Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Upstate NY
    Posts
    11

    Default 1998 v70xc catalytic converter and exhaust replacement

    I need to replace the exhaust system on my 1998 v70 xc 2.4L turbo (not R). The cost of OEM is just too expensive, so am looking at some aftermarket parts. Does anyone have experience with this replacement ? I am looking at parts from North Eastern Cat out of Union City, NJ ...they advertise new exact fit, but who knows how exact ? I'll replace both O2 sensors with Bosch parts. Please let me know if I am in danger of damaging the vehicle with cheap parts - I have heard turbo systems are sensitive to exhaust flow issues but I am not exactly what the deal is ? Please let me know your thoughts. The vehicle only has 140,k miles and it is really a great car. I need to get another 10 years out of it....thanks All!! enjoy the day.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Northern CA
    Posts
    238

    Default

    As long as you NEVER plan on living in California you should be OK. Some mfg advertise that the difference between their direct fit converter and the OEM is the heavy metals used as the catalyst. If you get a CA compliant cat you will be getting a 5 yr 50k warranty plus piece of mind that if the car is ever moved to CA and the smog tech looked at the cat you would not fail for tampering with the emissions.

    Two things with non OEM direct fits are:

    1) they can be "near direct fit" which may require differs hardware for assembly, and
    2) on Vehicles with tight tolerance/sensitive electronic diagnostics they have been known to trigger check engine lights.

    Given you are In NY you should be ok, if it were me I might look at what the warranty is vs other non- OEM (some non CA units have 5 yr warranty) but would definitely pocket the savings with no worries.

    You could always call Eastern and ask them to explain to you the difference between their product and Volvos.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Upstate NY
    Posts
    11

    Default

    thanks for the help Tahoe - if I ever make it to Cali, I'll be riding the xr650r....all the best my friend!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    rochester,ny
    Posts
    180

    Default

    I went with DEC catalytic on my car. As our friend before me stated it was "near direct fit"..The flange that connects to the turbocharger was without special grooves so no tight seal there.I used 2 gaskets from VW turbos and was able to achieve somewhat tight connection.The angle of down pipe was once again far from ideal. But my suggestion-if you plan to keep the car-buy a new OEM one, if no-sell it and forget about it. Or the other option go to the muffler shop and let them weld something together for you. so you can keep your down pipe(at least there will be no leaks near turbo and no smell in the cabin). In my situation i will be shortly buying a new OEM catalytic. Lesson learned for me.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Upstate NY
    Posts
    11

    Default

    thanks for the input, vova...you are correct - If you can't save/reuse the downpipe, never go with anything but OEM on this repair. Luckily, my mighty mechanic was able to make it work...but the job sucked, big-time. Here's what happened to me...I went with a NorthEasternCat "direct fit" catalytic converter/pipe assembly and the matching cat back pipe/muffler system. The muffler assembly bolted on beautifully - no issues there. But the cat assembly was just "slightly" off. The pipe married up to the turbo fine. However, it did not quite connect with the EG port. A miss is a mile for me, and I was about to return the part and start over with OEM. I should have known better when I first looked at the pipe out of the box. The deal with these after market knock-offs, is no one can get the mandrel bend right - the unit I bought achieved the bend by scabbing together three pipes...you get what you pay for. Anyway, Billy at Wicked Motor Sports is able to fabricate as well as repair so he reused the original downpipe and welded it to the new catalytic converter. I replaced both O2 sensors. So that's the take away from this job - as long as you can save/reuse the down pipe - you can pretty much get away with an aftermarket cat and pipes. I've logged about 1,k miles and everything works great. No change in fuel economy. Even with a little extra labor charge, I figure I save at least $700-800 bucks. Now we'll see how long it lasts....It's a sweet car - I hope to get 300,k miles...take care...later.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •