Hi everyone,
Sorry for the super lengthy post, I'm mostly trying to get all of my thoughts in one place so far. I got a call a couple weeks ago from the shop my Celica is in currently and they're telling me I need a new catalytic converter to pass emissions. Has anyone here done this recently? The shop doesn't specialize in JDM cars (or emissions for that matter, more info on that below) and they're having a hard time finding parts (the 2 places I've gone to so far I've done most of the research and leg work for them, I have no problem continuing that since I knew what I was getting into when I bought this).
Edit: This was actually fixed by an oxygen sensor, if you have similar emissions test results continue reading because this thread addresses troubleshooting a bad sensor, finding the correct part (or a part that will work), verifying the new sensor works, and retesting at an emissions testing center. The Catalytic converter was a red herring and could be a costly way to not fix the problem.
I mistakenly read in the US owner's manual I bought that there was only the downpipe catalytic converter and have been all like "I don't think a generic will work because it's a downpipe one blah blah blah" "it needs to be specific for this model blah blah" and I started searching this forum and realized at least the US models have 2, is that the same for the JDM models?
The owner's manual I have matches the picture in this thread viewtopic.php?p=214568 with the text "5S-FE engine for California and 3S-GTE"
I found this forum here from 2011 viewtopic.php?f=7&t=41555
The link there is for this part:
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/mag ... 22317292-P
Cross referencing MagnaFlow's website it appears to be the same part:
https://www.magnaflow.com/products/9100 ... -converter
This all being said...
Research on RockAuto & Summit Racing shows some reasonable prices on items that appear to be a direct fit for the Celica (so in theory no welding) for what appears to be 2 different types and seem to match the description/diagram, the RockAuto ones apparently are "not legal for sale or use in California or Colorado" but I'm exempt from the "use" part since the vehicle is exempt through the 25 year rule, I'll drive it to a different state to get the work done if needed (I mean, do they want my registration money or not? ). Obviously if I went the universal route I'm not sure what I would do about the front converter so this seems appealing to me.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/par ... 3Aall-trac
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toy ... erter,5808
I was able to find the part number for the original discontinued downpipe Cat which is 25508-74110 https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota__/Cat ... 74110.html but I have no idea where I can find the other part number, it likely doesn't matter since that's probably discontinued as well
The reason why I'm looking all of this up is because the shop I'm working with mentioned they're not sure if I need something super specific for the car to prevent problems. Does it really matter for these cars? Obviously I'll get some performance gains hollowing it out (I don't know if that's a common practice in Japan but maybe a previous owner did that and that's why I'm having problems?) but if it's about the same for bolt in parts I'm not super concerned, the car is fast and fun as it is and not modern enough for me to think it would be a huge problem. I have heard of non oem converters getting clogged up before, would that be something I would have to research or is that just a problem for the typical "EBay special" cat? I guess I could even get something like this from GT4-Play https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/sports-cat-down-pipe if I cared about performance, I've bought from them before and they seem to have good stuff and good customer service.
On a related note
The shop also was having trouble with the oxygen sensor they bought, I only saw the 1 on there, are there any more? The one that's on there "wasn't communicating with the car", the service writer I've been working with mentioned they determined the JDM sensor likely is different but I can't seem to find any JDM part numbers for it (plus that doesn't sound right to me, obviously the ECU is different so it could be true but most of the part numbers I've encountered so far are the same as the American ones). I did find a discontinued part 89465-29365 but again, I'm not sure if that's the correct one.
https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota__/Oxy ... 29365.html
Pictured is my oxygen sensor and the questionable looking cord coming from it
Should I just cut my losses and take it to a place that specializes in emissions work? When I failed I was provided with a booklet containing info and certified shops from Air Care Colorado so I'm sure I could call any one of them up and see if they have any experience with JDM cars. For all I know (which isn't much) it could be something else and the cat is fine.
If anyone is curious on the results of my emissions test, here's that.
Here's a video of a part of the test, I think the total test was about 10 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU86iZAruV8
The second emissions check I got in September was pretty close:
HC GPM was 2.2149 (needs to be below 1.5)
CO GPM was 74.1607 (needs to be below 15)
CO2 GPM was 427.4416 (no limit specified)
NOx GPM was .9860 (needs to be below 3.5 so that's nice)
This was a different testing location but the main thing that changed was I had the spark plugs changed and I had a 54 engine light (I read up on this ToyotaOwnersClub post https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums ... 6-code-54/ and did the whole coolant top off thing without success, I then noticed the wire was simply corroded and dangling so I was able to tape it in place) which puts the car into a limp mode of sorts. I haven't had the distributor cap changed but that might another thing to do related to this whole emissions thing. The first test was at a facility for the department of revenue, I asked them "what typically would fix cars with results like this?" "Oh any Toyota shop should get you fixed right up, not a big deal." Thanks a lot guys, this is appearing to be...a big deal.
Colorado doesn't have the same strict requirements California does (yet) but it's my understanding they want to limit sale on incorrect/generic catalytic converters to avoid people cheating and putting the wrong ones on. Someone at the Denver DMV told me to save my receipts because they'll "provide me a voucher for anything costing more than $700" (so I guess that means if I pay over $700 they'll cover the rest of my costs) so by golly if they want to phone up Toyota headquarters in Japan and special order me 2 factory catalytic converts and pay for it I'm in. If all else fails I'll do the thing that people heavily frown upon (but it isn't illegal) and get the car registered in a different state.
