LIST OF ACTIONS REGARDING E51/E52 CATALYTIC CONVERTER ISSUES

[Silverking]

Having 're read this entire thread ( https://forum.elgrandoc.uk/threads/...and-the-do-not-remove-rear-cats-debate.18398/ ) again this morning here are my conclusions and the options available of which there are at least half a dozen. Rough costs are an estimate on people's postings throughout the forum. So please dont abuse me if some are slightly inaccurate!!! No agenda as I don't even own an e51 so completely impartial take on the matter.

Option 1.
Remove/decore the rear cats. Cost £100
Pros- cheap and easy. Van down time = a couple of hours.
Cons- not a 100% safe fix, and could still have future problems from front cats blocking themselves.

Option 2.
Remove/decore the front cats leaving the rears. Cost £400
Pros- eliminates chance of cat break down and blockage. Still a reasonable price.
Cons- more difficult to do, greater difficulty finding someone to carry out the work. Emissions feed back unknown. Van down time = 1 day

Option 3.
Remove/decore both front and rear cats and replace with aftermarket cats down stream. Cost £900
Pros- completely eliminates risk of old cats disintegrating. Healthy emmisions.
Cons- more expensive, very, very slim chance aftermarket cat could disintegrate in future. Van down time = 1 day.

Option 4.
Complete new stainless exhaust system with aftermarket cats. Cost £ 1200-1700
Pros- removes risk of original cat disintegration, sound lovely will last a long time.
Cons- more expensive. Very, very slim chance of cat failure. Van down time = 1 day

Option 5.
Lpg install. With full cat removal. Cost £2000+
Pros- eliminates any possibility of cat failure, cheaper fuel for future use. No emission worries at MOT as tested on lpg not petrol.
Cons- more expensive process, future lpg servicing costs, not all systems/setups are perfect causing possibility of other mechanical issues. Van down time = 3/4 days. Plus delivery/accommodation costs during process.

Option 6.
Carry on as you are with whatever process you've already done or not done.
Pros- live in a world of bliss and worry about what if's later. And enjoy life and your Elgrand.
Cons- your car could (But might not) breakdown at any moment. Expensive repair bill (£2.5k) or scrap value only.

Do with this what you will. The info is out there for anyone to read and make an informed decision on how, why, or what you want to do to extend the life of an Elgrand.
Don't think this discussion will ever go away, so long as people are still buying elgrands and not doing their homework on them.

@Robbiesunshine you was asking should you remove Rear Cats , here are the options, did you find out if the Specialist you bought from had already done this ?

 

[Gift]

Brillaint advice and some real food for thought...im waiting for my three month warranty to finish before i do this mod. I want to ask although removing front cats appeals to me, what is the most common option amongst Elgrand owners?

 

[LeStempy]

Most go for secondary cat removal as it's quick, easy and cheap.

 

[Gift]

My only thought with this is that it is not a hundred percent fail safe according to the post...i mean, nothing is hundred percent guarenteed but with options 2-5 there is more of a chance u wont suffer this issue.cost is also a huge factor......

 

[LeStempy]

Have the fronts out if you can wedge it and keep a good set of rears in for MOT.

 

[Gift]

Thankfully My brother is a mechanic with 25 plus years experience will be doing the work for me but he aint no Elgrand expert. i also have to be mindfull that his garage is stupidly busy so will have to squeeze it in, in his down time or pay (all be it with a discount) like a customer..

 

[Reverend RobP]

Thankfully My brother is a mechanic with 25 plus years experience will be doing the work for me but he aint no Elgrand expert. i also have to be mindfull that his garage is stupidly busy so will have to squeeze it in, in his down time or pay (all be it with a discount) like a customer..

@Lpgc has done a brilliant write up on how to remove the front cats. Definitely have a read and pass on the info to your brother to give him a heads up on whats involved. (You will have to get past 10 posts to read it as its in the Tech area) Thread 'Front cats decore' https://forum.elgrandoc.uk/threads/front-cats-decore.21762/

 

[Gift]

This is absolutely brillaint thank you. Will be buying the premium membership to help with the cause..... Thankyou

 

[Gift]

@Robbiesunshine you was asking should you remove Rear Cats , here are the options, did you find out if the Specialist you bought from had already done this ?

