02 Yukon Xl1500_5.3l_catalytic Convertor Problem

tomo62 · April 21, 2009

Hi, need to get the Yukon "smogged" for registration, and the Smog guy tells me there is a problem with one of the cats, OK, the vehicle has done 140,000 miles.

The problem is that a 'chain exhaust shop' tells me that since Ca tightened the Smog rules in Jan '09, the only cats that will pass the test are GMC Genuine, and they cost $1600 each...!

Surely this is BS? The cat's job is to clean the exhaust, and that any suitable cat would do this job? Unless this new regulation has made the emission regulations tighter than original specification? It's not like the cat has a computer chip that registers itself with the smog computer to say what type it is...?

I notice on E-Bay you can get Magna-Flow cats for about $260, but no one will ship to Ca, so maybe there is some truth in this story, but $1600 to $260...!

Also parts wrecking yards are no longer permitted to sell used cats either...

The other point of confusion is that the O2 sensors could also be the problem - any easy way of discounting these?

So, just want to know is this possibly true, what else can be done to get past the smog tester, dollars are real tight at the moment and this couldn't have come at a worse time.

Zembonez · April 21, 2009

An aftermarket cat should do exactly the same job an OEM. Problem seems to be that CA has outlawed aftermarket cats in an attempt to crush the aftermarket exhaust biz. I think this comes under their new environmental "save the world" platform. A guy on our BMW forum that lives in San Diego had to put his complete factory exhaust back on his M3 because they would not even allow it to be tested with the AM setup. Now he gets to reinstall it every time it needs smog inspection.

It's getting really bad out there on the LEFT coast.