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Tue May 26, 2009 4:52 pm

CARB which stande for California Air Resource Board had a new law come into being on 1-09.
Basically it says that no Catalytic Converters can be sent to a California address unless it is one that has a CARB number printed on it and manufactured by a CARB approved company.
Problem is ..........no company is manufacturing one.

I contacted Bus Boys and Arizona Autohause and just about all online vendors and the Web-site says that they CANT mail them to a California address.

Go to CARB.com and read the new law...it sucks for Van/Westy owners here in California and yes you can get around the new law if you have to but the Smog Nazis can flunk you right away, just by looking at it.

The new converters will have a number stamped on them and the number must be readable from a 5 foot distance.

Tue May 26, 2009 6:51 pm

www.arb.ca.gov is the site

Tue May 26, 2009 6:53 pm

Carb.com gets you a weight loss site. A link to the correct site would be nice.

Tue May 26, 2009 6:59 pm

Allow me to hold your hand to wwwarb.ca.gov.
Once we have do-c-doed to the site we shall mosey up to the right hand corner where it says search.
We shall then enter catalytic converters
Their we shall sachet through the various listings......

Tue May 26, 2009 8:20 pm

Okay well they just mailed me one anyway... I hope it won't cause it to fail a smog test.

Tue May 26, 2009 8:29 pm

RCB wrote: CARB which stande for California Air Resource Board had a new law come into being on 1-09.
Basically it says that no Catalytic Converters can be sent to a California address unless it is one that has a CARB number printed on it and manufactured by a CARB approved company.
Problem is ..........no company is manufacturing one.

I contacted Bus Boys and Arizona Autohause and just about all online vendors and the Web-site says that they CANT mail them to a California address.

Go to CARB.com and read the new law...it sucks for Van/Westy owners here in California and yes you can get around the new law if you have to but the Smog Nazis can flunk you right away, just by looking at it.

The new converters will have a number stamped on them and the number must be readable from a 5 foot distance.

Ouaaaafff ouaaaffff.................LOL...... muuuuuaaaaarfffff :twisted:

Welcome to the People's Republic hehehehe hohohohho hahahaha

Now, now, them comrades commissars are saving the planet.

Montana sounds real good for a little while that is.

Tue May 26, 2009 9:34 pm

How the F is the smog guy gonna know if you have brandie new cat or just one that is sort of shiny? What a joke. I don't see what the fuss is. If the Cali smog Nazis want to play games, so can the rest of us. If you really need a cat for your vanagon, there are PLENTY of places in the state you can get one from. What is the problem?

Wed May 27, 2009 7:10 am

r39o wrote: How the F is the smog guy gonna know if you have brandie new cat or just one that is sort of shiny? What a joke. I don't see what the fuss is. If the Cali smog Nazis want to play games, so can the rest of us. If you really need a cat for your vanagon, there are PLENTY of places in the state you can get one from. What is the problem?

The new improved model will have numbers stamped on it and have a CARB approved seal also stamped on it.
Accordingly......"the numbers shall be visible from 5 feet away".

If you currently have a non approved converter installed, all is well.
Only when you need to replace it, will you need the newer and improved model.

So far...every vendor I have called said I have to purchase one at the VW dealer.
I did talk with someone at E-Catalytic Converter and they suggested to clean out the old one rather than buying a new one.

Has anyone tried to clean out a catalytic converter, sounds like a charm if it works.

Wed May 27, 2009 7:27 am

Yellow Van wrote: Okay well they just mailed me one anyway... I hope it won't cause it to fail a smog test.

Have it installed right away and get it dirty and seasoned prior to bringing it by for your smog test.

Wed May 27, 2009 8:12 am

RCB wrote: r39o wrote: How the F is the smog guy gonna know if you have brandie new cat or just one that is sort of shiny? What a joke. I don't see what the fuss is. If the Cali smog Nazis want to play games, so can the rest of us. If you really need a cat for your vanagon, there are PLENTY of places in the state you can get one from. What is the problem?

The new improved model will have numbers stamped on it and have a CARB approved seal also stamped on it.
Accordingly......"the numbers shall be visible from 5 feet away".

If you currently have a non approved converter installed, all is well.
Only when you need to replace it, will you need the newer and improved model.

So far...every vendor I have called said I have to purchase one at the VW dealer.
I did talk with someone at E-Catalytic Converter and they suggested to clean out the old one rather than buying a new one.

Has anyone tried to clean out a catalytic converter, sounds like a charm if it works.

I went to a dealer in Canada, Cats are no longer available from the dealer up here. None to be found in Canada in stock either.

Gregor

Wed May 27, 2009 8:29 am

About the only cleaning your going to do with a cat is knocking all the honeycomb out of it and then clean the mess off the floor.
When it's plugged, you change it.
Hey it could be worse, you could live in the rust belt, they fall off after a few years there.

Wed May 27, 2009 8:36 am

r39o wrote: How the F is the smog guy gonna know if you have brandie new cat or just one that is sort of shiny? What a joke. I don't see what the fuss is. If the Cali smog Nazis want to play games, so can the rest of us. If you really need a cat for your vanagon, there are PLENTY of places in the state you can get one from. What is the problem?
The smog guy likely won't care and will just check to see if you have a catalytic converter in place. These "rules" can take a year or more to hit the pavement.
As an example, my last smog check in November ignored the pressurized fuel tank test because the smog tech did not have the proper test adapter.. or he didn't care to do it.
Either way.. all the hullahbaloo over pressure testing has now died down to be replace with "OH MY GOD I HAVE TO BUY AN OEM CAT NOW!
THE SKI IS FALLING!"

