So this weekend my MCS started sounding like a lawnmower and it turns out that there's now a crack in the pre-cat pipe. I need to replace the unit (I know its 1 piece with the header) and I'm looking to find it cheap as I've spent some money recently on the Mini and a performance header/cat that costs $800 will only contribute to my wife's case for divorce.

I've found a vendor on ebay selling a stock replacement for $330 shipped but I don't want to be going thru this excercise again in 3-4 months. Does anyone have experience with these aftermarket replacement cat/headers? Are they as durable as the OEM ones from the dealer? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

Just in case you were not aware, the header (cats) is warrantied for 80,000 miles or 70k in California.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I knew that but my car is way over that in terms of milage now so this is something I gotta be picking up on my dime. :(

 

You may also be able to find a take-off OEM header/cat from someone who has gone to an aftermarket header... lots of us around (though I'm keeping my OEM parts, many others don't).

Where are you located? The various shops around the country that do lots of MINI mods often have piles of OEM stuff lying around...

 

Good suggestion! I'm in central NJ and I know the Helix guys are relatively close in PA so I'll give them a ring. What other Mini performance shops are in this area? For that matter, anyone in the area have a take off they'd be willing to sell me?

 

The pre-cat can be removed altogether, a moderate increase in performance as a result, and without much increase in sound level.

 

That's a nice piece there k-huevo, it would've definitely done the trick for me. What I wound up doing is ordering the part from the mufflers express guy on ebay. For being in Canada I got it in 2 days (ordered Wed. night got it Friday) and the quality of the piece was above my expectations. Heck, even my mechanic who specializes in BMWs was fairly impressed for the price. The welds were solid and as for the over-all fit and finish it fit like a glove. The only thing that differs visually is the catalytic itself but it functions the same. Overall I am happy that I was able to save a good chunk of money for having a brand new part installed. Thanks to all for the input/advice!

 

I bought a larger than stock cat from Helix - good guys, not cheap but not $800.
ask for the oxygen sensor bung though.

 

look up a guy named REDFURY here on NAM. he may not answer right away because he donsent frequent the site much but he will be able to help you. i know hes run alot of different cats...

 

When your header broke did you trip andy codes? My header broke at the pre cat too. But my car tripped a code that says it is now running lean. I don't know if this is because of the header crack or something else. I have welded the pre cat back together. so atleast it is quiet until I can figure out what to do.

 

It surprisingly didn't trip any codes when the pipe broke. It was just annoyingly loud. :-)

 

My precat just broke. Good grief is it loud when it finally comes apart. For the first few days it was annoying but not too bad. This afternoon as I turned into my sons shop for him to look at it, it came all the way apart.

Once under the car it had broken right on a weld. Initial feelings are that there was poor penetration at the weld. Nice clean break, should be easy to get repaired.

No wonder MINI/BMW doesn't want to cover these things. By the looks of the construction this will be happening a lot. They would be on the hook for a whole bunch of these.

Pharoh, did the system that you bought cause the ECU to throw any codes? And, did it have a functional cat?

 

LOL! Same thing happened to me. Sad part was after it broke completely off I had to drive to work (~75 miles round trip) for 3 days until I was able to get it put on. Talk about headache! I PM'ed you but I'll post the same info here as it may help others in the future:

My mechanic was also initially thinking of welding it back but it apparently has a sleeve around where it would need to be welded making things tricky.

I'm glad to say that the muffler express header/cat has worked out for me so far. It bolted right up with no fitment issues and no ECU codes. I've already driven about 10k miles since it was put on without any problems.

I was also impressed with how fast they shipped it out to me, I got it in 2 days and it was A LOT cheaper than going the dealer or even mineke (who wanted $800 for the part alone).

I was initially hesitant to go the muffler express route due to lack of information but after my experience I have nothing but good to say about them.

Good Luck!

 

guys, thanks for the kind words! I just had another customer call from the US after reading the post on here. I am usually on the 2nd Gen section as i have an 07. The reason the 2nd cat is different from the OE design is it needs to have EPA approval, but function is the same. We only use converters with alot of precious metals loading so you will not have issues with that darm check engine light coming on! The only reason i advertised the item on Ebay is for exposure, my company has grown so fast in the last 10yrs it was the best was to get our name out there. heck, i don't even have time to modify my Mini or spend time on great forums like this one. Anyone with detailed questions, etc. feel free to email me at mufflerexpress@bellnet.ca , this will go right to my blackberry, cheers!