.

maybe the manufacturers are selling the same cats for tips and they don't fit well? manufacturing went crappy?

I bought mine direct from eastern, and they were willing to replace the cat 6 months after install; my car started throwing codes, but after a few weeks, stopped and haven't seen them since (as often).

[SJorge3442]

So, do I understand correctly that installing an Eastern Cat would require cutting off the old one on the side near the cross pipe(or whatever that thing is called), and then welding the new one in?

no, they make cats that are direct fitment. Full downpipe and all.

[SlickFix]

no, the make cats that are direct fitment. Full downpipe and all.

Hmm, understood that the downpipe bolts into the head, but what about the "tail"? Doesn't that just get welded into whatever that muffler looking thing is in the middle of the car before the pipes get to the actual mufflers?

[SJorge3442]

Hmm, understood that the downpipe bolts into the head, but what about the "tail"? Doesn't that just get welded into whatever that muffler looking thing is in the middle of the car before the pipes get to the actual mufflers?

its clamped together under the car. There are three bolts on the exhaust flange (where the cat meets the headers) and then 2 bolts on the clamps under the car. Then the whole 4 foot long piece comes out as a total pipe with the cat attached.

[AlS6]

its clamped together under the car. There are three bolts on the exhaust flange (where the cat meets the headers) and then 2 bolts on the clamps under the car. Then the whole 4 foot long piece comes out as a total pipe with the cat attached.

Can the 3 bolts to the exhaust manifold be accessible from the top side of the engine? or do you have to go under? Seem very tight. Hope you don't have to drop the sub frame to get to it.

[SJorge3442]

Can the 3 bolts to the exhaust manifold be accessible from the top side of the engine? or do you have to go under? Seem very tight. Hope you don't have to drop the sub frame to get to it.

From what I've read and from what I can imagine the process to be, the two lower nuts will be removed from the bottom and the the third and final nut from the top. I've already sourced a set of small hands to help me with getting this nut off. The manual transmissions make for a lot easier removal of the cat. The automatics are a whole different story. Those are the ones that need to have the subframe dropped. Thats what I believe the issue is. Just in case no one knows what the cat looks like, here is a picture of it.

[Chard_bb6]

Update us on how it goes. I don't think anyone has chronicled changing out cats on the 3.0 yet. Maybe you guys can snap some pics of the process.

[SJorge3442]

Update us on how it goes. I don't think anyone has chronicled changing out cats on the 3.0 yet. Maybe you guys can snap some pics of the process.

Definetely. I plan on writing a DIY for this. Hopefully I can write it so that it is detailed enough. This bad boy gets slapped in tomorrow morning. Temps have been dropping all day/night too. Should be a fun job nonetheless.

[SlickFix]

Definetely. I plan on writing a DIY for this. Hopefully I can write it so that it is detailed enough. This bad boy gets slapped in tomorrow morning. Temps have been dropping all day/night too. Should be a fun job nonetheless.

So Sjorge, I believe you still owe us a DIY.

Seriously, though, when I was doing the power steering rack job I noticed that there was next to no room to get at the two bottom bolts on the CAT, and I couldn't even see the top bolt. I am NOT looking forward to doing this job, but I can't see paying someone else to do it.

What needs to be supported when you drop the subframe? I forgot, are you manual or tiptronic? I'm tip.

[SJorge3442]

So Sjorge, I believe you still owe us a DIY.

Seriously, though, when I was doing the power steering rack job I noticed that there was next to no room to get at the two bottom bolts on the CAT, and I couldn't even see the top bolt. I am NOT looking forward to doing this job, but I can't see paying someone else to do it.

What needs to be supported when you drop the subframe? I forgot, are you manual or tiptronic? I'm tip.

haha. This was an adventure for me.

To start things off, I have a 6 speed 01E. The bottom two bolts on BOTH cats are very accessible. Its the top bolts that are hard to get to. The top one on the drivers side is not that bad though. Basically you need to use a swivel socket to get a good grab on it from the top. You can only really turn the nut about 1/8 of a turn at a time, so its REALLY time consuming.

The passenger side tho.....I HAVE NO IDEA how to get it off. I cant get to the top bolt from the top or bottom. I thought I have to drop the pipe when I did my clutch, but I was able to just remove the exhaust clamp at the mid pipe and use the flex from the flex pipe (dont flex too far!) to get the subframe/trans mount out of the way. All you need to do to drop the rear trans mount is make sure that you support the transmission. I wish I had photos for everything, but I dont. I ended up putting my stock cat back on (it wasnt the cause of my problem) and I have been running good since.

