H3 First Cat

[06 H3]

Mother ****er......

My cat split in half, I am running my exhaust basically off the damn headers....Its loud, obnoxious and sounds like my motor will blow up in any second. Im parking it for the weekend. While its a daily driver my mom has the flu so luckily I can have her car. Now next question, oreilly and autozone cant get them for me. Zach so far has the best price but I dont know if I wanna go back to OEM because he said he has seen this before. So I am going to avoid stock if I can, what have you guys added? I am in CA so smog is strict, luckily they ditched the tailpipe test now its just an OBDII test so if I ditch the cat pick up some power and keep the CEL off I am down for that, any advice?

 

[3Hummers]

Do they do a visual check also Chris? I know they do for EGR valves..

 

[06 H3]

Not sure, I know stock ones have a heat shield over it so they cant see it anyways.

 

[08H3]

When you say "headers", do you actually have headers or are you talking about the integrated mainifold/cat? If the latter, I don't think there really are any options. I searched quite a bit looking for some aftermarket system that didn't have the two integrated. Nothing came up that really fit what I was looking for, and there weren't a whole lot of options period. You may be stuck going with an OEM replacement, and as I'm sure you already found out, open up your wallet wide.

 

[Best4x4]

Magnaflow??

 

[06 H3]

 

[06 H3]

1 hairline crack and it split at the cat.....

 

[Gunner_45]

Priceless...............

 

[Renagade132]

I agree gunner, great pissed off pic" :giggle:

 

[scoreh3]

My manifold had a large crack in it and 2 broken bolts too . Chris there is a catless header on the Colorado site , ck out ottperformance.com sku: COL-15-SR. ... I'm still looking I know I have seen them before .

 

[alrock]

I went back to OEM on my 07.

We met with an exhaust guy that could weld the cat back onto the manifold with good success, but the other crack is more problematic and harder to repair. I think my manifold cracks developed from a poor aftermarket exhaust installation that was applying leverage to the manifold and thus developing the crack.

However, at least on the 06, that cat separation is common like Zach said. But it also got you through almost nine years? That's not a bad track record for a part, even for one like yours only driven to church on Sundays.

 

[chaos254]

If you go aftermarket you will need to figure out a way to mount the factory shield. CA will fail you on the visual especially since none of the the headers have a carb #

 

[Best4x4]

Pretty sure the Magnaflow replacements are CA legal if you get the correct model. I've seen them on Ebay for around 500.00 with free shipping.

 

[CaseyS]

Pm me. I have the takeoff from my 06 sitting in storage. $100 plus shipping and it yours. Its fairly new as well. I replaced it a couple of years back.

 

[digglesworth]

ive heard bad things about those ottp ones. theyre the least expensive option for an aftermarket header but, ive heard their customer service is terrible and the product isnt that great. look into the Orion header (mesablackworks.com). It's a little more pricey but supposedly worth it. Maybe you can weld on some posts to bolt the heat shield back on too.

 

[06 H3]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Yea I can't complain I have gotten a ton of time on it. I'm curious if motor mounts have something to do with it. I'm on original motor mounts lol. They don't seem horrible but seeing there is so much room with the headers out right now I will probably change em.

Pm coming your way Casey!

I may look into al's headers. He is on the colorado forum is in Anaheim and the people that use him love it.

Thanks guys, this is why this forum is great

 

[digglesworth]

You posting multiple pics of flipping off old parts is great!!!

 

[MaxPF]

I went back to OEM on my 07.

We met with an exhaust guy that could weld the cat back onto the manifold with good success, but the other crack is more problematic and harder to repair. I think my manifold cracks developed from a poor aftermarket exhaust installation that was applying leverage to the manifold and thus developing the crack.

I was thinking the opposite. Crack looked easy to fix, cat looked harder but still doable. Just need the proper filler rod and technique. (< Insert sexual comment here)

 

[06 H3]

So I have a header coming from CaseyS and my headers from Al's headers will be done friday. Dealer wanted 700-800 bucks. I could get OEM for 500+ but luckily Al's performance headers are 320 raw 500 ceramic coated. I went with the raw finish. Then for 140 shipped I got an OEM header from CaseyS so now I have 2 headers one being a performance header for less then one new one from the dealer. Truck has been sitting and will be back on the road this weekend.

Thanks CaseyS and Al's headers!

Now if I fail smog I can swap em or if I break em I wont have down time. I am also going to change my motor mount while I am at it because they are original and with the header out its WAYYY easier then with it in.

 

[4speedfunk]

So have you considered fabbing some solid motor mounts? I've owned many and currently run them on my big block Impala.. They are not for everyone but I consider Squeaky out on the fringes of a full time performance rig. Jus sayin.

 

[4speedfunk]

....and if the motor mount bushing material is anything like the rest of the factory bushings, then it's sort of a no-brainer.

 

[06 H3]

never thought of it but I would consider it. Is it noticeable in the cab?

 

[4speedfunk]

Oh yeah....you will definitely know when it's time for a coil pak!

 

[chaos254]

320 is pretty good for a header. Look forward to hearing how it fits and if there are any noticeable performance gains. Does it come with 2 o2 bungs or just 1?

 

[06 H3]

one I believe. My original had one also.

CJ, Im willing to try it, if they suck I will take em off. Are they a fab job or a CNC type deal?