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Catalytic converter touching np208...

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dirtwarrior17

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I moved my 3" system to the other side to fit the headers and my catalytic converter is basically touching my t case... It also runs about 3-4 inches away from my 150 dollar inline fuel pump. I was wondering if this will kill my tcase or pump eventually. I plan to cut out the pipe in between the catalytic and muffler and weld the pipe in where the converter was then weld the converter right before the muffler so i get a couple more inches at the case this weekend but if it's not hurting anything then ill just leave it. I expect that it will overheat the tcase but i don't know for sure. I do have some extra piping from when i cut the tailpipe off and i can route it differently but it would be a huge pain in the ass.
 
1. it will heat up the t-case... enough to do damage ? i dunno, maybe
2. it will wear a hole in the cat... yay exhaust leaks!
3. put a heat sheild around the fuel pump... you really dont want that to melt or worse ignite
 
???? cut what off? the converter or swap the pipe and converter like i was saying? I live in cali so i can't chop the converter off without kick myself in the ass.
 
Flange it. Meaning put in a section off straight pipe attach with flanges until smog time and then put the cat section back in to smog. Get er done.
 
Heatshield between the cat and fuel pump. NOW.
The heat [will kill the pump, just a matter of time. Plus you could end up with vapor lock issues.

Even with the cat installed, you might still fail smog. It's no longer in the stock position. IIRC, that's a failure under CA rules. Might just depend on the inspector's mood, and his attitude toward trucks.
 
Actually it wasn't on the stock side and now it is since i got the afterburners. I'm not driving it because i need insurance and registration and i still need to get my license back. I got a good shop in mind that doesn't give a damn about that kind of crap just as long as it passes the actual test. I had a minor exhaust leak and I know he could hear it but he didn't care last time i got her smogged.

Heat sheild is in. I used the one off an old starter.

I still need to relocate the cat farther away from the tcase. How does the cat position affect smog?
 
as long as the cat is in front of the muffler its all good...some say they closer to the engine the better, some say closer to the muffler is better..i live near sac, my cat runs right along side my tranny and muffer is after the t-case..i passed smog..
 
Catalytic converter needs to get up to, and stay at, it's effective operating temp. The further or closer it is to the head, may affect it's operation based on that heat loss or gain. This is why it is federally illegal to add catalytic converters to a vehicle that didn't come with any, or even to add two where there was only one stock.

That being said, I think the converters are fairly tolerant of placement mistakes, at least to a certain extent, as many people move them and still pass smog. That being said, you can pass a *sniffer* test without a cat if the vehicle is in good tune. You also hear people having problems sometimes with aftermarket converters after relatively short periods of time (either coming apart or smelling tremendously) which COULD be related to improper placement. Improper tune is just as likely a cause though. Lots of variables, hard to prove one way or another.
 
The problem with aftermarket converters is that they are cheap. The metals that make up the catalysts in the converters are not cheap at all. That is why there is a major difference in cost of OEM converters compared to the cheap ones being sold in the aftermarket.
 
Yes, but even OEM converters can be destroyed by improper tune and placement. I agree on price, you probably pay for what you get, but none of us have the capability to say that failure is due solely to the construction of the converter.

Heck, for GM stuff (if OEM is made in North America), it's probably 10 times as expensive to make for a variety of reasons than it would be in countries with lower wages and almost no environmental laws. I'm not saying that build quality won't be worse, just that with a good team, you could build that kind of stuff a LOT cheaper in another country, with just as good quality, IF quality was an actual concern.
 
Cheap or expensive its not something that could be fragile. I mean we're talking about a piece of steel with steel that has holes in the middle of it... or am i wrong on that? When you say blow a catalytic converter what do you mean?
 
the converters dont fail due to "engine issues". They fail due to the quality of the catalytic converters. They only have a life span of about 1 or 2 years. I am not saying all aftermarket converters fail. But a majority of the cheap ones do.

The people who can back this up are mechanics that have been working on cars professionally.
 
Catalytic converters can be poisoned, that has nothing to do with quality of the converter. Excess carbon can't plug them up? Study their construction. Don't try to tell folks on here that you can't hurt a cat if it's a high dollar one. Go to google and use "catalytic converter damage" as your search. Plenty of reading there if you don't want to believe me. Please refrain from using "mechanics" as a source of fact, most aren't worth the name sewn on their coveralls. (no offense to the good ones out there, but everyone knows a GOOD mechanic is VERY hard to find)

And while I believe the matrix material IS a metal (palladium? off the top of my head) it looks like honeycomb and can easily be broken (and clog the exhaust) by impact.
 
Just so you know, yes your cat or even an exhaust leak on your T-case will KILL it. Move it away, move your pump or what ever you need to because it happened to me and the t-case wasn't even a year old from rebuild. Add extra shields if needed but it MUST be moved.
 
Great reading comprehension.



OEM and Aftermarket converters can fail from conditions that are caused by the engine. DUH
(edit even check this link where i suggest his converter is clogged
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130193&page=1
)


But notice in my sentence. Ignoring engine conditions. OEM converters last longer then aftermarket. And I am quoting myself and many mechanics on this. Cheap aftermarket converters dont last even if the engine is running properly and there is no contamination.
 
dirtwarrior17 - my bad. I assumed when you said you moved the cat to the other side, you meant from left (stock) to right. As far as the cat actually touching the T-case, it must be something with the way the Y-pipe off the headers was welded up. Mine doesn't touch; it actually has about 3-4" clearance w/ factory cat.

Fierospeeder - something I've seen is people replacing cats themselves and cheaping out on it, and/or buying one that's too small for the app. A cat made for a small 6-cylinder isn't going to last as long as it should if it's behind a SBC; the bigger engine puts out more exhaust volume, therefore usually more pollutants to be catalyzed by the cat. The metals inside the cat (platinum and palladium are 2 of them, I think there's 2 or 3 others IIRC) are subjected to a chemical reaction with the exhaust pollutants, and eventually they get so contaminated they can't do the job anymore.

You definitely do get what you pay for 99% of the time. A $99 cat ain't gonna last behind a performance motor, plain & simple.
 
my bad. I assumed when you said you moved the cat to the other side, you meant from left (stock) to right. As far as the cat actually touching the T-case, it must be something with the way the Y-pipe off the headers was welded up. Mine doesn't touch; it actually has about 3-4" clearance w/ factory cat.
Click to expand...

actually that was my bad.... i thought the stock side was the passenger side but now that i think about it theres no reason for gm to run the exhaust that close to the t case. Right now it is on the passenger side. I was supposed to run some pipe in between the y pipe and the rest of my system so i could clear the case by 3-4 inches like yours but since i just bolted it up the cat is too close to the front of the truck making it touch the t case. I'm gonna cut the pipe from the muffler and put the cat right in front of the muffler then weld the pipe in where my cat is now if that makes sense.
 
Fierospeeder said:
Great reading comprehension.
Click to expand...

Oh my bad, perhaps you should have edited this post then.

Fierospeeder said:
the converters dont fail due to "engine issues". They fail due to the quality of the catalytic converters.
Click to expand...

It doesn't get much more black and white than your statement there, and if my reading comprehension sucks the way I interpret that statement, your writing ability is equally poor. Linking to another post that isn't even referenced until you felt the need to insult me doesn't cut it either.

You somehow have the ability to PROVE that *all* aftermarket catalytic converters are shoddily made. Wish I had your skills.
 
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