Ugh, the mechanic says I need a new catalytic converter for my 98 Civic LX because the manifold is cracked, and it will be $670. Does that sound right? I'm such a loser - I've never taken my car to be fixed all by myself, because my dad always insisted in taking care of that stuff. I want to do this all by myself now without getting advice from my dad - but I also don't want the mechanics to be all about "Don't you worry, little lady, we'll take care of it for you" and then charge me too much. Hmm.

Also, where can I get paint to repair scratches?

 

Common problem on the LXs. Your best (read: cheapest) is to get a header and hi-flow converter and then connect it to your current exhaust.

 

that sounds about right because your exhaust manifold and cat are one peice so you have to replace the whole thing. Same thing happened to me so i replaced mine w/ a dc header and a highflow cat and it ended up being cheaper then going stock. If you want to go stock I would buy the cat off of ebay. i always see them on there for $300. Good Luck hope that helps

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=WDVW

here is one for 360

 

i bought a used catalytic converter from a junkyard for $75 (although it is illegal to buy a used cat in CA, they will still do it for you if the price is right)

I passed smog a week later

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by angsta &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ugh, the mechanic says I need a new catalytic converter for my 98 Civic LX because the manifold is cracked, and it will be $670. Does that sound right? I'm such a loser - I've never taken my car to be fixed all by myself, because my dad always insisted in taking care of that stuff. I want to do this all by myself now without getting advice from my dad - but I also don't want the mechanics to be all about "Don't you worry, little lady, we'll take care of it for you" and then charge me too much. Hmm.

Also, where can I get paint to repair scratches?</TD></TR></TABLE>

$670!!!

That manifold retails for $490.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com is what you need if you can't find a used one.

You can also get color matched touch up paint from any Honda dealer.

 

Just buy an aftermarket header and an aftermarket cat. I got a "carsound cat"(made by magnaflow) and it was only 100 bucks shipped. Then the header you should be able to find a quality one from 200-350 depending on if it's ceramic or SS.