Newer Catalytic Converters gone bad

Hey fellas, I would like your thoughts/opinions on what would be the best path forward for me. I had both Cats replaced about a year and a half ago which have gone bad. On a trip to Arizona my fuel pump went bad. As a true Toyota part would, a couple of knocks on the gas tank and the fuel pump started working again but I did eventually change the fuel pump to be on the safe side. The check engine light didn't go away tho and I had a evap leak somewhere as well now. I changed the Gas cap which I purchased from stealer but they gave me the wrong gas cap. Eventually got the right cap and changed the evap pump on the charcoal canister and the evap codes went away. BUT, check engine light was still on and when I checked codes, both Cats were bad.

I tried a gas additive Cat cleaner but it did nothing. My gas mileage has been worse and I just learned today MPG gets worse if Cats aren't working right. The muffler shop I had install the newer Cats for $600 back then now says they'll cost $1,200 this time around. Any other way to clean Cats?... I don't understand how such new Cats can go bad.

If there is no way to clean them in the hopes they might work properly again and turn the damn engine light off, are there high performance Cats I should consider? Have a Gibson muffler which I love... Something I can use with the Gibson for a few more HP maybe... I'm in California so our Cats are more expensive apparently cause every reasonably priced Cat I find for my truck "can't be delivered to California". If I'm going to pay this much for Cats, I wouldn't mind paying a little more for a small performance boost.

FYI, I had the original Toyota Cats which worked great and passed smog. Got in a minor fender bender and was told to take my truck to a repair shop(covered by the other dudes ins). When I got my truck back, as soon as I turned it on it sounded different. They had the truck for 2 weeks, I didn't think much of it, I was just happy to have my truck back but then smog time came around and I failed. Smog tech checked Cats and they were both for different cars. Not even the same car, two different car Cats on my truck. Pretty sure the repair shop stole my cats and welded on whatever cats they had laying around.

Thanks!

 

Whoa! Sounds like theft to me. I’d full court press with prior Goofy Shop.

 

I don't see how I could prove it and it's been a while... They even drained my battery, told me to buy a new one and give them the receipt for them to cover the cost. To this day they haven't paid for the new battery.

 

Scumbags. I feel like some mechanics see insurance work and do nutty shit.

There was a guy on TS forum who found a way to rejuvenate cats. It involved some chemical and cooking them on a BBQ to get the temps up while they are full of the chemical. It worked for him.

Take a look

 

Awesome! Thank you Darkness! Wish I had my Original Cats but then again someone else would probably steal them. My neighbor 1 block up had his stolen while parked right in front of his house a few months ago.

 

After reading that link I thought I would check the local junkyards for old OEM cats... Thought maybe I could buy them cheap and try cleaning them. Called several places, none had them but one dude told me I was better off buying new ones because even the used ones go for about $900 each! Wow

 

got photos of the suspect cats? good chance they stole the toyota cats because theyre worth 80-100 a pop for scrap. threw some junkers on..


Now for replacement, OEM is best. magnaflow is second best. but even magnaflows will only last like 5 years

 

No threw them out. But it was an extremely Mickey Mouse job according to the muffler shop that changed them out. Besides the fact they belonged to 2 different cars, they were welded on incorrectly.

I’ll look into Magnaflow. 5 years ain’t bad for a good flowing set. I got the cheapest set I could find at the time.

I checked with stealer for OEM Cats... $3k! For a new set

 

I replaced one of my cats with a Magnaflow. 3-4 years later and no complaints. Seems that they've gone up a tad in price though.

 

If your truck burns oil, then this can happen. Some 1zz Celica guys have gone through a few cats due to burning oil and clogging up cats.

 

Are they loud? I’ve always associated Magnaflow with loud exhausts but hoping I’m wrong

 

I certainly hope not. I passed smog with the OEM and the aftermarket ones. Don’t think I would’ve passed if I was would I?

The muffler shop said they could go bad because the evap system wasn’t working correctly.

How could one check if they were burning oil?

