please do NOT do any work at the dealership unless its warrant and FREE!!!! I feel really bad for people that get the shaft. Granite its a business and i know there has to be profit but most of the techs working at dealerships are fcking IDIOTS!!! find you a local speed shop tuner etc for install. Def not hard at ALL! as posted check your local region for HFCs or oem cats. I sold mine for 50$ they had maybe 6k miles on them

 

lmao did the dealership say it a bad converter will cause engine damage?

 

copy n pasted exactly what they typed out in the handout they gave me

 

Well... maybe think of it this way:

You just paid $160 to find out what the code was and where you should never take your car again.

 

1. $160 dollars to diagnose a CEL is robbery...
2. That code only means the catalyst has a low oxygen threshold. The cat will only damage the engine if it is breaking up. Other than that, you will only fail for emissions.
3. Knowing what a code is and actually diagnosing it are two different things...

 

lesson learned

 

If all dealership techs are idiots, why would you take your car there at all... Unfortunately there are thieves and idiots in all professions, but you can't say all dealership techs are knuckle-draggers because you haven't met all techs

 

wow talk about a huge rip off. I got a OBDII bluetooth adapter off of Aamazon for $20. Then got a free app on my phone so i can check the code ANYTIME a CEL come up for my HFC and clear it out right away if need to be. I can also monitor other things like intake air temp, oil temp, tranny oil temp, etc...

 

Hey man what was this on amazon? Can you provide a link? What year car are you using it with?

 

My car is an 06 but this will work with ANY CAR that is ODBII compatible. I believe all car from 1990 and up use it.

http://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-Bluetooth-diagnostics-compatible/dp/B005NLQAHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340239852&sr=8-1&keywords=odbii+bluetooth+adapter

The app on my android phone is "Torque". You can search it on the Market. You dont even need to use the CD that came with it. All cellphone these days got bluetooth. The PIN code to pair it to your phone is 6789.

 

^thanks for taking my point to the extreme mom....

This post was for the ibarge post. Then the merge mixed it up

 

Don't ever pay to have a dealer or shop "pull the codes". You don;t even need a reader....just use the reset procedure and the blinking check engine light will tell you.

step by step (#3 explains the code part)

1. Confirm that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch ?ON? and wait 3 seconds.

2. Repeat the following steps (2a and 2b) procedures quickly five times within 5 seconds.
2a. Fully depress the accelerator pedal (HARD).
2b. Fully release the accelerator pedal.

3. Wait 7 seconds**, fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for approx. 10 seconds until the CEL starts blinking.*
*at this point you need to count the CEL light flashes, think it starts by flashes 10 times slowly to indicate it is beginning then faster for the code. For example if it flashes 10 times slowly, 3 times fast, 2 times fast, 5 times fast 10 times slow then the code would be 325, then just match to the code list.
**The 7 seconds starts from the end of the 5 seconds period above it does NOT start from the 5th release of the accelerator pedal.

4. Fully release the accelerator pedal (while the CEL is still blinking)

5. Wait about 10 second.

6. Fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for more than 10 seconds.

7. Fully release the accelerator pedal (The CEL light will continue to blink but at a a faster rate).

8. Turn ignition switch to ?OFF? position and now you can start the car. The CEL light should be gone.

If the CEL light continues to remain ON, repeat the above steps. Timing is EXTREMELY critical to resetting the ECU.

 

HFC's and test pipes are not legal in CA where OP is from. You should have posted all this on your other thread. I thought there was a law that you can only buy a cat from an "approved seller".

 

A cat is very easy to replace...buy it used and try to see if you can do it yourselF. If not go to a muffler shop. Much cheaper

 

Threads merged and moved to the correct subforum

 

Thank you Waizzz for combining these threads. And thank you for being patient with me, I am such a novice.

I've been doing some research about HFC's and test pipes

https://my350z.com/forum/2820862-post26.html

If I have a broken stock cat on bank1 right now, can I just replace my test pipes or does that not encompass the catalytic converter.

Is my only available option to replace my cat or can i replace my test pipes?

 

I would get ART pipes and call it a day. Either way, labor is going to be an expensive part of the process whether you are swapping for OEM or aftermarket. Might as well go aftermarket if you planning on keeping the car for a while. You can also get exhausts while you are at it and get the UpRev tune. And as SDGenius said above, CA will get rid of sniffers for smog testing next year, so you'll pass emissions easy as the UpRev tuner can disable your codes/sensors or w/e.

 

Test pipes are pipes you'd use to replace the cat converter btw...your car doesn't have both

 

Is there a difference between 03-06 cats and 07-08 cats? If they are the same, I might be able to help you out. I work for an exhaust distributor, we carry Walker Exhaust and they list replacement converters for the 03-06 350z, I don't know if they're different for an 07-08 though. PM me if they are the same and I'll hook you up.

 

You are confused about what test pipes and cats are
these are Catalytic converters


These are test pipes, they replace your Catalytic Converter with a Straight pipe that is less restrictive and allows more air flow


If you live in California and must go through a smog test you will fail with test pipes because they are for off road use not for daily driving. so you must put on high flow cats or replace with OEM Cats