I have heard the guys speak lowly of aftermarket cat converters. I am trying to find a good aftermarket converter for a 1999 Odyssey.
The reason they speak down about aftermarket converters is because they are built to a ‘universal’ standard, and may not meet the requirements of some car manufacturers. So, they may not clean the exhaust enough to meet the demands of the program in the ECM, and your CEL will not stay off. Trying an aftermarket cat is going to be a crap-shoot, many times ending in snake-eyes.
OEM cats are made to meet the specific car’s needs and will work to keep the CEL off. Some say it is worth the extra expense just to not have to do it again.
A “generic” cat converter is always a risk, but a “direct fit” converter should meet your car’s specifications and work fine. More importantly, are you sure you need a converter and not just an oxygen sensor?
I’ve installed many universal catalytic converters and never had a problem with one of them.
The universal catalytic converters are sized correctly for the application and must meet the stringent EPA regulations in order to be sold as such.
Tester
I think the sizing is the reason for the problems. There are butcher shops out there that carry a minimal number of sizes and booger-weld them into whatever application rolls through the door. That does not always work. A converter made to process the CFM volume of a small 4-banger will not necessarily do the job when tacked to a larger engine.
I went by a local Autozone to have it scanned, I was told the code was the same for a catalytic converter or the oxygen sensor which might need either cleaning or replacing. I am going to check this out.
Thank you all for you replies, this is my first use of this forum.