BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

So 3 years ago i redid my whole exhaust, hooker headers 2055, magnaflow cat and flowmaster catback. My firebird is my 2nd car so its the weekend warrior. From when i installed and got it all welded up in june 2014 till now ive put a little over 12,000 miles on it. I remember in jan 2015 i started hearing a crazy rattle in my exhaust, it sounded like it was coming from near the cat but i thought i was crazy. Well that lasted for about 2 months with me scratching my head every saturday morning.

Finally one day i was out in the back roads giving it some real revs and i think it blew out because i didnt hear much for awhile. Well around 7months ago the same thing happened. Really loud rattling come from near the cat. This time i purposedly went out to my fav spot and did some hard pulling to try to 'blow it out' again. Well it worked because from then (sep-oct) i havent had much, if any, rattling so i figured "I must be tripping balls".

Well yesterday i cut off my muffler to get to my fuel tank. As i had my muffler down i was just whiping it down, and i heard some rattling from within. i peer in with a light and find this, i was just barely able to pull 2 large chunks out of my muffler.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2ezqkpu.jpg

Its blown to ****! i was a dumb *** and didnt return the warranty slip when i bought this thing so now they wont replace it.

All in all i thought i was buying a nice 'name' product yet it couldnt last for d1ck. Take your own chances rolling the dice on a magnaflow cat... i wont be buying another one.

The item i bought was Magnaflow MPE-336019 found here https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mpe-336019

which looks like its now replaced by MPE-332019.

Watch out.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I had a magnaflow cat fail, but I'm not sure if it was due to my engine since it was pre-rebuild.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Yet another reason to not run cats or a muffler. All natural sound and smell here.
Indian, corn, long tubes n straight pipes, no smog nazi laws here.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

That's nice and all, but I've seen LA in the 80s and it is a lot cleaner now. I'll take the smog laws over having days where the smog was so bad you couldn't go outside.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

If we could level the mountains in a few strategic areas, it wouldn't trap a lot of that nasty out there.:)
I'm a problem solver, that's just what I do :lmao:

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

True

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I dont think my motor caused it to go south. This motor was freshly rebuilt and set in the firebird in 2010. has less than 25,000 miles on it, not burning oil/coolant or anything out of the ordinary. Also my original cat was still working, passing CA smog. Only reason i replaced it was because i was replacing everything else down there felt it would be dumb to throw it back on.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I think they might be sourcing out to China now.

That sucks because I just had a new Magnaflow put on mine two years ago to pass SMOG.

There's also a break in procedure I was told about by the shop that installed it.

You run it until its good and hot the first time out and the cone/insert will expand until its good and tight inside its shell.

If that would make a difference I don't know.

I did take it for a good long drive first time out though.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I blew up a Magnaflow cat on a HO swapped Tbird I had. But the car backfired through the exhaust and shattered the honeycomb. I have a Magnaflow on my 82 TA and so far no issues.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Im not sure what happened. What i do know is motor is running normal. No burning fluids, BLMs and AFRs pretty nominal (not lean or rich). Could have gotten a crap pick out of the bunch. who knows

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I got the plans drawn up Tony. Lets get started! :lmao: Back to topic...sorry.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...2fdcc6ecb5.jpg

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Probably should have just kept the factory converter. I bought my 89 Firebird in 2012 and it still had the factory converter on it. The muffler went out a year later. Took it to the exhaust shop for a factory replacement and told them to check/replace the converter. The guy comes back and says my converter is factory and in perfect condition despite the outside appearance and there's no need to replace it. It's so old it didn't have a test port, but he installed a test port and I'm still rocking that same converter today and there's nothing wrong with it. Smog pump was replaced a couple years later and converter is still fine. Sometimes it's best to leave it alone.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I do exhaust for a living and I know they must put a lot better stuff in the factory cat than aftermarket because I sell the old ones I cut off. I get $60 - $150 for factory and $5 for any aftermarket. I try to always heat up any new ones I put on so they don't come back but I get a couple back a year.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

So what I was told about getting the new cat good and hot first time out is true.

What would you consider good and hot. Can you go by coolant temperature or is it how long you drive the car ? So what do you suggest.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Do we have anyone from Magnaflow to chime in on their product?

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I had the same problem with my magnaflow cat late last year. It just blew up. My motor is fresh and has less than 1500 miles on it.

