Well my coupey blew chunks on the cat again.
Looks like the right one according to the CARB site is going to be 448005
from Magnaflow at 2.25". This time for sure Rocky!
So really is there something else that won't blow chunks every few years?
Then again, with 211K miles, how much longer can she go?
How long indeed.

Some other approved ones come from Airtek, Inc., Eastern Manufacturing Inc., Walker Manufacturing Company, and International Muffler Company.
Should I perhaps try one of those?

CARB search tool
https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/PartsSearchTo...earchTool.aspx

Looks like the only one thats available is Magnaflow 448005.\
This guy has a good price but lists three different pn's in his auction!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnaflow-Universal-Catalytic-Converter-448005-50-States-/291015660303?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43c1e2930f&vxp=mtrWaiting for a reply to confirm.

Wait just found this.
Walker...CA legal. 164 shipped!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Walker-82629-Catalytic-Converter-CalCat-Universal-Converter-Left-Right-/221359420820?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item338a0cb594&vxp=mtr

 

Never mind, just ordered the Walker 82629 Catalytic Converter from Advance
for 133 including shipping and tax with a discount code MAC9.

 

A friend of mine sold a 2002 325i just because the cat had failed. A questionable decision

So approx. how much would it run to do the swap at a muffler shop?

 

Post a review once it's in. That's damn cheap!

Never heard of Walker cats before.

Swap should run 150-225, if memory serves. Is OEM still in the 1300-1400 neighborhood?

 

last time I had it weldf it cost about $50 for the weld.. But at the muffler shops I was quoted 500 600 for the cat and the welding. much less expensive to buy your own cat and then have it welded in.

 

Hi, I was just looking at that cat on ebay. Where did you install the O2 sensors? or are they still in the OEM pipe?

 

Yeah, it's been a month - where's the review of the cat?

 

Well it's in, welded it in about 2 weeks ago.
My mileage seemed to drop from the added strain on the engine.

I will say it looks identical the one Magnafow i had previously which was not one specified for my car. The guy cut out the old and welded in the new one in about 10 minutes. 50 bucks.
Anyway,

I think the car ran better with the old cat basically being blown, easier to breath ie basically no cat.
Now with it as it should be, I do feel a small loss of power, and as I said what seems to be a loss of mileage.

I also replaced my exhaust manifold gasket, which was spewing exhaust into the engine compartment, and then into the passenger compartment when at a stop while running the AC or heat.
The car is quieter now. And runs smoothly and no more exhaust fumes which is good because I likely would have failed smog for that leak and don't want to draw attention to my exhaust system.

Went to get smogged and the guy said I needed to drive it more...I was like huh?
I had driven it to the Sierra's and back that past weekend (400 miles or so), but it was showing "Not ready" for several things, and I'm only allowed one. So my normal OBD scanner doesn't ready these ready, not ready things, but I tried using my BT OBD and "Torque" and was able to bring it up. http://torque-bhp.com/
Torque is such a cool program! And I'm just using a $10 BT OBD and it works well enough. I suppose a more expensive one would be better, but wtf.

I also had a pending P0171 code as I went for smog, which was a solid code before the cat was replaced. In fact at one point I had a P0420 which is a bad cat which I was able to confirm using Torque. You set it to create a graph of the 02 sensor output, and if the out is the exact same as the in, then you know! Now with it fixed, yeah, the pre cat sensor shows one graph, and the after car sensor is completely different. If they track identically, well thats how you know.
When I went to clear the error after cat install, I didn't have 420, just the 0171 lean condition.
Hmmm. Odd. Could it have cleared itself, once it saw the cat was working? Or does 0171 supersede the cat error?

Now, I'm not showing a pending 0171 code so maybe the smog guy cleared it, and I have to start from scratch? or it cleared itself(?) So will need to drive the car for a while, and monitor those ready not ready statuses so I can know if I good to go back to get my smog!

In any case I need to clean the MAF which I do regularly anyway.
Torque has a screen for MAF and mine was moving ever so slightly. I don't know what is a normal reading for the MAF. I see MAF's on ebay for prices going from $29 to $300.
? Really? $29? The guys who sells them seems to have good feedback for these sheeety
MAF's, so could they really be OK?
How my GPM of air should I be reading with the MAF?

So I may still have an 0171 error too lean, which will fail me for smog.
This can be caused by bad MAF, or dirty MAF, EGR valve (do I have one? Never messed it, but apparently it can be cleaned. I remember Ed had to replace his or something I he said it was PIA) Also I have a leak in my brake booster in the cabin. The smog guy said that could be my problem.

It hisses from the leak, but it's been like that for 100k miles and passed smog before.
If I need to replace that, oh gawd are they expensive, unless maybe I get it used.

I'm 2 months overdue on my reg. due to needing smog. Arrgh. Paid the fees though. Hope it passes soon.
So, yes "As the Mercedes turns" the real life drama of owning a German car, brought to you
by Proctor and Gamble, goes on.
As Rosana Dana said, "it's always something" but overall with 212K miles, it's a very good car indeed.