I just did a cursory review and asked a few questions of a consultant on things, air quality. It appears the rule has been in draft for almost a decade and the intent is to weed out aftermarket catalytic converters that are not up to the task for any particualr vehicle. Its to try and shut down on the cheapo cats that don't work.

There should be no surprise here. The OBDI and II systems are pretty advanced and to have an auto running with these diagnostics only to stick a cheap cat on the end of it defeats the purpose of the OBD.

The rule is directed at MANUFACTURERS and DISTRIBUTORS. The intent is to have manufacturers specify which vehicles they are building for. The smog tech needs to only check that the particular cat is approved for the particular auto. Hence the stamp.
If one thinks about it, it makes far more sense to control this at the source point, rather than the check point. And that was what CARB is tryig to do.
And in turn there will be some retailers left with some unusable stock on hand.

Much ado about nothing.

Buy an OEM catalyitc converter if you need one because you failed smog.. or wait until the dust settles. The knee jerk reactions to these rules never ceases to amaze me.

God forbid! Some people are just trying to improve the air quality so we can breathe a little cleaner.

Wed May 27, 2009 8:51 am

RCB wrote:

The new converters will have a number stamped on them and the number must be readable from a 5 foot distance.
Did you call GoWesty?
(I have not.)

I just looked online and they show a catalog picture of thier pretty shiny new cat with big-ass stamped letters on it.
$200
You can even get it ceramic coated for another $50.

(I can't see what the stamped letters say.. but I'm not gonna bug Lucas and co. over some bloggosphere panic 'til I know there is a real issue at hand and I actuall NEED a new cat)

So whats the problem, again?

Wed May 27, 2009 9:54 am

j_dirge wrote: God forbid! Some people are just trying to improve the air quality so we can breathe a little cleaner.

Kool-Aid tastes mighty fine...

It's more about "some people" keeping their phony-baloney jobs now that the smog dragon has been slain.

Wed May 27, 2009 10:24 am

GeorgeL wrote:
It's more about "some people" keeping their phony-baloney jobs now that the smog dragon has been slain.
Yeah..
whatever.

Care to share your expertise on how you make this determination?

Wed May 27, 2009 10:33 am

[quote="j_dirge"] RCB wrote: I just looked online and they show a catalog picture of thier pretty shiny new cat with big-ass stamped letters on it.
$200
You can even get it ceramic coated for another $50.

(I can't see what the stamped letters say.. but I'm not gonna bug Lucas and co. over some bloggosphere panic 'til I know there is a real issue at hand and I actuall NEED a new cat)

So whats the problem, again?

NONE. That's what I wrote above. There are PLENTY of places to get a cat in the state. Last one I got was $108 from Van-Cafe. Now it is $145. BFD.

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_704_488/catalytic_converter.html

(NO BIG part number in that picture either......)

Come to think about it, my 2 year old cat says it is made in Canada. It has a VW part number engraved. Can I read it at 5 feet? I don't know, as it is sort of turned around and in the back and if you lift the van, you might see it. Funny....

Wed May 27, 2009 11:01 am

r39o wrote:
NONE. That's what I wrote above. There are PLENTY of places to get a cat in the state. Last one I got was $108 from Van-Cafe. Now it is $145. BFD.

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_704_488/catalytic_converter.html

(NO BIG part number in that picture either......)

Come to think about it, my 2 year old cat says it is made in Canada. It has a VW part number engraved. Can I read it at 5 feet? I don't know, as it is sort of turned around and in the back and if you lift the van, you might see it. Funny....

Yep.
These rules take years to draft and they take more years in review.
Manufacturers and distributors are informed and feedback is solicited. This rule should not have been any surprise to any one in the food chain from Van Cafe, Busboys, and GW on up to VW themselves.

Wed May 27, 2009 11:09 am

j_dirge wrote: GeorgeL wrote:
It's more about "some people" keeping their phony-baloney jobs now that the smog dragon has been slain.
Yeah..
whatever.

Care to share your expertise on how you make this determination?

Common sense. Ever seen a bureaucracy voluntarily make itself smaller?

Wed May 27, 2009 11:36 am

GeorgeL wrote: j_dirge wrote: GeorgeL wrote:
It's more about "some people" keeping their phony-baloney jobs now that the smog dragon has been slain.
Yeah..
whatever.

Care to share your expertise on how you make this determination?

Common sense. Ever seen a bureaucracy voluntarily make itself smaller?
And a smaller entity creates cleaner air.. how?

or are you suggesting our air is "clean enough"?

Wed May 27, 2009 11:55 am

Just to clarify, I got this email from Van-cafe this morning-

"At the present time we can not ship cats to California do to current CARB laws.

Thank You"

It's not the end of the world, and there are other ways to get them in CA, but it may affect some of us who need new cats sooner than later to pass CA emissions. The 22 year old cat on my 87 is on its last legs. My smog "test station only" test is due this September, so I'll be getting one through the back door shortly. Many other manufacturers have "2009 smog safe blah blah blah..." cats available now (Magnaflow, I think)-so I'll bet similar ones will be available specifically for our vans soon by some enterprising company.

Take it easy-Adam