e39 530i catalytic converter

[timcotom]

This may have been addressed here before but...Dash light is on, shop says $5,500 to replace both the cats on a car thats worth $3,000 on a good day. Do I have any options other than spend the $5k? I hear the knock off cats only last a year or two and only saves a few hundred bucks.

[1823alex]

This may have been addressed here before but...Dash light is on, shop says $5,500 to replace both the cats on a car thats worth $3,000 on a good day. Do I have any options other than spend the $5k? I hear the knock off cats only last a year or two and only saves a few hundred bucks.

Also interested to hear about this, I have a pair of newer cats but they aren't OEM waiting to be installed. My P0430 bank 2 cat efficiency code is coming up more and more often too.... Mine seems to be just on its way out, if I let the car warm up and or idle then I won't get a code (I'm assuming cause the cats up to temperature and performing better). I usually only ever see it on cold starts once I'm driving 40-50mph

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[Mike WW]

A couple of things come to mind. When was the last time the post cat O2 sensors were changed? Usually not a problem but they can be and they're an easy and inexpensive test. Next is spark plug extenders on that same O2 sensor will apparently shut the light off. Lastly is it looks like BMW cats are less than a thou each and while it's not a job I'd look forward to I don't think installation is a $3K job.

[edjack]

Look at Magnaflows. They are somewhat cheaper, and are quality made.

OTOH, if you scrap the car, based on failed cats, what would you buy for $3k to replace it? Or even $5.5k, that will be a satisfactory replacement?

Also consider Mike's suggestion. Cheap diagnostic. And the I6 is much easier on cats.

The shop estimate may be somewhat flippant.

You did not post the miles on the car, nor when the sensors were last replaced. We need that data to offer an opinion.

Perhaps you're looking for an excuse to dump the car, and get something newer.

[E39 Newbie]

This is going to sound like snake oil, but I have personal experience with it, and it does work. Get a gallon of Cataclean off of Amazon. IIRC you use a quart in 1/4 of a tank of gas. Drive around until empty. Sometimes it takes two tries.

I've seen it fix the inefficient cat codes. I had a car that I'd put a ton of $$ in fixing the engine. But the cat monitor would not set for love nor money. After several months, and over 1,000 miles of driving, it still wouldn't set. Out of desperation (a California cat was stupidly expensive) I ran across this on a Jeep forum and tried it. Bam. After fewer than 20 miles the monitor set.

If the cat is completely shot it won't do much for it. But for around $50, it's worth a try.

[Frankie]

Been there. This happened to my '03 530i.

Don't waste time or money replacing O2 sensors or installing spark plug extenders. They won't work. Cat diagnostics are very thoroughly engineered and not easily fooled anymore. Cats are an integral part of the ULEV standard (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle), and '01-'03 E39s qualify. Your car will get lousy gas mileage, have stinky exhaust, and throw misfire codes without working cats. And of course, you'll fail a state inspection..which makes your car illegal to drive.

You have no choice but to replace them.

Do not touch aftermarket cats for your I6 engine. You'll need OEM cats only! Only OEM has the precious metal content required to satisfy the DME and achieve the required level of emission reduction. Used OEM cats, if you can find them legally, are not worth the trouble and are likely to be ruined or tainted. They will not fool the DME. Ask me how I know.

If I recall, OEM cats are about $3000/pair, plus about $800 labor. So it should come in around $4K total.

Only you can decide if that's worth it.

[Jason5driver]

This may have been addressed here before but...Dash light is on, shop says $5,500 to replace both the cats on a car thats worth $3,000 on a good day. Do I have any options other than spend the $5k? I hear the knock off cats only last a year or two and only saves a few hundred bucks.

I would consider this by Schmiedmann :
https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-E...duct=SCM395254

Your discount 12.00 %

https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/763...erter-0961282/

[balidawg]

Dash light is on, shop says $5,500 to replace both the cats on a car thats worth $3,000 on a good day. Do I have any options other than spend the $5k?

We need a lot more info to properly advise you. Most likely you’re getting ripped off. Before you believe what the shop says, get a wireless OBD adapter and app (less than $30), read the trouble codes, look at the live data, report back with that. OBD Fusion is excellent and even has a Diagnostic Report feature that grabs all this info and let’s you save and email a copy to yourself.

[RyansBMW]

I would consider this by Schmiedmann :
https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-E...duct=SCM395254

Your discount 12.00 %

https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/763...erter-0961282/

Assuming the cats are the problem, and not faulty rear sensors, You’ve got a few options.

1.If you just want the light off and want to do the minimal amount of work, you can buy O2 sensor extenders with catalytic material inside. That should satisfy the OBDII threshold and turn the light off.

2. If you want to buy this system listed above. You will still need to get the O2 sensor extensions as these cats will still throw a code. However, the sound is awesome and with the extensions, there will be no CEL. You will have no problem passing emissions. I had these installed on my 530 a few years ago and really enjoyed them.

