Had an aftermarket cat installed a month ago. Had it inspected yesterday and cat suspected to be dead by the rattling noise inside it.

Techie says it may be caused by rich mixture of air/fuel ratio. Is this true?
My mix is 50%, and car passed emission testing.

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joel

Prayers bring forth enlightenment.

Aftermarket cats are just THAT..aftermarket. No real quality control.

Many aftermarket cats are too small.

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

You don't specify which car model?

Aftermarket cats on a Benz, esp. a newer model, are a big no-no. Quality and performance are major issues. There is a reason OE cats cost $800+ a side. Materials, (semi) precious metals, ceramics, etc.

Aftermarket cats can also affect emissions, depending on the car.

All IMHO.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

It is a 89 260E with originally 2 pre cats. The replacement is just twin pipes from the exhaust manifold.

But the cat being destroyed in two weeks is just insane!!!

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joel

Prayers bring forth enlightenment.

Unfortunately that's not really true. The cost of the cats are driven by those items, but the total cost is much, much lower than what you pay. The price the customer pays is determined by what GSP (Global Service and Parts) thinks the market will bear plus the exorbitant markup charged by your stealership.

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Prost!

[QUOTE=Hirnbeiss;1548603]$3770 in my case. This HAS to be a joke within M-B. No I didn't buy it.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

The quote I got was from my tech, his actual cost before any markup.

The main cat on my 300E lasted over 300,000 Kms. Don't think an aftermarket would have done as well.

Not saying they aren't overpriced, but you get what you pay for in any case.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

[QUOTE=Zeus;1548781]
The main cat on my 300E lasted over 300,000 Kms. Don't think an aftermarket would have done as well.
/QUOTE]

Hmmmm,.... wanna see one with 400k + km on it, that still passes e-tests with flying colors?

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I just replaced mine after 320000 miles (approx 500000 kms). And, if it were not for oil burning, it would still be going.

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Saumil S. Patel

Did you idle the engine for a good 30 minutes, and drive carefully for the first few hours, to allow the new cat to bed in?

No, but is it bad enough to destroy it?

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joel

Prayers bring forth enlightenment.

The cat may have been damaged during shipping, during installation, who knows? It could just be a very cheap, crap-built aftermarket cat.

If the rattle isn't too bad, you can also try crimping the cat slightly with a large set of pliers or a C-clamp. That can help get rid of the rattle for a while. Emissions and performance are a whole other issue though.

If you plan on keeping the car and want to keep it running well, I'd bite the bullet and purchase an MB (OE) cat.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Built in the factory next door to the Chinese tire company and down the street from the poison pet food place.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

The rattle is the honey comb material haven broken lose from the wall of the cat some Friend of mine had the same thing happen to his, He just ran a few long sheet metal screws threw the wall of the cat to stop the rattle, NOT the proper fix but if you did not buy the proper one first, this may give you time to save up for the correct unit

That's friggin funny!!! Sheet metal screws into the cat...

Did the guy put duct tape on his dash board cracks, too?

I know a guy who does that sorta stuff to his vehicles all the time. He had a 69 Chevelle. The rear quarter panels were so rotted out that he took cardboard, and duct tape, and actually constructed new sections for the car, and paineted them to match afterwards. There was Duct tape everywhere on that poor car. Inside, outside, even the floor boards fell victim to the tape, and carboard treatment. He was nowhere near hard up for cash either. He just took great sentiment in the car, because it had been his mom's car, before she died, and she left it to him.

We used to call it the "Duct tape mobile". He was a friend of mines dad, so we used to tease him about it sometimes...The good old days...HHMMM.

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