sammydragon3

few months ago i tell the dealership that my cat is rattling

all n all the dealership says theirs nothing they can do unless the car throws a cat code
now my muffler, exhaust manifold and pipes are making popcorn nosises

i put my hand over the muffler and wat do u know a small white piece of sparkling material falls into my hand...i still have it

i dont want to pay 120 in diagnostic again for them to say its fine

since this is under federal emssions law...i only have 54k miles

this is bull****

Glyn M Ruck

You could well be heading for a Cat replacement. Exhausts do make clicks & ticks while heating & cooling. Record your popcorn noises & post.

Bugger the dealer. Just monitor the car with an OBDII scanner.

samaritrey

get your cats nice and hot and find some bumps

JK you might damage something else

LightDragon

relax, no big deal man

LILBENZ230

Pieces of stuff should not be flying out of the muffler.

Midnight Koop

join the popcorn club!

i had those noises.. then replaced my Cat... now i go into limp mode and am ordering a SECOND cat.

hopefully this one will fix it.

best of luck and keep us posted once you find out the problem!

LightDragon

i thought he was joking duh!!!

sammydragon3

i heard the majority of popcorn nosies from the muffler this time so i kicked it a few times (car was still running) and like i said a small peice came out

Glyn M Ruck

It sounds as though you have bits of Cat monolith honeycomb stuck in the muffler.

tommy

Mmmm, popcorn.

The question is, how to replace it. OEM fixes are $$$$$, aftermarket ones are iffy. MB's sure got a great cash cow going with oem cc's.

sammydragon3

thats the thing federal law states that cat converters are warrantied by the factory for 8 years or 80k miles

i only have 54k miles

hahahahahha

cats320

On my car, early build 3rd quarter 2000, 2001 C320 the dealer replaced my exhaust, 4 cats @ 72K miles for rattles thank god. Just before the emissions warranty expired.
It would have cost a fortune.

Boom vang

the M271 engine's cat is VERY expensive as it is one piece that contains the exhaust manifold, exhaust pipe and catalytic converter, this massive stainless steel unit is about $1000

LILBENZ230

boschk

Simple: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I know. My Canadian imported C class a number years ago had an harmonic balancer explode, taking with it a number of expensive parts. MBUSA initially said "tough" on warranty b/c my car was originally imported to Canada, despite there being only one spec for N. America (same part of the all N. Am bound cars). It took about 8 weeks to get approval to be reimbursed. The key is to get to the guy that doesn't get paid to care about your problem and is pissed that the people that report to him didn't solve the problem one way or another. You have to be relentless.

sammydragon3

i think i found an exhaust leak just before the muffler

would that cause performance issues?

Boom vang

The exhausts components are all SS and good quality at that and really should not have an issue, I am betting that the leak is caused by the bolts holding it together, check my thread 'M271 exhaust maintenance item, you might have the same problem as I had with the bolts rusting away and not holding - they are not SS and made of a biodegradable steel albeit coated and the age of your car would indicate that perhaps it is time to change the bolts

sammydragon3

i did see your thread and that was bull****...

Boom vang

that is very mature of you, note to self, next time you need help/advise I won't bother.

How is that bull**** advising people of potential rusting exhaust bolts that do break?

C230 Sport Coup

When my cat failed the only codes I got were misfires.
I knew it was the cat, when I saw greyish white dust coming out the exhaust.

So, that being said, IF your failed cat has any evidence of an intrustion, ie
a mark on the bottom showing it was hit my something in the normal course of driving,
it will NOT be covered. FYI.

So, with all that being said.
#1. Ask for different SA
#2. Try a different dealer and
#3 Find out who the regional tech rep is and contact him.
You might get some action.

All those things worked for me.

OR just go get it replaced with a magnaflow universal and be done with the stealer and frustration.
Life is too short.

C230 Sport Coup

Yeah, and nosises! Together again!

sammydragon3

i didnt say your post or advice was bull****

i was saying that the rust u ran into was bull****

lol u know wat i mean? i wasnt trying to insult u

Glyn M Ruck

Well be more careful with what you say to respected members of this forum - Thanks.

Cintoman

Yeah, when I originally read sammy's comment about reading the post and saying it was bull****, I thought he had meant that boom vang's advice was bull****. But upon re-reading, I then came away with what he meant was that the cr*p that boom vang had to go thru with his exhaust was bull****.

But I agree with you Glyn....we all have to make sure our posts aren't mis-read out of context, as was the case here.

Cintoman

Midnight Koop

any updates on the "popcorn" noises?

were you able to confirm that it is the CAT?

thanks