Heard a bunch of rattling after the bang I heard on the freeway. When I got home I revved up the motor several time and chunks of the converter came out the tailpipe.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I wish i could, but it wasnt possible, TBI exhaust is 2.5", i was going to full 3" mandrel bends.

well crap i can see why!

Hmm what i do know is the shop i go to is very reputable, has 5 star yelp rating and alot of people i know go here as well. I was right there in the shop when it was installed (actually in the garage) and from what i remember. it was welded on. Motor turned on, revved up a bit ( he held the rpm for a min) and that was it. After that he helped me with my hooker y pipe (while engine idled) and i drove out a happy camper.

i hope so

hmmm sounds very similar.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I had similar results to the op. Installed dual magnaflow cats on my vehicle at around 35k miles. It now has 61k miles and is no longer required by law to have cats. So I went to gut them... only to find they gutted themselves lol. I mean, it saved me some work, but im lucky I wasn't dependent on these things to last.

For the record this the factory, internally stock L98 with a bunch of external engine bolt ons. Its not like some crazy horsepower combination with a lumpy idle caused these to fall apart. I should be fair and note that one of the cats has scraped while driving once or twice, evident by scrape marks on it. The other never touched anything with enough force to leave a mark. Both were 100% clear of honeycomb material. Self gutting cats. Good Job Magnaflow.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Interesting- I have one on the way. Just bought an 88 GTA that has a new Flowmaster exhaust system from front to rear, but it has a "test pipe" in place of a cat so I ordered a Magnaflow direct fit stainless 3" unit.
With the sale on Advance Auto's web site, it was $120 shipped... the Flowmaster was $470.
I'll be sending in that warranty card, for sure! If it lasts 5 years, which is the warranty period, I'll think it was a fair deal due to the cheap price. I'm more curious how much of my rumble I'll be losing... it's a ridiculously fun car because it's a bit snarly and obnoxious.
FWIW, though, something stated in an earlier post is incorrect- there is no point where a catalytic converter is no longer required by law. There may be a point where mandatory inspections are no longer required, but any car built with them originally must retain them according to federal and ALL 50 states' laws.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Tony & Bob - killing me! :lmao:

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Just put another one on our 88 and.. it started rattling less than a week later. Going to take it back for warranty and to make sure it's not a heat shield or something.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Ugh... I am going to roll the dice and install it, but only because I'm too cheap to spend more than twice as much on a different one. Maybe I'll switch to headers and need a different y-pipe later down the road and I can just do a universal from another brand at that point.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I'm on my fourth converter, two Catcos and now the second Magnaflow. The ceramic foam beds seem to be glued in place, come loose and rattle like heck. Embarrassing at drive through windows. Also just gutted my third rebuilt smog pump. Is everything aftermarket JUNK these days?

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

In a nutshell: yes. People don't want to pay the price that good stuff costs, and the people who make things want more money for their work. It's a never ending spiral to the bottom. I'm glad I'm out of the parts importing biz. My company only imported military grade or genuine original parts- no third world or Chinese copies. People didn't want that... they wanted cheaper. I'd explain to people that a triple lip spring retained neoprene composite military grade crank seal at $16 is better than the Taiwan made hard rubber single lip seal for their engine, even though it's only $6. They'd still buy the cheap one. The company selling the cheap one made three times the profit on theirs than I did on mine- so crap pays, quality doesn't.

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I did a little more research and called the muffler shop I use about the cats. Any cat.

I was told to run it until it is good and hot "Right after installation" to allow the cone inside to go through the procedure creating a nice tight fit to the inside walls of the case among other things.

I did this with mine two years ago and now I will be going into a "smog" shop next month.
I will let you know how it goes.

I found this and am a little concerned because this is different. :eek:
Here's a link explaining the procedure. = http://www.easterncatalytic.com/educ...ture-problems/

This link talks about why they can fail. = http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-...tic-converter/

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

I installed it and it's lasted 4 days and two 20 minute drives! Woohooooo!
Sending in the warranty card tomorrow and keeping the test pipe in case I need to swap it back.
I'm disappointed with how much sound I lost. It was a nasty snarly fun car and now it's just kinda meh. It doesn't have the power to match the sound, but I don't really get to drive it hard. Got blown away by a new generation stock V6 Camaro, so it's not as if it's fast. :(

Re: BUYER BEWARE- Watch out for Magnaflow cats!
 

Yeah what ever cat i go with next, i will def get the shop to fill out the warranty card lol, as for now ive got a straight pipe on :D. I love that idling smell.