R56 Cooper (not turbo) exhaust catalyst change

[Freddie328]

Hi All,
Does anyone know if its necessary to put the front end bodywork into service position for exhaust catalyst removal/replacement?

[MrC986]

I don't is the answer. Though if you haven't frequented the Minitorque forum already, there's normally someone who has either done a guide on "how to" whose posted on the forum - just be warned they're a straight talking bunch! I know when I saw a "decat" being done last year that it was described by the specialist a being a swine to do and ideally needed a ramp to allow better access to reach up from underneath to the back of the engine.

[Freddie328]

Thanks, I'll have look there.
Weirdly enough, the engine warning light went out today and the cars running much better. It had been illuminated for over a month and a visit to the local independent said the fault code was showing irregular emissions.
I didn't think this light reset itself?

[Elliot2000]

It's often just the lambda sensor reporting incorrectly rather than a duff cat

[steve-5snwi]

i swapped the cat on my cooper s and it was very easy, nothing needed putting into a service position

[Freddie328]

Elliot2000 said:

It's often just the lambda sensor reporting incorrectly rather than a duff cat

I'm beginning to think this is probably the problem.
The engine lights come back on and now its running better than it was before.
When this lights on does the car run in a prefixed mode that doesn't rely so heavily on the O2 sensor?