I bought a “direct fit” catalytic converter off of Ebay. Everything bolts up just fine and the flanges mate up perfect but one corner of the engine side of the catalytic converter is touching the heat shield mounted on the tunnel above it. It seems that the converter itself isn’t exactly in the same place\same angle along the pipe as the old but its very close. The new converter also did not come with any heatshields or even flanges so I could mount the ones I removed from the bad original converter. My only real concern is about heat transfer from the tunnel to the floorboards creating a possible carpet fire hazard……think this will be an issue?
What the hell could go wrong?
Tester
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Heat transfer is a valid concern, but whether it constitutes a problem depends on the details of the contact. Another potential concern for when two surfaces are touching is wear, especially if it leads to an exhaust leak. You might consider wedging some thick paper-like “asbestos substitute” insulating material between the two components, if it will stay in place, but when fire and exhaust are involved this is a judgement call, and compromise.
Does your Ebay cat. carry a tag indicating proper registration identification? I’ve read that in at least some locales cat’s lacking proper certification markings will fail the visual portion of smog inspection.
Does anyone have experience with aftermarket cats? My (independent Volvo, reputable) mechanic told me that the aftermarket cats available to him (after the manufacturer has discontinued supplying the official parts) tend to last only ~ 2 yrs., presumably due to insufficient Pt content.
No room to bend the heat shield out of the way?