Swapped Catalytic converter from 05 to 08 did not work...CA

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Brace, Aug 20, 2019.

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  1. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    So you drove both the 05 and the 08 to the shop?
     
    #21 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
  2. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    The 08 was towed because they stealed the cat 50 miles away in pistburg CA.
    the 05 i drove it myself and i was driving it everyday for uber and everything was fine, no check engine light.
    only did i notice a 1 second delay after i press the gas pedal until the car responds and some unusual roaring, but that can be the very steep hills of SF... the mileage was fine, on the 50´s in highway 40s normal operation. this 05 felt like she was very strong.
    but in the 08 i do not have this delay or roaring, everything is normal.

    i have another hint not sure if helps, the 08 that received the cat . burns a LOT of oil.i mean like a LOT. and its only 169k its like 1 quart every 2000 miles

    thanks for the troubleshooting but thats too advanced for me.
    we need to know if they did not plug correctly the o2 conections or the cat is failing.
     
    #22 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    if the car burns a lot of oil, chances are it'll ruin any catalytic converter you put on it.

    Put the cat back on the 05, sell the 08 and call it a day. The 05 seems to be the better car
     
    #23 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I think the 05 is too old for Uber I believe is the issue;).

    But I could be wrong:cool:.

    Otherwise that is a lot of hassle and pars swapping (y).
     
    #24 Raytheeagle, Aug 21, 2019
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  5. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    Thats what i though of doing, but then i had to spend again a lot of time taking the 2 cars to the shop again paying 200 dolars and i had a guy on his way to buy my 05 without the cat....
    so i did not have time to make a decision and did not know what was the problem, so i sold it, now i dont have the 05 anymore...it was sold...

    the other options i have are:
    - 05 with 193k have it since 139k no problems, just had the coolant control valve changed. maybe original hv battery will fail soon?
    - 06 with 182k with a new hv battery totota original with only 70k on it.

    uberwise i am trying to keep the younger models so that then can still do uber some more time. the cut off is 15 years.
    but not sure if the 05s will last until 31 dec 2019 or until the registration date is 15 years( july 2020)
     
    #25 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    back to your 08, you paid $200 to swap cats? that takes 15 minutes.

    If this were my car, I would just weld on an aftermarket cat for $100 and be done with it. You only need to replace the cat upstream from the 02 sensor. As the 2nd cat doesn't get an 02 sensor reading and the car won't know it's bad or not.
     
    #26 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
  7. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    i paid 250 to swap cats, i am in california where they have this law that forbids aftermarket cats so i dont know what to do.

    i also think it was a rip off they have their labor rate 120 per hour and they did my job for like 40 minutes 250...
    and when i went there for the second time withe check engine light on they were all ignoring me, nobody triying to help, nobody barely speaks english, terrible experience. will never go there again. i am finding all shops here in california are scammers.
     
    #27 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  8. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Unfortunately, in California, the only way to avoid any hassle is to spend $2k on a new cat. For a car that old with that many miles in it, it is basically not worth it.

    That's the cost of living in California. I know, because I was there for 9 years. I no longer live there.
     
    #28 Georgina Rudkus, Aug 21, 2019
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I think this shop will not refuse your business if you brought them a aftermarket cat to weld on. Or maybe you can ask another shop to do it. Here in Los Angeles, you can almost get anything done at a muffler shop.

    I have a new part to sell you for $100 if you're interested.
     
    #29 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  10. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    i do not understand
    what part excatly do you have?

    so you are telling me the dreaded catalytic converter problem thats costs $1500 $2000 and its ilegal to buy or install or ship anything else in california, can be resolved with a $100? and would it pass smog?
     
    #30 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I have the catalytic converter that's 49 state legal. It's not legal in California because we have rules against putting non original catalytic converters in cars......which includes swapping in old catalytic converters from an 05 to an 08
     
    #31 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
  12. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    so that means the theoretic world where almost nothing is possible is not real.

    the reality is that i should have bought that part for $100 instead of having the 05 for sale for $2800 with some people interested, then i removed the cat and sold it for $1400

    and now instead of selling the 08 with the p0420 on for like 3000, get another one of those $100 cats and sell it for their normal price 5000
     
    #32 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You sold a running 05 for $1400? OMG.

    yes if you would've asked before doing all this, you can get away cheap by buying a complete unit off ebay for $299.00. The $100 won't work for your 08 cause you probably got both catalytic converters stolen and your 02 sensor stolen. You would need the $299.00 ebay cat

    most smog check stations never check under your car, especially when it's a Prius OBDII easy type of smog check
     
    #33 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    for $1400 you could've gotten close to a new one from the dealer parts counter
     
    #34 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  15. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    the problem is the paradigm change, few days ago a catalitic converter was an almost impossible problem to resolve with less than $2000, so discounting 1400 from the sale price seemed to be a fair deal.
    today the paradigm just changed for $100-$300 easy solutions...

    i guess i am so confused i dont even know what they stealed, if 1 or 2 cats and if also the o2 sensors...
    im so smart tired of these prius.

    some months ago i also had to sell a 2008, 230k all leather, for 1400 after a customer crash it and it had a lower control arm destroyed and could not drive it 50 miles home, nor had towing for it.

    and i guess i prefer to loose some money and sell it rather than investing more money into it to sell later.

    i prefer loosing 1400 and never see it again than investing even 700 to fix it
     
    #35 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    A new one online is $1600.

    Ebay sells 49 state legal ones for $299 and you just bolt it on with an addition of couple donut gaskets. You'll also need to buy a Denso 02 sensor for under $100. I think many people have gone this route when their cats get stolen.

    The $100 cat that you weld on is for failed catalytic converters, you cut off the bad one and weld on a new one.
     
    #36 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Since you already installed the 05 cat, maybe you can gamble on a new Denso 02 sensor and replace that. See if that'll fix your problem for $100
     
    #37 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  18. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    oh thanks i get it. that could save the day possibly
    and will ebay ship to california?
    so if that does not work this could be the solution for this 08. get a ebay one for 300, plus 100 o2 sensor plus instalation 200 total 600.
    but then again...i prefer to sell for 1200 less, than loose all this time and investing more in this money pit.
    so i guess i will drive it like that and just sell it later.
    my dillema was if i should save this car as its my younger prius and get the cat from my other car, but as it burns so much oil maybe its not even worth it
     
    #38 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I know a buyer for this car if you want to sell for $1400.....when the time comes
     
    #39 JC91006, Aug 21, 2019
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  20. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    not that low. this cars is worth 5000 now.i will drive some more months like this and sell it later on fro 3000 maybe.

    so these mechanics that say they can get me a cat for 700 800 are all scammers?
     
    #40 Brace, Aug 21, 2019
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