1994 jeep grand converter

[johnson110]

Today I had the cat converter replaced it cost me $282.00 seems high, he said the old was rattling which it was replaced in year 03, I do have a magnaflow muffler on it, I thought it should last longer then 5 years?

[83cutlass]

$282 parts and labor is dirt cheap for a converter and labor and consequently won't last too long. An OEM installed would probablly cost double to triple that and should last 3 to 5 times longer.

[dksob81]

Yes it deffinately should have lasted longer then 5 years,. but more importantly do you have the reciept? The Converter should be under warranty - that is an emission component which should carry a 10 year warranty or better. Cats have a federally mandated 8year/80,000mile warranty. but most aftermarkets offer 10 year.

[johnson110]

does the magnaflow muffler has any bad effects on the converter,being it is not a stock muffler?

[sreilly77]

Originally Posted by johnson110

does the magnaflow muffler has any bad effects on the converter,being it is not a stock muffler?

when i put my flowmaster on my 98 grand cherokee with the regular converter, it wasn't too long under the honeycomb broke inside the converter and it started to rattle like crazy. i don't know if the muffler had anything to do with it (it's a flowermaster 40 series delta flow), but i ended up putting a magnaflow catalytic converter on as a replacement. cost me about $120 but i think its worth it.

[johnson110]

Yes I seem to remember that same situtation these magnaflow/flowmaster muffler seem to make the converter rattle, I guess the less backpressure the muffler has the harder it is on the converter!

[sreilly77]

Originally Posted by johnson110

Yes I seem to remember that same situtation these magnaflow/flowmaster muffler seem to make the converter rattle, I guess the less backpressure the muffler has the harder it is on the converter!

oh yea absolutely. But I have had my exhaust system on for about two years now with no problems at all. Plus with that flowmaster all nice and broken in now, for a 4.0L engine my Jeep really sounds sweet!

[83cutlass]

The muffler should not affect the cat converter at all. These cats are just known to rattle with age.

[johnson110]

Than a rattle in the converter would cause the to fail the emissions test ?

[JeepForever]

Did you fail an emission test? You'll certainly know when you have it tested, but I wouldn't rush to replace the CAT until you're sure it's bad. Mine was rattling and I thought it was bad until I realized the rattling was not the CAT, but the tailpipe banging against the axle (or some other part rattling). Later my muffler was rattling. Once I replaced the muffler, clamps, and rubber connector on the tailpipe, the rattling magically stopped. Be sure it's the CAT before you replace it! And check the warranty - some have a long warranty that could offer a replacement. I had my CAT replaced about 10 years ago (when my '94 was only a few years old), and it's been fine since then. I don't know what symptoms I had then - probably a check-engine light but I can't remember.

[johnson110]

I was told that the truck would not pass because of the converter, however that converter was rattling for a few years always passed before, always use the same shop, think they wanted to make some money this time?

[sreilly77]

Originally Posted by johnson110

I was told that the truck would not pass because of the converter, however that converter was rattling for a few years always passed before, always use the same shop, think they wanted to make some money this time?

Probably. How bad is it rattling. It is because the honey comb inside the converter broke off and is bouncing around at the bottom of the converter. It would cause the emissions to be SLIGHTLY higher than normal but still within tolerance. My dodge truck has had a bad catalytic converter for almost four years now and rattles when at idle and it always passes inspection. They just want to make a quick buck. Take it somewhere else and see if they will pass you.