My Dad has determined that the "honeycombs" inside the cat. converter on his 97 e420 have begun to break off and are rattling around in there. Is there any solution to this problem outside of getting a whole new cat? (for at least $400). Also, what would cause something like this? There are no instances of it whatsoever on this forum, and my dad is having trouble finding info on how to repair it. So I am assuming it is something that does not happen often. He is considering just taking the cat. off, removing the rattling pieces, then putting it back on. Is there any problem with doing this? One would think that the emissions would be more polluted with the loss of some "honeycombs," thus making it harder for the car to pass inspection. what does everyone think about all this?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

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