3. Install expensive, OEM cats

[Frankie]

I'm afraid posts 7-9 are misleading and mired in the fantasy world of Internet group think. From suggesting the installation of "extenders with catalytic material" (flagrantly illegal, even if such a mystery product existed and actually worked) to black magic diagnostics to the installation of an exhaust system that won't pass state inspection, all constitute wild goose chases.

If the OP is seeing cat efficiency CELs and lives in a region that requires inspections, he needs new OEM cats, period.

[Jason5driver]

I'm afraid posts 7-9 are misleading and mired in the fantasy world of Internet group think. From suggesting the installation of "extenders with catalytic material" (flagrantly illegal, even if such a mystery product existed and actually worked) to black magic diagnostics to the installation of an exhaust system that won't pass state inspection, all constitute wild goose chases.

If the OP is seeing cat efficiency CELs and lives in a region that requires inspections, he needs new OEM cats, period.

I love being misleading and in a fantasy world ! lol .
If you re-read my post above , I gave another link to the OE cat , which is around $300 for 3 cylinders , you need 2 .
Cylinders 1-3 :
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/763...l-1-3-0961279/
Cylinders 4-6 :
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/763...l-4-6-0961280/

[RyansBMW]

I'm afraid posts 7-9 are misleading and mired in the fantasy world of Internet group think. From suggesting the installation of "extenders with catalytic material" (flagrantly illegal, even if such a mystery product existed and actually worked) to black magic diagnostics to the installation of an exhaust system that won't pass state inspection, all constitute wild goose chases.

If the OP is seeing cat efficiency CELs and lives in a region that requires inspections, he needs new OEM cats, period.

How is it “fantasy land” when I and several other people in this subforum, have installed those sensor extenders and exact headers successfully and passed emissions?

[dmaisenh]

I think what he is saying is that they don't fix the problem of the cats doing their job to reduce emissions. They just mask it.
Most emission tests these days, at least in my area, don't actually test the emissions, they ask the car is everything is alright and if the car says it is, you pass. Of course if you roll in spewing smoke and their eyes start burning from your exhaust, I mean the car's exhaust, not the result of taco Tuesday, then they might actually test the emissions.

[RyansBMW]

I get that and that’s why others and myself suggested using the O2 spacers if you want to use aftermarket cats. The spacer is what will limit the airflow and make sure the DME is satisfied and not set off a CEL.

From what I understand, our DMEs have strict standards for the cats which is why most aftermarket options will set the CEL. But the aftermarket cats are working and I would be willing to guess that if someone actually pulled up to an emissions sniffer, they would pass no problem.

[Frankie]

I gave another link to the OE cat..[Bosal cat links]

Speaking of fantasy: Those are not OEM cats. These are OEM cats: link

Over time (or immediately), those cheap Bosal cats will fail because they do not have sufficient precious metal content to satisfy the DME. Note they are not legal for sale in CA and NY - that should tell you something.

OP: Good news: From link above it appears OEM cats are now selling for about $1000 each ($821 here + tax & shop mark-up). If labor is about the same, the whole job should come in around $3000 (not $4000 as I previously stated).

...The spacer is what will limit the airflow and make sure the DME is satisfied and not set off a CEL.

Hmm. Don't "spacers" just push the 02 sensor out of the exhaust stream? And that's all it takes to fool a multi-million dollar engineered emission system? In desperation, I believed this too. It didn't work. Please post a link to these magic spacers.

Sorry, please don't take me for trying to be a smart aleck here. I'm simply trying to align what is being said with what I know to be true by experience, and assist someone in need of real solutions.

[JimLev]

Nothing wrong with the Bosal Cats that Jason posted. BMW uses Bosal. I had to cut off the Bosal pre-cats when I installed long tube headers. So I’m only running the main cats. I thought I might have a CEL problem with the rear O2’s without using the per-cats so I bought O2 extenders just in case. Turns out no CEL so I didn’t need the extenders.
Tim is in NC which isn’t anywhere as restrictive as the over the top states of CA or NY.

[RyansBMW]

Speaking of fantasy: Those are not OEM cats. These are OEM cats: link

Over time (or immediately), those cheap Bosal cats will fail because they do not have sufficient precious metal content to satisfy the DME. Note they are not legal for sale in CA and NY - that should tell you something.

OP: Good news: From link above it appears OEM cats are now selling for about $1000 each ($821 here + tax & shop mark-up). If labor is about the same, the whole job should come in around $3000 (not $4000 as I previously stated).



Hmm. Don't "spacers" just push the 02 sensor out of the exhaust stream? And that's all it takes to fool a multi-million dollar engineered emission system? In desperation, I believed this too. It didn't work. Please post a link to these magic spacers.

Sorry, please don't take me for trying to be a smart aleck here. I'm simply trying to align what is being said with what I know to be true by experience, and assist someone in need of real solutions.

Correct. The spaces push the sensor out of the exhaust stream and limit the sensors exposure to hydrocarbons.

