General Chat
Q:
So my girlfriend needed a new catalytic converter put in. She took it to a mechanic, and after he took a look at it he called her father the price. $450 DOLLARS. I laughed when i hear that. The CAT itself on Rock Auto is $166. I had a whole exhaust made for 140. I just laughed because they are actually letting them do the work. Doesnt 450 seem a little high??? Isnt it just two clamps, one wire, pull the cat out. Then reverse??? IT is a 98 blazer 4 door
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
Post Edited (Aug 31, 11:25am)
A:
What wire? I have never seen a wire going to a cat.....
You cut the old one out, clamp the new one in, or weld it in. Shouldn't take more than 45 minutes depending on how hard it is to get the old one out.
Why are they letting this place rob them?
And why does her cat need to be replaced in the first place?
Michigan doesn't check emissions. If it's blocked just hallow it out. She will get better performance that way.
Mans Prayer "I'm a man.... But I can change..... If I have too...... I guess"
No matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her.
A:
Well Zs dont have wires running to our cats but i believe newer cars have sensors going to the CAT. The CAT was completely plugged up, hardly any air would move through it. HUGE amounts backpressure. I really dont know why they are letting them rob them. Hell pay me 450 bucks to put one in. :)
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
Hell pay me $450 to hallow hers out and give her better perfomance :).
Mans Prayer "I'm a man.... But I can change..... If I have too...... I guess"
No matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her.
A:
Some catalytic converters on modern cars have 02 snesors in them... Some have2 in them! Depends on the manufacture, model, year, etc...
Most likely the 450 buck cat is a specailized cat for that year. My guess is that your g-friend has a post 96 vehicle. Only post 96 vehicles have a cat like this. And if the cat is less than 6 years old you are in BIG trouble my friend. Most shops will not replace a cat if it isn't at least a 6 year old vehicle.
Good luck...
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
Please check out Thanks!
"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant, excepting Alice"
A:
The car is a 98. And the CAT is 166 bucks online. Which means they are WAY over charging
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
Seems pretty simple to me... Order the cat and put it in for your girlfriend. Then she'll have to repay you $284, one way or another... ;)
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'76 280Z w/Shaved Head and Illuminas
'83 280zxt w/RUST
A:
They have to make money somehow. They are paying for the convenience of having it done. The cost of the parts is not the issue. The shop has to pay the employee to do the work and I bet he won't work for $5/hr. He also has to make a profit for the shop on that work to pay for insurance, taxes and supplies. I bet he would also like to have a little extra to put in the bank. People think just because the parts are cheap that the work should be too. If you cna do it cheaper, then go ahead. Remember, you won't get paid for the labor and when that strange thing happens that makes it take twice as long as you thought, you just eat that cost. I do most of my own work because I know how, but if you don't know how or have to tools to do it, you have to take it to the guy who does.
1972 240Z 4-speed, header, 3.54 R200, Crane XR-3000 Ignition, 280Z tach, Tokico Blue Struts, Suspension Tech Springs, Poly Bushings. Visit me at my website for your custom EFI & restored Datsun parts
A:
I UNDERSTAND paying for labor. I payed qutie a bit of it to have my long block assembled. I had all of the parts to and i still payed a hefty price, but i wanted it to be done right and the Datsun Doctor has 25 years of experience. But paying 450 Bucks for getting a CAT put in is a little rediculous. 450 dollars for a clutch seems a little more reasonable. I wish i could do the work for her. The truck is already being worked on.
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
If it's a factory OEM part, it will cost a hell of a lot more than a generic "Bob's Auto" part.
A:
What did the Datsun Doctor charge you to assemble your long block? I've heard good things about them. I have talked to one of the mechanics a couple times about things on my car and they were always very helpful.
1972 240Z 4-speed, header, 3.54 R200, Crane XR-3000 Ignition, 280Z tach, Tokico Blue Struts, Suspension Tech Springs, Poly Bushings. Visit me at my website for your custom EFI & restored Datsun parts
A:
"Shouldn't take more than 45 minutes" it actually takes aproximately 15 minutes to replace it completely including the 5 minute test drive..
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1981 n/a 280zx
1952 m38a1 jeep willy's
1971 fairlady 240z
95 300zx N/A
72 240z
A:
Magna Flow makes generic cats and so does Catco... They are cheap as well...
Maybe the part they are ordering is from a dealership... they are usually pretty pricey through one of those. That would be a considerable chunk of change for just parts. Get a complete break down of their charges, that is the only way you can be sure that they aren't sticken it to you.
As stated in my previous post though, the cat shouldn't have failed in such a manner. If it did there is a serious problem with the vehicle and you will just burn up the new converter if it isn't delt with. That should be obvious and you will have to forgive me if it is blatently obvious I just wanted to be sure you knew.
A 98 blazer will have a welded on cat... I think the 4.3L engines have 2 converters... I can't remember what years... Legally you can convert the 2 converter system to a single I think... don't hold me to it.
Good luck
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
Please check out Thanks!
"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant, excepting Alice"
Post Edited (Aug 31, 12:50pm)
A:
jmanz, he charged me 4 hours less then he could off because the first block was unusable. Long story short, he did alot of work on the first block that ended up going to the trash. I still payed ALOT of money. It would of been alot cheaper if all went right. lets just say 9.
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
i just changed one on a 98 jeep cherokee....that O2 after the cat can sense if the cat is working...if it's not it puts the car in limp mode where it cuts fuel and timing and the car won't run for $hit....shop told me the same thing....(i just wanted to see what it would cost) it cost 120 for the cat...i welding in an O2 bung that's made from an spark plug anti oil fouler, and put in a new muffler incase any of the cat piecse made it into the muffler...and a new sensor cause it was siezed into the old car...all together it was about 220 bux...but then i have a welder and put it all in my self.
A:
This was a BOLT in type. 6 bolts... and they charged 2.6 hours worth of labor. 250 for the CAT
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
Sounds like a bit much even for the cat... I would have gone elsewhere and or let them do the other work.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
Please check out Thanks!
"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant, excepting Alice"