replace catalatyc converter on 307 2.0lt

Hi,
Have anyone out there ever replaced a catalatyc converter on a 307
2.0lt petrol engin? I was yesterday quoted AU$3690...which is
absoloutely outrageous. I fear it may be a mistake. I emailed the
PUG repairer back and told him I thought that was expensive but got
not response. Lets assume he read it and ignored it. I called around
and was quoted about AU$900 by a big brand exhaust specialist here in
Australia.
Can anyone please tell me more about this type of work? They say
there's genuine and after market catalatyc converters and also one
size fits all which can be welded into place and that will bring the
price down significantly. When a genuine catalatyc converter is
replaced, does that usually mean the exhaust manifold attached to the
engin is replaced also? Is it the whole first section or is it just
the small filter box underneath?
Can someone please point out the differences because this is something
I know little about and I want to make sure I am not going to create
more problems in the near future but I also don't want to be ripped
off. I want to avoid welding as this may rust, crack? Am I right in
assuming this? Or is welding always carried out with this kind of
work.
Any response would help me.
Thanks

 

Hi tricky,

I've had a look at a couple of places in the UK which sell catalytic
converters, and the going price for the 2.0l (138Bhp) is around £133
(AU$280) - this is the part only price, so you need to add an hour and a
half to two hours for labour, but it's still a damn sight less than the
prices you've been given so far. The price I quote comes from:
http://www.buypartsby.co.uk

You shouldn't need to replace the exhaust manifold, I think. There
should be a flange either side of the CC, so it's just the CC itself
that need to be replaced. That said, I'm not an expert, but I'd
definitely get a second opinion if someone has suggested that this is
the case.

Final thing - are you sure that the problem is definitely with the CC?
From a little bit of googling, it seems that there are a number of
things which cause the 'Catalytic converter fault' warning to be
displayed, including coil-pack failure and faulty tappets (!)
Basically it seems that anything which causes the engine to run with the
wrong mixture will prevent the lambda-probe:fuel mixture control loop
from working properly, and the ECU detects this and basically assumes
that this is caused by the CC packing in and displays the fault.

Good luck!

 

The price you were quoted (AuD 900) is a bit steep. As another member
of this ng has suggested, you can get a ball-park estimate for the
part cost online, getprice.com.au have a few.

We used to own a 307 (not diesel though), which exhibited intermittent
"catalytic converter fault"s. The car would pass smog inspection and its
mileage was quite low. It seems that a variety of mechanical conditions
may trigger this fault, and the converter itself is rarely the cause. In
our case it was a less-than-perfect head flange replacement job. You
have not indicated the general condition of your car, its mileage, or
the actual reason for the replacement you are researching. IMHO, if it
passes smog (and drives well), do not mess with it.

hth

 

That might be the problem. My 206 is very low mileage and the back box
has had to be replaced early due to rust. The fitter suggested that low
mileage cars do tend to suffer more from rusty exhausts due to damp.

 

Hi again and thanks for the responses.
Firstly, it is a 2.0lt petrol engin and it has done 155,000kms which
is about 96,000 miles. Its got a fair whack of K's I know but it has
always been meticulously serviced at correct intervals and alway had
the best products used since new. It really is in exceptional
condition, I must admit. It still has a lot of the grunt it had when
I first got it. It has however had some niggling problems in it's
life. Twice, a weld on the exhaust manifold broke off and twice it
was welded back on. Since the last weld (a long long time ago) it
held together. Recently I noticed a bit of exhaust noise and also
rattling. I thought it broke free again, when I had it last serviced,
the PUG repairer said the CC is gone and there is a slight hole. I
haven't had any errors on the screen due to this, although a long time
ago I did have an anti pollution error but that was fixed by replacing
the coil pack Albert Cone talked about in his entry.
RDRNWS, thanks for the get right site. I will give that a shot now.
I didn't know about that site. If you read my initial post, I was
actually quote AU$3690 by the Peugeot Dealer (€1984 or £1722). I
think you'd agree that this is more outrageous than the AU$900 price I
was quoted from an alternative repairer. I'm sure that was a mistake
but I didn't question it. I think I was quote for the entire exhaust
system.
At least I have been enlightened by you few tech heads who have
generously offered your opinions. I really value that as I feel I
have more knowledge now to talk with prospective repairers. Thanks
again. I'll let you all know how I go.
Regards, tricks