I just used a basic pair of 90deg spacers from eBay. Another member here, Stück, used to have access to a junk yard, cracked open a cat from a crashed car, and cut out some of the material. I bought some spare from him. He has a huge build thread on his car here. Both of us installed this setup in our 530 and had no issues with a CEL and all monitors were reading ready. A few other member have done the same. I ran the setup over a year before I ended up selling the car.

Maybe the prebuilt spacers with catalytic material aren’t as effective, but the home built solutions def can work.

[Frankie]

BMW uses Bosal. I had to cut off the Bosal pre-cats when I installed long tube headers. So I’m only running the main cats....Turns out no CEL...

Bosal may be a supplier to BMW but the cats linked by Jason were certainly not OEM in any way. BMW wouldn't touch cats that were not legal in all 50 states. Nor would they authorize cats with lightweight catalytic material barely worth $300. Anyone is of course free to install such cats. But if they don't work or fail after a short period of time you will be out at least $1500 in parts & labor.

The OP has the M54 I6 engine, but I believe you're speaking of the M62TU V8 engine that has two, inline cats. If you don't see a CEL after eliminating the aftermarket header cat while retaining the OEM main cat, that's great. But this certainly wouldn't work if your OEM main cats were shot, like the OP's (who has only main cats).

And I have to wonder how long such a set-up will continue to work. The header cat must perform some work otherwise BMW wouldn't have engineered it that way.

Maybe the prebuilt spacers with catalytic material aren’t as effective, but the home built solutions def can work.

"Maybe" it'll work? This just isn't a practical solution. I'm still unaware of any such product available for retail sale.

And were you using this to squelch a cat efficiency code, or another code? If it worked on a cat efficiency code, more power to ya! But to me, using simple spacers for this purpose remains a joke.

[1823alex]

Or just flash your DME to an EU2 tune, no more cat efficiency codes or SAP issues.

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[JimLev]

Yo Frankie, what’s with all the negative vibes?
Tims car is 18 years old, worth $3K, and he’s not interested in dropping $4-5K on BMW cats.
The link Jason posted are 300 cell cats. Some guys here have used 100 cell cats without problems.
Like you said, anyone here is free to install such cat so let Tim decide.

NC does not require BMW cats to pass inspection.....they plug into the OBD port. If the CEL isn’t on he’ll pass.
North Carolina also requires that cars have a muffler and a tailpipe and the vehicle should have working emissions control devices such as catalytic converters, oxygen sensors, and unleaded gas restrictors.

[Jason5driver]

Yo .

[RyansBMW]

"Maybe" it'll work? This just isn't a practical solution. I'm still unaware of any such product available for retail sale.

And were you using this to squelch a cat efficiency code, or another code? If it worked on a cat efficiency code, more power to ya! But to me, using simple spacers for this purpose remains a joke.

My setup was used to avoid popping a code for cat efficiency. It worked just fine.

Quick google search and this was the 1st result.
https://www.fabspeed.com/universal-o...verter-single/
You can see in the reviews people using this and working as advertised. Here didn’t exist a few years ago when I installed the euro cats so I had to build my own

- - - Updated - - -

Here’s a dude on Xbimmers who is running something similar on his X5M with catless downpipes and his monitors are set and ready.
https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1758872

[16valex]

My setup was used to avoid popping a code for cat efficiency. It worked just fine.

Quick google search and this was the 1st result.
https://www.fabspeed.com/universal-o...verter-single/
You can see in the reviews people using this and working as advertised. Here didn’t exist a few years ago when I installed the euro cats so I had to build my own

- - - Updated - - -

Here’s a dude on Xbimmers who is running something similar on his X5M with catless downpipes and his monitors are set and ready.
https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1758872

Ryan, is yours still going well? Were you the one that send me some Catalytic converter material? It's been a while and I forgot sorry.

[rdl]

A year and a half ago my M54 lit up the SES warning and INPA returned fault code EA 234 P0430 - bank 2 cat low efficiency. I could clear the fault and drive a couple of weeks before it returned, or a day. Often INPA would report the fault as not currently present, but of course the SES light would stay lit.

Mostly because it was due (but also trying to deceive myself into believing it might help) I replaced all 4 O2 sensors with Bosch and spark plugs with NGK over several weeks. I also repaired a slight leak on bank 2 at the gasketed flange. All the while searching for replacement cat alternatives and agonizing over which option to take. And dreading the R&R job to come.

But, miracle of miracles the SES light has stayed off for the last year plus and 20k miles. Might be worth a try for you.

[RyansBMW]

Ryan, is yours still going well? Were you the one that send me some Catalytic converter material? It's been a while and I forgot sorry.

I sold the car a few years ago when I blew the transmission. Someone here bought it and did a manual swap so I’m not sure what current state the car is in. He doesn’t post here much. Now I’m driving an almost FBO (just need the upgraded intercooler) and tuned X5.

And yes, I believe I was the person to send you that material.