I recently bought a 98 355. the check engine light came on so here I go to the Ferrari dealer. Both cats were totally blown out, I mean no material. Is this normal or does this happen? The dealer is trying to tell me they cant be replaced under factory emissions warranty(which doesnt expire for 1 1/2 more yrs) because they say this doesnt happen and someone probably hollowed them out. They think this because quote "where did the material go". This leads me to the next question, is the cat material in the muffler? If so, shouldnt they replace both cats and the muffler under warranty or is that stretching it? Q1) Do cats fail and blow out all the material? Q2) If so, does it ever clog the material in the muffler? Q3) Does Ferrari replace the blown cats under warranty. Q4) Does Ferrari replace the muffler under warranty if the warrantied cats clogged it with material. I would appreciate any help on this.
No. Someone hollowed them out, most likely the previous owner. Yes the cats can go bad and bits of the material can get into the muffler, but not the whole thing. You will here a rattle in the muffler, like there are rocks in it, but it will not completely clog the muffler. It will clog the opening to the muffler, and hinder the exhaust flow. If the muffler was bone stock and never touched, they have to under the emissions law. However it is like getting a rock to fart. That I don't know, but I wouldn't bet on it. In a nut shell, your gonna have to pay the piper on this one.
Brian, How long did you drive it before the check engine lights came on? If someone removed the material in the cats I would think the check engine light would come on once the sensors didn't see the right temperature. John
I agree with ernie. The F355 catalysts have a different matrix contruction that is much more robust. Cannot easily be gutted like the 348 and older ones that were quite fragile and would begin to core shift after just a few hundred race miles. Someone must have gone to great effort to gut those. The dealer's explanation sounds quite plausable (FWIW with an internet inspection without photos). Best regards, Rob
The 355 ceramic cats turn to dust. They simply leave their shells through the muffler und the tail pipes - especially under high speed. Try sport metall cats (100 cells). sorry cinque see my thread: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15385 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Brian: Norwoods may have an aftermarket high flow cat for that, cheapest way IMO. In IN the car must have emmisions intact if sold by a registered dealer, individuals are exempt, go figure? The check engine lights are often triggered when people have installed test pipes, see threads about this. Brian.
How did that Cat filler fit into that little car - when it shot out it must have been like having a baby ohhh that is a model... I see Out of all seriousness - when my right cat went out on my 355 Spider (95) - I did drive it for a while before I had it replaced (and both) - I would say that 90% of the material was out of it - I had both right and left (which was still good) - It was heavy and packed with the stuff. The right one - once we got it off the car - we tipped it / shook it - and about 2 small clumps and a hand full of powdering glisten stuff came out - and that baby was empty - meaning hollow. 1995 355's may have been a little different material/standards - so them being almost hollow could be possible.
That to me is the old fragile matrix of the 348. Perhaps other parts of the world changed to the more robust matrix at different times. One cannot punch a screw driver into a 355 or later catylist. Hmmm.
My cat on the left hand side went out. It sounds like marbles. Auto Gallery replaced it under emissions warenty. Bob
This was what I was going to post: it is illegal to tamper with emissions devices. I *thought* this applied to everyone. If you can prove the PO did this, you might get a lawyer to send him a letter to that effect and get him to foot the bill. He may say go scratch, but it may be worth a try. Ken
Thanks for all the info. Your giving me leverage with the Dealer. As mentioned the car is still in factory emissions warranty. What a Cr*ppy design, I am surprised Ferrari didnt catch/fix this problem before the end of production in ,99 of the 355.
If you are required to pay the bill there are less costly alternatives. The Hyper Flow cats are a work of art. A bit pricey at $1145.00 each for the 355 but less cost and a better cat than Ferrari OEM. Look at www.hyper-flow.com There are also reasonably priced cats at http://members.aol.com/SportsCarConvert/Ferrari.html Cost is $348.57 each for the 355. Not as pretty, cases are not polished, look closer to stock. No personal experience with either manufacturer. Several on this site have praised the Hyper Flow product. Have not heard anything regarding the Sports Car Convert catalytic converters. Good luck. John.
Will the hyper-flows boost performance or not? Do you think that since they weigh 1/2 as much that they will really help on the strain to the headers?
Di the hiflow CATS provide enough emissions protection to pass in somewhere like California? I'm worried if I replace my worn out old CATs with hiflow ones, the next emission test will fail.
tonyyoshi, again I have no direct experience with either manufacturer, but both state they are California approved, CARB approved. In my opinion their products would be fine and pass emissions in CA. Others with actual experience can give you more accurate information. I have researched these sources because I am planning to replace my 348 cats with aftermarket. So any input from actual buyers of these products is appreciated. The Ferrarichat archives have a wealth of information regarding aftermarket cats.
I've just ordered a set of 355 cats from Troy at Hyperflow. He's shipping em to me now, should be with me by early next week. I'll report back on how good they are/are not.... Tony
I put the Hyperflow cats on my F355 and they pass Calif smog with flying colors. They also come with a certificate that tells any DMV office that they have been approved by the state. They also sound great and "feel" maybe slight more powerful (I also replaced the manifolds with Tubi). Here's a pic of the Hyperflow - it's got good build quality and looks good with the stainless steel Tubi manifolds. So son't worry about stringent emmissions standards - Hyperflow cuts it... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hey Tony, You got those CATS yet, will be interesting to see if they will pass the MOT. I've got to have my new ones on before April. I was out your way today, good day for a burn!
I bought a 99 with 4000 miles and within a week the check engine light came on and there was a rattle in the left cat. The dealer told me that there was a factory recall on the cats and replaced both of them for free.
CATS should arrive today or tomorrow. Had a fantastic blast yesterday for a HKAA charity drive for the Tsunami victims. There were about 30 Ferraris, 12 Lotus Elises, a Masser MC12 and some other stuff too. Total of 250 vehicles. I ended up with 2 360cs, 1 360 modena and an F50. We ended up redlining it all the way round the island. Fantastic fun. Funnily enough, the F50 ran out of fuel and had to stop at a petrol station... did we wait for him? nah... stupid idiot. Least he could have done was fill up beforehand!
Oh! man! wish I had of seen that, or got invited along. Hope you guys raised some money for our southern neighbors. I was in Sai Kung eating Pizza. That MC12 would've looked good on the road, I saw it before x-mas at IMSS.
CATs just arrived and getting fitted tomorrow. Car has to have a bunch of other stuff done as Italian Motors totally screwed it up last week. Massive vibrations coming thru the clutch and shifter at 3k+ rpm. Also, I told them to bleed the brakes and tune them, what did they do? shag them instead. Got about 2 inches of bloody travel now. Jeesh, if you want something done properly, make Ben stand over the mechanic (who's probably 18) and watch him all day. Those guys are USELESS. I think I could do a better job myself given the right equipment.
Couldn't agree more Tony, can be very frustrating at times. Out of curiosity what did Ben say about installing the Hyper-flows on your car. He told me he didn't think it was a good idea?
