Yesterday my '05 MCS downpipe broke on the weld at the end of the cat. Since the manifold/downpipe/cat/pre-muffler is one unit, the shop did not offer me a lot of options - recommended replacing the whole piece which is pricey (OEM ~$900). They did say they could (re)weld around the cat but that the heat of welding often damaged the cat and would not be guaranteed.

Looking for suggestions - anyone have any positive experience with welding a cracked downpipe near the cat?

Any suggestions on aftermarket headers that might be less expensive than OEM? I notice way motor works has a system that is about a $100 less than the OEM price - but hear there are concerns with CEL appearing with aftermarket cats.

Has not been a good year for the mini - harmonic dampener replaced earlier this year along with crank seals and power steering lines. Trying to limit the damage

I am thinking it might be worth having someone weld - but would like to hear a success story.

Thanks in advance for suggestions, especially for an economical header with cat that coexists with the O2 sensor.

--travis

 

My 05 MCS did the same thing last summer. We have a great mechanic friend who always lets us use his shop. He took about 10 minutes and welded it up like the pro he is. No problems. Motored ON!

 

Yup...a good shop can weld it up...
But if it doesn't, another cat thread had a Amazon sourced header and cat for $400....he had 10,000 miles on it, no issues (and 300,000+ on the car)...so one option...