catalytic converter cant afford right now (1,300) can I still drive my car?

35

Asked by scrubboat Oct 21, 2013 at 02:18 PM about the 2002 Subaru Outback

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

check engine light came on and took it to be serviced... cant afford the $1300 right now how bad is this to keep driving the car ? It seems ok.

9 Answers

10

yes. its just for emitions. everything will run fine

1 people found this helpful.
200,915

If its real bad can cause un do back pressure or even get so hot it glows red. This could cause more damage or even catch fire in worse case . I would not wait to long.

7 people found this helpful.
200,915

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question4822.htm --- check this out

12 people found this helpful.
6,975

It is more than likely the rear O2 sensor rather than the catalytic converter.

5 people found this helpful.
65

check the warranty on your emisions system. It's longer than the rest of the car.

2 people found this helpful.
10,545

the warranty means nothing if you're not the orrigional owner, also look into other brands of catalytic converters, they'll cost less than at a dealer. I got my foreward cat through Borla, it's a direct fit cat (just bolts in) took 30 mins to do on my Subaru and cost $450 instead of $600, also you could have a universal cat put in for the secondary cat that would do just fine and they're about $200. The reason the front is so much is your're replacing more than just the cat, you're replacing the exhaust manifold to because it's all one piece.

7 people found this helpful.
60

Can you just bypass or replace the catalytic converter with a pipe?

6 people found this helpful.

You cannot legally bypass a catalytic converter.

3 people found this helpful.

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