So i have a 98 civic and my check engine light came on. found out its my catalytic converters, I'm ready to swap out the old one and put a new one in.. here's what i don't get, i went online and found a magnaflow for 150$ and then i found my self on Ebay looking at one for 35$ ( high flow cat ) whats the difference??

link to ebay one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/94-97-ACURA-...208df7&vxp=mtr

link to magnaflow
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MagnaFlow-Di...f7b609&vxp=mtr


HELP!!

 

That eBay pipe isn't actually a cat. It's a test pipe made to look like a cat. If you have to do an emissions test as part of your inspection, don't waste your money. It doesn't actually do anything.

 

Well that makes more senses, thanks. Also I heard that universals are a bit cheaper but you gotta get it welded. You think i should just go with the direct fit magnaflow cat? or get the universal?

 

Personal preference. Call around, figure out how much it'll cost to get it welded in. Go with whatever option is cheaper. I'd personally go for a direct fit, because I can do the work myself, and don't have to wait on a shop's schedule.

 

What you shoud do is get a spark plug de fouler. Drill the hole in it bigger for the O2 sensor. Put the de fouler in the CAT and the o2 sensor in the de fouler. Takes the o2 sensor out of the exhaust stream enough where it will get rid of the PO420 code.

 

I would pay the extra on a direct fit part rather than a universal. Universal parts tend to have differences that make headaches

 

The ebay one is just a metal tube to replace the missing section that was removed, which is all your performance exhaust are any how.

 

An aftermarket replacement CAT isn't going to guarantee you're PO420 code wont come back after 5K miles.

 

I just put a magnaflow catalytic converter that i bought from my local auto parts store for $125 and in the long run is better than wasting your money like i did on a test pipe that the guy from a speed shop told me it can pass inspection.

 

Nice! I've put the order in for the direct fit magnaflow. pics hopefully coming soon...

THANKS A LOT GUYS!!

 

catalytic converters can never go bad. the reson why you got a bad cat is because your motor went bad and it destroyed the cat. diagnose your bad motor then you will never have to replace your catalytic converters.

 

P0420 code means the signal from the front O2 sensor and the signal at the rear O2 sensor aren't within specs.

You could have a bad O2 sensor on the front or rear, and not a bad cat.

 

Wrong^^ desicant inside of the cat cant fall apart with age and clog the cat. Happens alot.

 

I have never seen a cat fail on its own, only if the engine causes it to fail... Been in this field since 04

 

Well today i went to a muffler shop and was told that it is my converter that is bad, its clogged up and just done. I was told that they usually don't go bad unless your engine is bad. Which to me makes sense because when i bought my car it had an engine swap same type of engine just fewer miles. So I'm guessing the cat wasn't swapped out and still running on the old one..