Bosal catalytic converter failure

[AtlasShrugged]

Had a new Bosal CC installed on the Vanagon 15 months ago from one of favorite online vendors..and this past November it passed our annual emissions test just fine.

Went in to do the test for this November tag renewal..and I failed..see the report below. I went back through the tune..changed the oil..checked the o2 sensor..checked for air leaks..everything was fine..did a retest..failed again.

Called BD as the part has a 25,000 mile warranty on it..they gave me a number at Bosal..called Bosal..got a new customer service number..called that number..talked with customer service..they covered the replacement no problem. Called BD..they confirmed with Bosal and sent out the replacement part the same day..no charge..except for shipping.

Got the replacement CC..removed the old one and installed the new one..ran it up the highway and back into the emissions station for a recheck..passed with flying colors..no other changes made..still had the same o2 sensor.

Just wanted to pass this along..BD and Bosal were very professional. Saved a few dollars..cost me some shipping both ways and about an hour or two.

[Franklinstower]

that is interesting that you failed due to the cat. I recently passed with no cat at all. But its a EJ22 engine. Before I went in for the test, I got out my old exhaust system with the cat and was going to bolt it up for the test, but when a bunch of the bolts were frozen, I said what the heck and went in for the test with no cat and my 911 muffler installed. It passed with out issue. Is it the Subaru engine runs that much cleaner or tighter limits in GA? I wonder if my WBXr would have passed with no cat in here in WA?

Before all you Gore freaks start telling me about green house gasses and the enviroment, the cat is back on so save it.
_________________
'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug

[AtlasShrugged]

The EJ22 is a more contemporary design and may have an ERG valve to control NOx emissions..our WBX..well, the design is time travel back to the 1940s. No ERG valve

CO and HC were fine..NOx..high and outside of limits..but not by much (with a functioning ERG valve it would have passed the test). The Cat. Conv. was probably not firing up at all..based on the change with the new one.

It would be interesting if Washington State had lower requirements...here in Georgia outside of Metro Atlanta..no emissions test required.

[zerotofifty]

you might end up with a bad cat again unless you can figure what caused the original to fail in such short time. does the old cat show signs of over heat or melting? is it black and sooty inside or clean?

id swap out the old one for now (maybe even hollow it out) and run that way so you can have some time to figure what might be wrong, maybe your running a tad bit rich? that couild do it. at anyrate I would not want to run to many miles on that new cat until you resolve why the first one failed.

[AtlasShrugged]

you might end up with a bad cat again unless you can figure what caused the original to fail in such short time. does the old cat show signs of over heat or melting? is it black and sooty inside or clean?

Old Cat went back to BD/Bosal...the cat's stone was clean, not plugged, looked new not loose or burnt..HC and CO upstream good. No..I mean none...oil consumption. No coolant loss..

The guy at Bosal said ethanol can cause some Cat longevity problems. I had never seen a "bad" Cat..till mine. Thankfully there is a warranty and Bosal was first class.

[teej]

slightly OT, re: WA state emissions

Our 2.1 WBX passed in 2009, in Seattle, right after we got it, with a hollow cat. converter. (Full eco-disclosure: I've since replaced with new)

It also had a couple/few exhaust leaks, but a recent new muffler.
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[AtlasShrugged]

[teej]

WA NOx: it seems the Evergreen State does not test for this. I dug out the report from 12/09, for our WBX 2.1. They tested HC, CO, and CO+CO2, and O2, with only HC and CO with pass/fail limits, which for this test were:

HC (ppm) Limit Cruise 200, Limit Idle 220
CO (%) Limit Cruise 1.5, Limit Idle 1.2

Interestingly, it seems vehicles over 25years don't require testing, if I am reading the website correctly, so with our '86 we are done.

if really bored, further info may be found here: www.emissiontestwa.com
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[j_dirge]

[AtlasShrugged]