It also helps if you drop the axles off of the transmission so that you have more working room. That and you will need the extra space to finangle the pipes out from under the car. That was the tricky part. I basically had my car like 2 feet off the ground to do it.

Also, why do you need to change the cats? I feel like way too many people do it, simply because of the codes sent from the second o2 sensors. I am going to run a bottle of cataclean through mine this weekend actually to see if I can get my codes to disappear, but I really dont care. A JHM tune is in my future.

[NyteEscape]

haha. This was an adventure for me.

To start things off, I have a 6 speed 01E. The bottom two bolts on BOTH cats are very accessible. Its the top bolts that are hard to get to. The top one on the drivers side is not that bad though. Basically you need to use a swivel socket to get a good grab on it from the top. You can only really turn the nut about 1/8 of a turn at a time, so its REALLY time consuming.

The passenger side tho.....I HAVE NO IDEA how to get it off. I cant get to the top bolt from the top or bottom. I thought I have to drop the pipe when I did my clutch, but I was able to just remove the exhaust clamp at the mid pipe and use the flex from the flex pipe (dont flex too far!) to get the subframe/trans mount out of the way. All you need to do to drop the rear trans mount is make sure that you support the transmission. I wish I had photos for everything, but I dont. I ended up putting my stock cat back on (it wasnt the cause of my problem) and I have been running good since.

It also helps if you drop the axles off of the transmission so that you have more working room. That and you will need the extra space to finangle the pipes out from under the car. That was the tricky part. I basically had my car like 2 feet off the ground to do it.

Also, why do you need to change the cats? I feel like way too many people do it, simply because of the codes sent from the second o2 sensors. I am going to run a bottle of cataclean through mine this weekend actually to see if I can get my codes to disappear, but I really dont care. A JHM tune is in my future.

I've been getting an P0431 code on my 3.0 for a while now so I'm in the market for a cat solution. I think my long term plan will be to get the JHM tune, but I'm not sure if it will take care of the P0431 code. In the mean time, I used 2 bottles of CRC Guaranteed to Pass and went from the CEL coming on immediately after readiness was set to delaying it about 500 miles. If it's something really short term that you need, that may do the trick. After the bottles ran through though, CEL starts coming back on immediately after readiness is set.

[SJorge3442]

I've been getting an P0431 code on my 3.0 for a while now so I'm in the market for a cat solution. I think my long term plan will be to get the JHM tune, but I'm not sure if it will take care of the P0431 code. In the mean time, I used 2 bottles of CRC Guaranteed to Pass and went from the CEL coming on immediately after readiness was set to delaying it about 500 miles. If it's something really short term that you need, that may do the trick. After the bottles ran through though, CEL starts coming back on immediately after readiness is set.

From my understanding, most cat failures simply occur as the part is no longer doing its job. RARELY will a new non-pellet style cat ever clog. I thought I had a clogged cat that was causing my starting issues. Turned out to be my timing jumped from the car rolling backwards. I had a cat from eastern cats and it seemed to be of decent quality. I didnt like the heat shield at all. I think the JHM downpipes are the best option out there. Not only are the free-er flowing than the stock cats, since there is no cat on the pipe, more heat will be kept out of the engine bay and away from the engine.

[SlickFix]

As I stated earlier in this thread, I'm getting consistent P0421 and P0431 codes. I don't seem to have any other symptoms, so it may be the case that my CATS are not performing up to expectation of the ECU. But they don't seem to be clogged.

I dunno, I guess I'm more of a preventative maintenance kind of guy. I didn't know that bottles of "Guaranteed to pass" existed. But since Minnesota does not have emissions testing, I don't need a temporary fix. I'm looking for the long term fix, which I assume is a set of new CATS.

Your experience, SJorge, leads me to believe that it's going to be even more of an unpleasant job on the Tiptronic equipped 3.0's. Now I know why I've been procrastinating on this for so long.

[SJorge3442]

As I stated earlier in this thread, I'm getting consistent P0421 and P0431 codes. I don't seem to have any other symptoms, so it may be the case that my CATS are not performing up to expectation of the ECU. But they don't seem to be clogged.

I dunno, I guess I'm more of a preventative maintenance kind of guy. I didn't know that bottles of "Guaranteed to pass" existed. But since Minnesota does not have emissions testing, I don't need a temporary fix. I'm looking for the long term fix, which I assume is a set of new CATS.