What do y'all think?
Sorry for the super lengthy post, I'm mostly trying to get all of my thoughts in one place so far. I got a call a couple weeks ago from the shop my Celica is in currently and they're telling me I need a new catalytic converter to pass emissions. Has anyone here done this recently? The shop doesn't specialize in JDM cars (or emissions for that matter, more info on that below) and they're having a hard time finding parts (the 2 places I've gone to so far I've done most of the research and leg work for them, I have no problem continuing that since I knew what I was getting into when I bought this).
Edit: This was actually fixed by an oxygen sensor, if you have similar emissions test results continue reading because this thread addresses troubleshooting a bad sensor, finding the correct part (or a part that will work), verifying the new sensor works, and retesting at an emissions testing center. The Catalytic converter was a red herring and could be a costly way to not fix the problem.
I mistakenly read in the US owner's manual I bought that there was only the downpipe catalytic converter and have been all like "I don't think a generic will work because it's a downpipe one blah blah blah" "it needs to be specific for this model blah blah" and I started searching this forum and realized at least the US models have 2, is that the same for the JDM models?
The owner's manual I have matches the picture in this thread viewtopic.php?p=214568 with the text "5S-FE engine for California and 3S-GTE"
I found this forum here from 2011 viewtopic.php?f=7&t=41555
The link there is for this part:
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/mag ... 22317292-P
Cross referencing MagnaFlow's website it appears to be the same part:
https://www.magnaflow.com/products/9100 ... -converter
This all being said...
Research on RockAuto & Summit Racing shows some reasonable prices on items that appear to be a direct fit for the Celica (so in theory no welding) for what appears to be 2 different types and seem to match the description/diagram, the RockAuto ones apparently are "not legal for sale or use in California or Colorado" but I'm exempt from the "use" part since the vehicle is exempt through the 25 year rule, I'll drive it to a different state to get the work done if needed (I mean, do they want my registration money or not? ). Obviously if I went the universal route I'm not sure what I would do about the front converter so this seems appealing to me.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/par ... 3Aall-trac
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toy ... erter,5808
I was able to find the part number for the original discontinued downpipe Cat which is 25508-74110 https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota__/Cat ... 74110.html but I have no idea where I can find the other part number, it likely doesn't matter since that's probably discontinued as well
The reason why I'm looking all of this up is because the shop I'm working with mentioned they're not sure if I need something super specific for the car to prevent problems. Does it really matter for these cars? Obviously I'll get some performance gains hollowing it out (I don't know if that's a common practice in Japan but maybe a previous owner did that and that's why I'm having problems?) but if it's about the same for bolt in parts I'm not super concerned, the car is fast and fun as it is and not modern enough for me to think it would be a huge problem. I have heard of non oem converters getting clogged up before, would that be something I would have to research or is that just a problem for the typical "EBay special" cat? I guess I could even get something like this from GT4-Play https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/sports-cat-down-pipe if I cared about performance, I've bought from them before and they seem to have good stuff and good customer service.
On a related note
The shop also was having trouble with the oxygen sensor they bought, I only saw the 1 on there, are there any more? The one that's on there "wasn't communicating with the car", the service writer I've been working with mentioned they determined the JDM sensor likely is different but I can't seem to find any JDM part numbers for it (plus that doesn't sound right to me, obviously the ECU is different so it could be true but most of the part numbers I've encountered so far are the same as the American ones). I did find a discontinued part 89465-29365 but again, I'm not sure if that's the correct one.
https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota__/Oxy ... 29365.html
Pictured is my oxygen sensor and the questionable looking cord coming from it
Should I just cut my losses and take it to a place that specializes in emissions work? When I failed I was provided with a booklet containing info and certified shops from Air Care Colorado so I'm sure I could call any one of them up and see if they have any experience with JDM cars. For all I know (which isn't much) it could be something else and the cat is fine.
If anyone is curious on the results of my emissions test, here's that.
Here's a video of a part of the test, I think the total test was about 10 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU86iZAruV8
The second emissions check I got in September was pretty close:
HC GPM was 2.2149 (needs to be below 1.5)
CO GPM was 74.1607 (needs to be below 15)
CO2 GPM was 427.4416 (no limit specified)
NOx GPM was .9860 (needs to be below 3.5 so that's nice)
This was a different testing location but the main thing that changed was I had the spark plugs changed and I had a 54 engine light (I read up on this ToyotaOwnersClub post https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums ... 6-code-54/ and did the whole coolant top off thing without success, I then noticed the wire was simply corroded and dangling so I was able to tape it in place) which puts the car into a limp mode of sorts. I haven't had the distributor cap changed but that might another thing to do related to this whole emissions thing. The first test was at a facility for the department of revenue, I asked them "what typically would fix cars with results like this?" "Oh any Toyota shop should get you fixed right up, not a big deal." Thanks a lot guys, this is appearing to be...a big deal.
Colorado doesn't have the same strict requirements California does (yet) but it's my understanding they want to limit sale on incorrect/generic catalytic converters to avoid people cheating and putting the wrong ones on. Someone at the Denver DMV told me to save my receipts because they'll "provide me a voucher for anything costing more than $700" (so I guess that means if I pay over $700 they'll cover the rest of my costs) so by golly if they want to phone up Toyota headquarters in Japan and special order me 2 factory catalytic converts and pay for it I'm in. If all else fails I'll do the thing that people heavily frown upon (but it isn't illegal) and get the car registered in a different state.
What do y'all think?