An back to this...many apologies if u have already been asked a thousand times but i have trailed through the forum but cannot find a definitive answer to the following: did any fault codes come up when de coring front cats? Ive managed to persuade my big bro to de core but the concern (from me, not him) is fault codes coming up when doing so. Ive read about lambda sensor damage on another thread but my understanding is if decoring front cats this should not effect those sensors.

 

[LeStempy]

If done carefully and correctly you will have no issue with fault codes.

 

[Gift]

If done carefully and correctly you will have no issue with fault codes.

Does one know how many spacers are required after de coring front cats...car is up on a ramp as i type.

 

[Lpgc]

Does one know how many spacers are required after de coring front cats...car is up on a ramp as i type.

What spacers? Don't fit any spacers to front lambda probes.

 

[Gift]

Hey @Lpgc There are apparently 4 sensor 2 before and 2 after. The question from the garage is does any spacers need to be fitted on the two sensors before...as this is normally not the case.......

So to clarify the spacers go on the lambda sensors after the front cats?

 

[Lpgc]

Definitely don't fit spacers on the front probes, this should never be done on any vehicle under any circumstances.

No need to fit spacers on the rear probes either but it won't hurt to fit a spacer on the rear probes.

 

[Gift]

Thank you...you have been very helpfull

 

[LeStempy]

Does one know how many spacers are required after de coring front cats...car is up on a ramp as i type

Is it sorted?

 

[Gift]

Yep all sorted, and no warning lights so far, fingers crossed it stays that way..im due to collect it tomorrow morning. I was told that the drivers side cat was a real pain in the a*** to remove..i went with the option full de core on all 4 cats as i wanted that complete peace of mind with a view of a complete powerflow system in the near future. I decided to get this done sooner rather than later having thoroughly read the threads of the reaident experts and clarified with warranty guys thay this work would not void my warranty.

 

[Gift]

Hey everyone...thought id give an update to you all regarding the full four cat de core.

So i collected the car today, after having all four catalyc convertors de cored. I read and then re read all the threads regarding these darn things and i wasnt prepared to take the risk so i chose to have them all de cored with the intention of a full exhaust system in the future.

Well, the car has not thrown up any error codes so far and hasnt really made much of difference the car ride or feel. Biggest difference it has made is to my peace of mind. I am still learning about the car and still driving it with a little lack of confidence which is probably typical of any new first time import car owners. The de coring hasnt really made much of a difference to perfomance (well not that i can tell anyway) and isnt really any noisier or different sound wise to what it was before although i do get a nice 'whoosh' when i put my foot down. What i did notice that there is a new smell, its not very pleasant, but having read forums and feedback from other people who have had all cats removed it is perfectly normal.

So far so good and the peace of mind it has given me is worth it alone.

Whilst at the garage i took the opportunity to replace the winter tyres it came with with some new mid range suv all weather tyres and have my tracking etc done. This is where i noticed a huge difference in the feel of the car. It feels much smoother and a hell of a lot less bumpy on the road and even though it as very comfy and ferry'esque before its much more comfortable and much smoother now with a lot less sound coming into the cabin.

All in all I am very happy. And would highly recommend getting the cats done for the peace of mind alone.

"Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others"

Happy Engandering..

Chaz

 

[Lpgc]

What i did notice that there is a new smell, its not very pleasant, but having read forums and feedback from other people who have had all cats removed it is perfectly normal.

There may be a slightly different smell to exhaust gasses, in addition there is sometimes a newly welded smell that goes away quite quickly.

 

[Gift]

There may be a slightly different smell to exhaust gasses, in addition there is sometimes a newly welded smell that goes away quite quickly.

It didnt last very long i must admit....and yes it didn't really smell like what I would assume exhaust gases to smell like...

Also on another plus side...i just got a call from a company who buy cat internals...the smashed up internal core of the cat was purchased for £150...a nice recoup towards tyres i guess...