hey all....i have a 1998 2.3 CL

i have only owned it since September and have already had to replace the clutch

I have been told i need to replace my Catalytic converter because i have been hearing noise (rattling) from under my car as i drive (mainly when i go up hills)

I have been told that there are lose pieces inside my catalytic converter and that there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it, but in-order to stop the rattling i would need to replace the converter. Also, recently my check engine light came on and upon getting the cars computer checked at advance auto parts they told me it was the sensor on the cat converter. Would this noise have anything to do with this sensor on my cat converter? i had heard the rattling long before the check engine light came on...


I don't know to much about cars and i am on a tight budget, so i was wondering what i should except to pay for a new cat converter and labor, and also pricing on the sensor. Should I buy the parts new online and then get someone to install them? or should i just go to a muffler place and let them do the entire thing?

any advice would be helpful...and if anyone knows a good mechanic in Memphis, TN let me know, cause i just moved here..

thanks

Seth

 

http://www.partstrain.com/products/C...URA~2.3CL.html

i would look at getting the one for $108

is that a good cat? and how much should i expect to pay to get it installed?
also, i need a new O2 sensor for my cat, will those universal o2 work? how much should i expect to pay for the install for that?

thanks guys i just dont want to get ripped

 

thats a really good deal.

but i'd take off your heat sheild on top of the cat first, becuase those often rattle and wont effect your undercarraige

 

yea i was told that, but i have had it looked at by some friends and by the honda dealer, and they showed me how it was pieces insides the cat that were loose/broken that were making the rattle, there was nothing loose around the cat.

do you have any ideas what i should expect to be charged for labor to put a new cat on?

 

dude just save up about $700 and go with some DC sport headers, Magnaflow Racing Cat, and a magnaflow cat-back exhaust, or you could go cheaper with just buying the Resonator and muffler and going to an exhaust shop to get a custom made exhaust.