Re:Catalytic Converter Theft
by cartoonworld on Friday June 25, 2021 @10:02AM
(#27630888)
Sorry about your u-joint headaches.
The cheap ones are less resilient as you noticed. When hydrocarbons (such as from blowby or imperfectly metered fuel) hit the substrate it works against the catalyst chemistry and the catalyst produces combustion clearing it up. But this skyrockets the temperatures, damages or melts the substrate reducing its effectiveness using up the substrate. There is a lot of expansion and contraction in a 1000-degree cat, failing ones can double that, so the poor bonding techniques will turn it into a rattle can fast.
Thin walls, less substrate, and poor bonding lead them to fail prematurely.
Good luck.
I bought that ebay cat last year after my cat was destroyed in a U-joint failure when the prop shaft impacted it at speed.
It is not empty, and the car passes a CA sniffer test with flying colors using it.
It is pretty cheaply constructed though, thin walls, and the ID seemed a bit smaller than stock so not great for power.