 

I only have one, but I do not think it is loud at all. It is CARB compliant and has passed smog twice now. The OEM Cat that went bad was LOUD, the replacement Magnaflow is quieter.

 

I passed, 7 years with a clogged up cat, cuz I would reset the system before taking it in. When I replaced the cat it was overwhelmingly clogged, the muffler guy showed me. At this point I decided to do the engine swap, which I'm still in the middle of it.

 

I have never heard of people stealing Cats so much until i got on this forum...didnt even know it was a thing people did...also seems to be very previlant in CA. I get the resell cost, but seems like a lot of work to be a POS....but then again, im not a criminal so ill never understand. @Voss I do feel like there has to be some course of action you can take against the shop...is there anyway to prove you had OEM cats before the work was done, pictures or service records? Not sure if you have a lawyer in the family, but a stern letter from an attorney tends to scare people enough to make things right. Im just in shock some asshole stole yours and put randoms on...I had an independent shop take advantage of me and repairs on my truck...reported it to Mineki corporate and they were shut down. Ever since i only go to the stearlership. I can at least trust that they wont do shotty shit like this...that being said, i had 1 cat replaced about 3-4 years ago...i wanna say it was about $1k after install at the local dealer. good luck

 

No pictures. Just the fact I passed smog before it went to this body shop and the fact I had 2 other car’s cats on my truck the next time I went to smog.

Cali is a sh1t show. My neighbors 1st gen Cats were stolen while parked right in front of his house and I live in the “better” part of town. It’s everywhere and just a matter of time they are stolen if you have the OEM Cats around here.

 

Also on a side note for people in the future who get in an accident...you dont have to use their shop to fix your truck...you can get a quote from a trusted shop, submit it to the insurance, then they will agree (like assholes) on what the cost of repairs are and stroke a check...ive done that in the past after researching the shop they wanted me to use, then taken it to a trusted shop. Insurance companies are the Devil!

 

wow....I live in GA, but rural area...my lawnmower is more likely to get stolen where i am lol

 

Lol

I hope to move outta Cali in the coming years. I just want to raise a few chickens and live in peace.

 

They’ve been nabbing cats out here. Hell they stole a whole car from my neighbors house on broad daylight!

 

Stole another neighbors old school El Camino. Cars, Cats stolen left n right. I’ve been looking at getting a GPS tracker for my Truck.

Even home robberies are increasing. Client of mine lives in a very expensive area. Robbed in the middle of the day while he was at work.

 

This is what people think we do in the State I reside. They also think we raise cows here. Not sure why?

Got to the point in traveling, the joke was when they ask where I’m from I’d say (fill in blank) and then add ‘we raise chickens and cows for a living’. They’d go ‘yeah heard about that there!’.

 

I think much of this has to do with the penalties aren’t as extreme as they used to be. Also, the theft $$$ amounts before a charge can be made were increased so the natural tendency is to steal more up to the penalty limit. The ones that get screwed are the law abiders as a lawyer can’t touch it if you could afford them and the insurance claims increase making your cost increase. Lose lose for society.

 

Well said, it’s the Law abiding citizens who get screwed. Buddy of mine is a detective for the local police force. He tells me unless you physically hurt someone, you’ll get released the very next day for just about all crimes. To top it all off, they’ve been releasing “non-violent” criminals since C19 started. There’s a police chase on TV basically every week nowadays.

 

I'm guessing that's part of the cost. That CARB compliant stamp adds some $$ quick.

FWIW Walker makes direct fit ones, but I can't vouch for the quality.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wlk-83451

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wlk-83460

 

Yeah. Not good. Crime pays when there is no penalty.

 

My friend is a teacher at a Christian school. His cats were stolen in the parking lot there, between lunch and 4pm. He got in his truck to go home and sounded like Nascar.

I was afraid to leave my truck at the airport last week. Took the wife's car instead but even that had me nervous, Honda Elements have been getting hit just as hard.

 

Man $1,400 is a hard pill to swallow.

 

We need to do what they do over in the middle-east. Get caught stealing, lose a finger. Next time, we take the entire hand.