I bought a 1996 Volvo 440 LE 1.8. the rattling and the noise coming from the exhaust made take it to a garage . they showed me the catalytic converter and i could not believe it. It was glowing hot , like magma ! I was told it needed to be replaced, which i did, alongside with the spark plugs. The running of the car is a bit better, but the cat is still red hot! I don't know what to do... If I have to send it to scrap , I'll curse Volvo forever!

:unsure: sounds like the cat started to break up. they are fragile. it should have fixed it, but if it's still cooking it may be a dealer job. anyone else had this? it's beyond me.

the cat is made up of layers upon layer of filters, wire and fabric to break up harmful chemicals coming out of your engine. if these honeycombs break up, they can gather all the heat if the air cannot freely pass through the filters.
this causes heat to buid up and could set it alight. it is also a danger as the fuel pipes are rather close. do not drive it, and remove the cat. i suggest getting one from a breaker online, such as UK Breakers on ebay.
it will knock you back about £400 from a volvo dealership.

thanks for your explanations , guys! If I remove the catalytic converter and connect the pipe straight to the silencer ( is this the name?) will it run OK? Forgive my ignorance. Cheers :57:

Can't you take it back to the garage and say it still isn't fixed so fix it! Or did you replace the Cat your self?

A lot of car modders de-cat their cars to gain an extra couple of donkeys.

Less obstructions in the exhaust system means engine can get rid of more exhaust fumes quicker.

Should run better than ever after a de-cat. You could also fit a performance air filter to increace air intake too.

Stu.

I fitted the Cat myself. Seemed to be very simple. take the old one out and fit the new one.... I thought. :blush:
Can anyone tell me if the decat is a simple procedure, can a normal garage do it?


all this because of this new girlfriend of mine. She's from Sweden... i wanted her to feel at home :thumbsup:

Hi Angelo.

If she was French, please don't tell me you'd have considered buying a French car?!!!

You've got a late model 440, so the cat probbly isn't fitted with an oxygen sensor, which should make the job easier.

Careful though - talk to the garage that MOTs your cars, to ensure that removing the cat won't mean a failure due to too many pollutants getting through, or excessive exhaust noise.

Cats work most efficiently when they are hot, which is why they are so close to the exhaust manifold. Are you certain that the new cat is definitely running too hot? Did it come with a guarantee?

BB

is it on the right way round?

certainly a decat would be an option but as is said above it may fail on emissions at MOT