catalytic converter

[WULLIE4567]

Going to replace both cats with after market cat's, o/side is rattling loudly there is so many out there to choose from, my car is a 2000my 4.0 ltr XK8. so any of you guy's know which cat's would be best???

cheers
Wullie.

[GrandTourer]

Would have liked to help Wullie - mine is also a MY2000, 120k miles on now, but I have never had a problem with the cats and so have never looked into this.
Hope, someone will be along soon with some answers.

Karl

[mike020150]

Hi Wullie,
Like Karl, I've not had any experience of non Jaguar supplied cats so can't comment usefully about the alternatives available.
A few years ago, my then 4.0 litre coupe had one cat fail after only 30 some thousand miles from new. The noise produced on start-up was a terrible rattle, along the lines of an engine about to self destruct. Fortunately, the car was still under a Jaguar approved used warranty at the time when timing chain tensioners were failing regularly. Consequently, Jaguar sent an engineer to my house to hear the noise before having the car trailered away to a dealership where the cat was changed and silence was reinstated. Mike.

[Brakebuster]

Going to replace both cats with after market cat's, o/side is rattling loudly there is so many out there to choose from, my car is a 2000my 4.0 ltr XK8. so any of you guy's know which cat's would be best???

cheers
Wullie.

cheap Cats are installed on cars that are being sold on quickly , just to shut em up and get em through an MOT

the only real alternative is a genuine Jaguar item , but i know they aint cheap , but they aint cheap for a reason , and yours have lasted for 13 years, so you can't complain

best course of action is to contact someone like grublogger or similar and have some known good used ones for about a quarter of the price of new


but its your money

BB

[WULLIE4567]

Thanks Guy's
As Mike say's rattle from goosed cat sounds like the end of the engine, Going to remove problem cat see if cats got broken bits at front end, I'll see if I can source a second hand jag cat as Brake buster say's. I'll update when job done.

cheers
Wullie.

[xk8mk2Craig]

Hi
I am looking at replacing my cat. Did you replace yours please?
Any advice for me ?
Thanks
Craig

[WULLIE4567]

Hi Craig
Not done cat's yet but don't think it's a hard job, she's off the road just now hiding from the salt on our roads and to do some maintenance jobs including cat's, just haven't had the time. Just watch you get the correct one's seems to be at least two types depending on age.

cheers
Wullie.

[WULLIE4567]

Update on my cats.
I ended up buying aftermarket cat's right or wrong there on now, the job itself was made harder because the bracket's and bolts were rotten even the bolts into the bell/housing were seized, fitted new gaskets and bingo no rattles and exhuast makes nicer note. The insides of the old cat's were well goosed with bits breaking off and falling out them got £20 quid from scrappy. Well next job will be front shockers.

Cheers
Wullie.

[Gianfranco]

Hello,I replaced all lamda sensors to my 2004 XKR but engine light remains on and mechanic told me computer says :catalyst problems.Can someone helps?Thanks a lot
Gianfranco

[J44EAG]

Try a couple of cans of Cataclean in half a tank of fuel then drive gently until you burn that fuel off. Cataclean is a very capable additive that I have personally seen give highly beneficial results. The additive is available from Halfords and on line sources. The product is known to help unblock cats and can in some instances do a sufficiently good job to extinguish MIL lamp, check light and fault codes. If you are lucky enough to achieve that by using the product, then the investment is a very cheap fix indeed.

My statement here is drawn from personal experience using this additive. I usually treat my car to a bottle of the additive in a quarter of a tank of fuel just before the MOT. I`ve seen my old V8 S-type emissions fall from 79ppm hc to zero after a good dosing. I speak as I have found and can recommend its use. Upon taking delivery of my 4.2R X350, I immediately dosed the tank with Cataclean then drove the car some 280 miles home on the motorway. This was an ideal opportunity to burn out excess combustion by-product from the cats over several hours. The car was running slightly more sweetly by the time I got home. The first MOT in my hands gave a reading of 3ppm hc which is more that acceptable.

More recently I decided to fit sports cats and an X-pipe to de-constrict what is a fairly constricted exhaust system on the 4.2R. Some 55% of a standard exhaust catalyst case is filled by the internal Fecla metal internal media which becomes progressively blocked as age and mileage accumulate. I put my hand into my pocket and had one of the Longlife Exhaust franchises fit 200 cell media into my original exhaust cat cases. That together with an efficient X-pipe modification totally transformed my R. The results of the change completely exceeded my expectations and the workmanship was superb. If you find yourself needing new cats, then you would do no better than to contact one of the national Longlife Exhaust Centres for a price. If my experience was typical, you will certainly save money by having your cats reworked when compared to purchasing new OE exhaust components. Second hand cats are another option but being pre-used then you pay the money and hope they last for an acceptable period......

Try the Cataclean and see if you can burn the problem out as a start to fixing your issue.

Mike K

[mike020150]

One of the issues with the MIL lamp is that practically anything wrong with the engine illuminates it and unless the garage has Jaguar-specific diagnostic kit, it's possible to keep changing components, one by one, until you strike lucky! Generally, non-Jaguar diagnostic kit gives results too crude to be helpful. None of this means that you don't have a catalytic converter problem but a failing converter diagnosis from non-Jaguar kit may not be as dire as it sounds.
Lambda sensors deteriorate over time, just like spark plugs, so they are always a prime suspect for MIL lamp problems. Assuming the correct type of lambda sensors have been fitted (were they Jaguar supplied or possibly unsuitable generic aftermarket types?) and their wiring is undamaged, are there any other symptoms, like rough running, pinking, lack of power and so on? What diagnostic kit was used and what codes were flagged? Mike.