headers, exhaust, and stuff
 

Anyone ever hear of aftermarket headers "blowing out" the catalytic converter with the reason that they push much hotter gas into the cat? Got some more rattling from my exhaust and I've been under the car multiple times and had it up on a rack and there's nothing visible that would be causing it. The guy I took the exhaust too mentioned the above and, since I've gone through potentially two cats now, just curious if this is a possibility?

I just replaced the cat fairly recently with a stupidly expensive (yet still cheaper than stock) aftermarket option, too :annoyed:

I don't really like how the original shop did the piping either. The guy at the shop commented on probable loss of pack pressure since they used such wide piping. I'd really like to just scrap the whole thing and potentially go back to stock exhaust or just something quieter and simpler.

I've never heard of that, but are you using a stock replacement or a highflow cat?

Never heard of that... very unlikely...

Thing is, cats are designed to withstand tremendous heat... When a cat gets clogged and the exhaust gas doesn't have a clear path, the catalytic converter gets so hot, that it glows red, and even then it doesn't disintegrate!

But you said you aren't using OEM... so i don`t know if the quality is the same.

never heard of that, nor do i think it's even possible... what do you mean by blowing out? how long have you had the new cat? heat shields alwaysss rattle..

thats news to me as well...some mechanics make up BS hoping ull believe it to explain things when they have no idea what the problem is..."yea ur tire fluid is pretty low here"...but if ur goin the stock route i have a very nice stock muffler for sale i will let go for a good price.

After my first cat went out I replaced it with one of those magnaflow cats that's street legal. It was about $150 cheaper than stock :/

But alright. I'd never heard of aftermarket headers ruining the cat either, I just reallllly don't want it to be another broken cat. I'll check around the heat shield again.

Also, I can't commit to buying anything right now since I really don't have any money... damn college. I think I'd like to go back to stock at some point though.

screwdriver ---> cat bang bang bang til you can see your sneakers through the other side. problem solved

I've been running aftermarket header"s" on every car i've owned since 1998 and never "blown" out a cat. Sounds like bullshit to me.

Probably the best decision I ever made, +1

Crankshaft Pully
 

I've been trying to complete my timing belt. Not an easy task for a rookie. I am to the point where I need to putqq? If I align the rear and front cams...do I need to somehow align the crankshaft pulley with the belt in? Any answers would be greatly appreciated.