Freelander 1 What cat to buy? 1.8k

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andyfreelandy

andyfreelandy

Well-Known Member
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5,563
Location
Devon
My cat rattles and it spoils the drive!! It maybe working OK but when looking for a replacement I can find a BM make for £50, an A2A for £100 or a kwik fit special offer for £390.

What to buy that will last a few years??

Anyone got experience of a decent make please?

Also, if I shake the rattly bit out of mine, if possible, will it still work??
 
I've only ever had bad experience with cheap aftermarket cats. It's actually better to fit a low mileage second hand genuine cat, than a cheap Ebay special.

Does it have the Pre-cat fitted?
 
Yes it has a small pre cat in the manifold outlet.
Just been trawling the service history and this cat only fitted in May 19. Done 4k miles. Cost the po £247.
Will call the garage and see if they are able to help!! I doubt any warranty is transferable though.
 
Ususally if cats start to rattle on a petrol engine it denotes something else amiss, as the rattle is caused by hotspots on the cat associate with unburnt fuel or otherwise imperfect exhaust gas mix making localised hotspots on the cat which then cracks causing the shattered fragments to rattle. These hotspots are usually down to slight overfueling, or effective overfuelling if the injector spray pattern is more a sprinkle than a mist. I'd say its worth plugging in a faultcode reader and checking your lambda's and or getting the emmissions rechecked at an MOT station. Could also be down to a defective lambda sensor telling the ECU its underfueling when in fact it wa running stoich, lambda's are poisoned by oil/antifreeze in the exhaust gasses, and a fifteen to twenty year old angry little rev happy engine like this, especially given the K18 hippos trackrecord on cooling, would be prone to both of these.

Essentially I'm saying in much the same way as if you had a a pair of shouldered front tyres you wouldn't just blindly fit new tyres, you'd also get to the bottom of the alignment issues so as not to scrub off your new tyres, I similarly think it would be wise to investigate the route cause of the new cat failing so quickly before putting a chunk of change into a new cat.
 
Thanks. Have already checked the o2 and it looks OK pre and post cat.

Will get friendly mot guy to check emissions before going ahead.
Could be duff cat but well worth checking the basics as you say.
 
andyfreelandy said:
Thanks. Have already checked the o2 and it looks OK pre and post cat.

Will get friendly mot guy to check emissions before going ahead.
Could be duff cat but well worth checking the basics as you say.
Click to expand...
As a rule. If the MIL doesn't light, then the post cat O2 sensor isn't detecting an issue with the emissions, and so should pass the MOT. ;)
 
Thanks. Currently just want to get rid of rattle. Interestingly it has thrown a pending fault code 'catalytic converter efficiency fault'. So just want to be sure I don't muck up a replacement with the emissions check. Mot not till May.
 
Is there a post cat lambda sensor on these? If there is then might be where the fault code is coming from, but I'd still wonder why the cat has failed so soon, and like to address anything that may have contributed to its premature demise before replacing it.
 
Yes there is on this one, 2003 model. Only way I can assure myself I am not going to knacker the new one is an emission test I think. Not surprisingly the garage that fitted it whilst with a po have not replied to my request as to where it came from!!
 
It'd be worth looking up the legalities on the warranty on that cat that the PO had installed last year, specifically what is and isnt covered, and whether is associated with the vehicle or the owner? If the warranty is with the vehicle, whether that be in the policies wording or under applicable laws, its a slam dunk get them to replace it.

Since y'all break freelanders, do you have a "good" cat kicking around that you could replace this one with?
 
To replace with a spare was the plan. Spare has rusted bracket and not worth the effort of fitting. Could weld new bar on I suppose.
In order to pursue the warranty I first have to find out where it came from or just take it back to person that fitted it. About 180 miles away is the problem!!
 
andyfreelandy said:
My cat rattles and it spoils the drive!! It maybe working OK but when looking for a replacement I can find a BM make for £50, an A2A for £100 or a kwik fit special offer for £390.

What to buy that will last a few years??

Anyone got experience of a decent make please?

Also, if I shake the rattly bit out of mine, if possible, will it still work??
Click to expand...
It has been known for an owner to knock a few strategic placed dents in the metal work which has stopped their CC rattle... which is a not unknown issue.
 
I did think about fishing out rattly bit but as the efficiency is down according to the ems I think it better changed out. Old ones can go to scrap metal man who, apparently pays quite well. Well enough for some to think they can help themselves to your car's underside I read.
 
I've been told that some aftermarket cats are cheap because they don't contain some of the expensive chemicals. They should be "three-way" cats, oxidising CO to CO2, HC to CO2 and water; and reducing some oxides of nitrogen to nitrogen. As the MOT gas analysers can't measure NOx, some bright spark had the idea of leaving the reducing chemicals out to save money! They're technically illegal to fit, but I'm not aware of any prosecutions.
 
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