E34 540i Cats rattling - Need advice pls..

[jamesk]

BAH! I knew this day would come. What I hoped was a loose heatshield has turned out to be the ceramic cats coming loose (read probably starting to fall apart). This is not good news and probably £1500-2000 to replace.

That kind of money is just not economically viable on a car that is probably only worth £4-5k.

Does anyone know of a cheaper or aftermarket solution to this for the 540? The V8 doesn't have nearly the same volume of aftermarket options as the 6 cylinders.

I am in Essex if that helps......

[stone]

If I were you I would enquire about Universal Cats. These comprise of the catcore and casings but no pipework. Then find yourself someone who can either make up the pipework for you or dependant on condition of pipework - cut out the old cats and weld in the new. This should be easily achievable for less than £500. Is there anyone in your area who does powerflow stainless exhausts - anyone like this should be able to make up pipework! HTH

[Marshy]

I suspect I have the same issue. I phoned one of the big BMW breakers, www.fabdirect.com, and they reckoned on about 200 quid each (may have been less) for unbroken but used cats.

Clearly, YMMV on this option, but it might be worth considering.

Having bought two new cats from BMW in the past, it's not an experience I'm keep to repeat.

[jamesk]

Oo thanks for the tip. I will probably leave them until I get my next MOT and see what the emissions are like.

I was hoping for something to release some of the V8 noise but exhaust options seem stupidly limited

[Marshy]

You want an eisenmann back box then. The samples on their website are evil.

[jamesk]

Ooo good tip. I'll check them out. I wonder if they do a cat back system too