Your experience, SJorge, leads me to believe that it's going to be even more of an unpleasant job on the Tiptronic equipped 3.0's. Now I know why I've been procrastinating on this for so long.

Just do yourself (and your wallet!) a favor and get the JHM pipes. They are $700 for the pair, which is what one decent cat will cost. Plus it means more performance!

[deyrag]

The actual cat for the 3.0 auto and manual is the same just the tail pipe after the cat (mostly the position of the flex). I replaced my passenger side one (with a used oem) and it was not too bad The top nut is the only real pain. Make sure to remove the cv/axle shield and it will give you enough room to wiggle it out.

[SlickFix]

I replaced my passenger side one (with a used oem) and it was not too bad The top nut is the only real pain. Make sure to remove the cv/axle shield and it will give you enough room to wiggle it out.

deyrag, are you manual or tip?

You guys are sending mixed signals about that top bolt on the passenger side. For SJorge it was impossible to access the top bolt, but for deyrag it was "not too bad". Does "not too bad" mean that you can access it from the top, but you have to remove a lot of stuff?

[imnuts]

When I was replacing my belly pan, I had a look around just to see what may have been causing my exhaust rattle. In the process, I looked to see how hard it would be to disconnect the cats, and the bottom two studs on each side are readily accessible on the MT cars. I didn't really look at the top, but the passenger side should be fairly easy to get to after taking out the air box and intake piping. The driver's side needs the coolant tank taken out, which I would think would be a bigger PITA.

As for the JHM tune getting rid of codes, it will remove both catalytic converter codes, I know because I had both and got the tune to get rid of them and pass inspection. The catalytic converters will also rarely collapse. The 3.0 has metal support cats, so the only way for them to collapse would be if something banged against the inlet or outlet, or it melted. Both of which are highly unlikely. The codes are just from the coating on the cats coming off or loosing its activity and not performing as well anymore.

[deyrag]

I am a 6MT. I did the top nut on the passenger side from the top of the engine. I had read about using a wobble extension or stubby wrench from the bottom but could not get get anywhere near it. I removed the air intake stuff and also removed the couple of small bolts holding the vent tube that runs along side the head so i could move it slightly out of the way. I tried with a 1/4 drive socket and got nowhere. ultimately I found the best solution was a 13 mm ratcheting wrench from HF that I cut in half. The first time I did it I used a 1/2 inch regular box wrench but turning it 1/12 of a turn then flipping it over and turning another smidgeon got old really quick.

I actually ended up replacing the cat with a used one i got from AC-101 thru the forum. it was off an auto but I cut off the piping both my old one and the 'new' one and swapped it. Not one single code since and now going on couple thousand miles.

I would say that I could probably get that passenger cat out in about an hour now that i have done it a couple of times. Biggest issue for me was getting it high enough off the ground to have enough room to wiggle it out the bottom. I am not a big fan of lying under a car with jack stands on max extension :)

[SJorge3442]

I am a 6MT. I did the top nut on the passenger side from the top of the engine. I had read about using a wobble extension or stubby wrench from the bottom but could not get get anywhere near it. I removed the air intake stuff and also removed the couple of small bolts holding the vent tube that runs along side the head so i could move it slightly out of the way. I tried with a 1/4 drive socket and got nowhere. ultimately I found the best solution was a 13 mm ratcheting wrench from HF that I cut in half. The first time I did it I used a 1/2 inch regular box wrench but turning it 1/12 of a turn then flipping it over and turning another smidgeon got old really quick.

I actually ended up replacing the cat with a used one i got from AC-101 thru the forum. it was off an auto but I cut off the piping both my old one and the 'new' one and swapped it. Not one single code since and now going on couple thousand miles.

I would say that I could probably get that passenger cat out in about an hour now that i have done it a couple of times. Biggest issue for me was getting it high enough off the ground to have enough room to wiggle it out the bottom. I am not a big fan of lying under a car with jack stands on max extension :)

Yeah I hate being under the car with the jack stands extended. I ended up putting ramps under my rear wheels and then used 6 ton stands in the front and I felt plenty safe.

Thats strange you had an easy time with the passenger side. When I looked, it looked like the top nut was impossible to get to, top OR bottom. The drivers side I just moved the coolant tank out of the way and removed the camshaft position sensors. Then I used a 13mm swivel socket. Next time (probably when I install the JHM downpipes), I will try the ratchet wrench from HF. THat or those new craftsmen maxxaccess sockets. I think those would be the best option for that damn nut.