Vibrating Cat

[Maritimer]

My catalytic converter vibrates. Is it possible the honeycomb inside is defective?

It is an aftermarket cat installed in February, and there was a big issue I had with Midas already (read at your own peril). The gist of it is that they seem to feel the cat was banged and insist on it. Great ****ing time to deal with stonewalling like this.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/114357-crappy-exhaust-job-advice-needed.html

Anyway, I thought the crappy heat shields were the source, but after removing those, it is definitely the cat. It did it since I got it installed, but because there was already an undiagnosed vibration in my truck, it was unnoticeable. Now that every other cause of vibration has been fixed ($$$) the trail leads directly to this ****ing thorn in my side.

I totally don't want to deal with this, but a vibration in a $500 part (yup, Canada) is a little bit of a sensitive issue for me.

:bravo:

 

[LittleCaesar]

Any warranty on it? I have known others to have serious issues with Midas.

A little belt dressing goes a long way for failing parts, or so I've heard.

 

[Maritimer]

LOL. I already sprayed it with belt dressing, after I put a two-inch thick exhaust tape cast on it. :hungry:

Yeah, it has a 5-year warranty. I guess the hard part will be getting them to honor it. I'm just trying to find out as much about the problem as possible because they are going to serve me a full plate of bull****, I'm sure.

 

[LittleCaesar]

I'd go back and be a PITA about it; if no satisfaction locally, get on the horn to someone higher up the chain.

Per the dressing, I had a neighbor try and drown his serp belt on an older Explorer yesterday to get rid of a squeal. After dousing the belt, he finally figured out that it was a bad alternator bearing.

 

[Maritimer]

I'm getting ready to be a PITA. It's so petty of them to try to get out of a warranty by making wild accusations. There's no winning to be done by them in this situation.

 

[revenantdead]

you may have a BB sized piece of metal that melted and dripped into the cat. does it rattle when you hit it with your hand? if it does, the only way to get rid of it was to cut it out and re-weld it back in. same thing happened to me.

 

[JWaldz]

lol, this thread title made my day. I literally laughed out loud

 

[revenantdead]

my girlfriend likes it when her cat vibrates.

 

[Maritimer]

HAHA! I try my best to keep the kitty happy. Read that as you wish. :girl:


On my motorboat.

 

[Maritimer]

you may have a BB sized piece of metal that melted and dripped into the cat. does it rattle when you hit it with your hand? if it does, the only way to get rid of it was to cut it out and re-weld it back in. same thing happened to me.

It's actually a 5-month old cat under warranty. Yes, it does vibrate when I hit it with my hand. Very noticeably, actually. Midas will say it got banged off-road.

 

[Maritimer]

Midas said there is nothing wrong with it.

There is clearly a vibration coming from it. It vibrates when tapped with a finger, in P at all RPMs, and while driving at all RPMs.

The mechanic said he could definitely feel it at high RPMs (off the record), and suggested I drop the belts just to rule out that stuff.

This is the model: Walker Exhaust 52399 - Walker Direct Fit Catalytic Converters - Overview - SummitRacing.com

It has no air tube, which the service manager at Toyota (third opinion) said could cause some vibration. He said an OEM cat won't vibrate at all.

I may take this to small claims, and was wondering if you guys have ever heard of a normal cat vibrating like this under any circumstances.

 

[Maritimer]

Actually, I'm doubting myself now that I've mulled it over. I'm going to drop my belts and see if it still does it, and then think from there.

It has to be the engine, what the engine is strapped to, or the exhaust. I want to be a little softer on Midas until I'm without any doubt at all sure. I guess if it is the cat, it'll get worse to the undeniable stage before it gets better, lol.