97 Chevy Suburban

It is common for a cat to die with that many miles....A cat around here goes for about $120 installed. O2 sensor about $120 plus labor. They arent that hard to change. I think I would get a writtin estimate and disect it. $1200 sounds WAY high. The only way a CAT would be that expensive is if you bought it from the dealer, which is stupid, way to much $.

. 97 Chevy Suburban Group: alt.trucks.chevy Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2003, 9:41am (CDT+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net (crash) I'm the original owner of a 97 Suburban with 102k miles on it. The "Service Engine Light" came on around 100k. I took it in to the local repair shop and he said I need to replace the catalytic converter and sensors ($1200.). He asked if we use gas additives or anything in the gas tank. We told him we sometimes used STP gas treatment. He said this is the first time he has ever heard of or seen a converter go out.

Has anyone heard of this before?

Is it common, or is he blowing smoke?

Before I take it in for another opinion, thought I would bat it around here. Thanks for listening and comments. .

Crash, How is the truck running? Give a detailed explanation of what "you" are feeling as far as how the truck is behaving. Any noticeable spits, sputters, loss of power, gas mileage, etc...etc..etc.....? O2 sensors foul out just like spark plugs, and fouled up convertors are common also. But you should have more symptoms than just a service engine light on, and the symptoms that accompany the simultaneous failure of both the O2 sensors and the cats would be a tell-tell indicator of wheather or not your getting smoke blown up your arse. High mileage, improper fuel combustion, dissapearing engine oil (with no trace of an external leak), over use of poor fuel additives, and long service intervals can and will cause the failure of the both the O2 sensors and convertors. A good indicator is the trucks performance leading up to the service engine light and pulling the spark plugs to check the electrodes for signs of contamination and the type of wear...considering they have been in there long enough to act as an indicator.

So yes......it is common on vehicals with a poor maintenance history. But keep in mind you should have had prior indicators that a problem existed.

any whoooo.............. Do a follow-up with a little performance and maintenance history before you fork over the $1200.oo, which by the way sounds jest a tad bit pricey....not necessarily unfair.....jest a bit more than I would personally pay for the job. (price shop, wisely)

hopefully helpfull, Scribb Abel

in a pinch......a wet booger that is allowed to dry for a period of time.......makes a great adheasive

.. responding to "Crash"'s request for opinions on the possible failure of his 02 sensors and his convertor..... on Tue, Sep 16, 2003, 2:57pm (CDT+5) snipped-for-privacy@.com (Scott=A0M) contributed this......

It is common for a cat to die with that many miles....A cat around here goes for about $120 installed. O2 sensor about $120 plus labor. They arent that hard to change. I think I would get a writtin estimate and disect it. $1200 sounds WAY high. The only way a CAT would be that expensive is if you bought it from the dealer, which is stupid, way to much $. ..

Scott, He hasn't stated how many sensors, and did not use the plural on convertor, which doesn't necessarily soundly indicate that his truck doesn't have the precat / cat configuration with four sensors. He also didn't state the name of the establishment that gave the $1200 price. A dealership, Firestone, or other major player can well justify a $1200 price if using a time and labor guide....and allowing for incidentals and allowable labor additions.

I agree the price is tad more than I would personally be willing to pay, even with the mul- tiple sensors and pre-cat arrangment. But lets not assume that he's dealing with a crook untill WE get all the facts. After all is said and done, shop prices vary quite often based on area and the quality, or brand, of parts being used..... as well as the thoroughness of the facilities work.

So I agree....it may be pricey. BUT... it may be justified.

Lets hope we get more info from the "Crash", I like ripping a crook as much as the next guy... and just ask Willy......maybe even more than the next guy.

Scribb Abel

in a pinch......a wet booger that is allowed to dry for a period of time.......makes a great adheasive

Okay, I'm back. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and input. Trying to answer some of your questions below, here goes: The truck runs great.... I mean gas mileage is about 13 city, 15 / 16 hwy, No spits, sputters, lots of power. Maintenance has been done on time by Chevy dealers. I've had the transmission replaced at 66k, its gone through 3 water pumps since new (the last one just 2 weeks ago), two alternators, and A/C condenser replaced about 30k. I just returned from an inspection station to get a readout as if I was getting it inspected and it failed. It read: Fault Codes P0420 and P0430 Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1 and 2). The mechanic said he cannot tell me for sure what is wrong unless he digs in and checks the sensors. He said he cannot rule out a converter or tell me what sensors are bad until he looks at it. He wants 65.00 for this troubleshooting time. I plan on giving it to him in the morning. I plan on calling the other garage for a copy of the readout that told him the converter was bad and try to compare the two reports.

BTW, I'm in the Houston / Clearlake area for those that wanted to know. If you can recommend a garage that can help me, I'd appreciate your inputs.

Thanks again.

Now that sounds resonable.... The part of the first post that threw me was the mechanic said "this is the first time he has ever heard of or seen a converter go out." That tells me he just fell off the turnip truck. Lack of experiance, training, whatever you want to call it is going to turn into a ripoff. Sounds like the first guy wants to replace every sensor and cat to fix it. This can be diagnosed by looking at the readings of the O2 sensors but it does take time, time worth $60. It will most likely need both cats. Probably not any sensors. A far cry from $1200. Please let us know how it goes and GL.

usually when a cat clogs up you have some sort of drivability problem Its more than likelt just the sensors being in texas which im in Los Fresnos Texas we have a state inspection one all cars everyyear of which we do emissions test .I would save myself the hassle and just change the sensors clear the codes and be on my way .some shops like mine cut the diagnose fee in half if we get the ok to fix it at the dealer we always throw in what else it could be just in case in a couple of months it does go out we are covered.But personally I think your in no harm.With

100,000 miles on a suburban I would be more worried about my front end being worn out than a check engine light with no symptoms

inspection station?not state inspection because we dont pull codes for a state inspection.and another thing if your paying for a complete diagnosis after pulling the codes he should have found out which sensor it was and gave you a proper estimate.its easy to pull codes and guess but as everyone knows your may get throw off codes which is a sent code to the pcm because of a malfunctioning sensor that interrupts another.

A convertor doesnt have to be plugged to be bad. The sensors behind the cats are there to make sure the cats are working (keeping our air clean) :)