Catalytic converters ... I hate them

[TheClunker]

Emissions standards my left fender! Sunflower threw a P0422 and my mechanic diagnosed the cat was damaged internally (one half of it was white hot, the other was barely warm, meaning something inside is cracked and collapsed). Two of the sensors have to be replaced with the cat, also. The two sensors are covered under my extended warranty, the cat is NOT. Well, it would be covered by the VW 120,000 extended emissions warranty (I checked this with my local VW dealer), but Sunflower, a 2000, apparently already has an aftermarket cat installed.

What's the average lifespan of a cat? The only time I've had to replace one in the past was when some S.O.B. tried to saw one off one of my trucks, got half way through (just enough to damage it beyond repair), and then gave up. It seems strange that, in just 9 years and less than 52,000 miles, Sunflower is about to get cat #3.

Unless this happened when I hit the 4" deep pothole from hell going 60mph about a month ago ... I think it was that pothole that also put a little bend in one of my rims.

Like any good Daddy, I hurt when my baby hurts ...

[gamefoo21]

LOL

Catalytic converters hate vibration and shock.

Cats are basically ceramic honeycomb with rare metals sprinkled through them. You bend a rim on a pothole, chances are you've probably damaged suspension parts, and the cat will shatter.

My GFs car is in the same boat... $800 for the stock replacement. So I'm staring at mk3 and mk4 exhaust manifolds for Golfs, but I have no clue if they'll swap in, and then for even more money is the only aftermarket replacement I've found.