81 633 Catalytic Convertor

[81633CsiDriver]

My 81 Six Series, all stock at 97000 miles, recently failed the Texas NOx test during its annual inspection. It was just over the limit, but failed nevertheless.

My BMC mechanic advised that this usually means a new cat converter, but wanted to try "cleaning" the old one first. He said that on cars not driven a lot, like mine, that catalyst can get dirty and often upon cleaning it will pass.

Long story short, it didn't pass after cleaning, and I was advised that a new cat convertor would run about $1200.

He cautioned against buying a "universal" convertor as sold by a number of aftermarket parts suppliers for about $200, as he had not had much success with getting them to pass the emissions test either. The NOx limit in TX for this car is about 1050 ppm.

Has anyone had experience with putting a "universal" cat on an older car like this?

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I've never heard of anyone "cleaning" a catalytic converter, they work or they dont, basically.

Here at pelican, we only carry universal replacements, which typically flow better than stock units, and most likely will pass smog with no problems