I need a ds header/cat!!!

[Jeff396]

I finally got around to getting my cat rattle problem resolved and found the the culprit was actually my primary cat and not the secondary as I first thought. Does anyo e have a known good drivers side header/cat they'd like to sell?

Jeff

[harryrcb]

Originally Posted by Jeff396

I finally got around to getting my cat rattle problem resolved and found the the culprit was actually my primary cat and not the secondary as I first thought. Does anyo e have a known good drivers side header/cat they'd like to sell?

Jeff

I can most likely help. let me know year and which engine. send an email

[Jeff396]

Email sent.

Jeff

[Jeff396]

So I decided not to take a chance on a used header/cat. It seemed like a bit of a crap shoot whether the new old cat would be in good shape or not. So I decided to get a set of the headers with the O2 fittings moved from Harry instead. They look great!!! Now I just have to hope my moron mechanic (me) can get them in without incident. At least he works for beer!

Question, am I supposed to put anything on the new exhaust manifold gaskets? The last time I did an exhaust manifold, which was a long time ago, I think I sprayed them with some kind of copper stuff before installation.

Jeff

[turboflyer]

I did mine dry as I think that was correct. No leaks.

[Jeff396]

Hey all,

I got the headers installed but I still need to put the mufflers back on. I did have a few issues with the fit of the headers but nothing that couldn't be taken care of with a file and a dremel tool. One issue I had was that on both headers one of the end bolt holes had to be moved out further because that bolt would not thread in the way it was. I think I filed about 1/8 of an inch to get it to fit correctly. Also, the welds on all four of the end tubes had to be ground down a bit otherwise the flange on the stock bolts would not rest flat on the mounting plate. I will also have to extend the wires to one of the oxygen sensors. It looks as though they got the fitting for that sensor mounted at a little more of an angle than they should have. It angles down a bit more than its mate on the other header. This causes the wire to that sensor to be stretched tight over part of the engine.

Is there any reason I can't just solder in some extension wires on the oxygen sensor harness of an '02 Boxter S? I read somewhere that certain sensors actually pass air back through the harness but as far as I can tell this isn't like that. I'd just like to get conformation on that before I cut and splice. I'm just chomping at the bit to hear if my annoying cat rattle is gone!!! I was getting awfully tired of slouching down in the seat out of embarrassment while driving around town!!!

Jeff

[Meirschwartz]

Hi Jeff.
Go ahead and cut the wires. There is no problem with that.
Use the same AWG wire to extend the harness.
I recommend you to extend the vehicle side and not the sensor (so will not have to repeat the process in the future in a case of sensor replacement)

[Jeff396]

Thanks for the reply!

I went ahead and lengthened the wires and all appears to be fine. I did it on the sensor itself though as I didn't want to move the bracket with the plug attached to the motor. It looks more stock that way and my anal side wouldn't allow it The one on the other side reaches but it's not long enough to go through the clip that's supposed to hold the wire. I'm thinking about lengthening that aso. I now have a zip tie around it to be sure wind can't push it back into the new header. The other two sensors reached their plugs fine.

I drove the car a good bit after I was done. The sound on start up is a lot more throatier than it used to be. Also, when you let off the gas and it goes from that sort of back fire sound to a steady tone it's much more pronounced than it used to be. On the down side the motor doesn't sound as smooth on the highway with the engine around 3k rpm. I also had an issue where it was stumbleing a bit while waiting for a light to change. I think I read on here that the computer may adjust for changes like this but that it can take a while. Is that correct or wishful thinking?

I'm also getting a rattle/knocking sound from the muffler or secondary cat hitting something. I haven't been able to tell for sure where the actual problem is yet though. I know the the bend in the Borla muffler on the drivers side is really close to the bumper but this sounds more like metal on metal and it's not constant. I'm thinking the pipe to the secondary cat it a little off and hitting somewhere in where it goes past the CV joint. The slip collar that seals the joint between the secondary cat and the mufflers was a bit off when everything was bolted up. I tried to heat it and bend it a bit but I couldn't geyt it to budge. I think I'll need to remove it and tweak it a bit to make it right. It's just never done.....is it??? It wouldn't be so bad but I have two other everyday vehicles that need attention also. I need a mechanic.......young, red head and female!!!

Jeff

[Jeff396]

Update.....the rattle was my fault. I replaced the studs that attach the header to the secondary cats with nuts and bolts. They were a bit long but looked to clear the frame. Well one of them must have hit when the engine moved . At least it was an easy and obvious fix for once.

Jeff