BMWeatr

Hey all, I wanted to know whether anyone out there has seen or heard of any similar problem that I am having with my 99 A4 1.8t.

To put it nice and simple a couple weeks (3 to be exact) ago I had my Borla exhaust bolted on it was smooth sailing until a couple days ago I blew the welds that lead from my Turbo to the Catalytic converter. To go around a possible 1500 much dinero fix (for a new Cat, which no one seems think exists for this car yet) I had the pipe welded back on to the turbo. So 350.00 and a couple hours later I drive away, feeling somewhat relieved. Then tonight I pop the hood after hearing some nasty vibrations coming from the front of the car and under my seat. Low and behold my turbo is GLOWING RED, (well it was a dim glow, but a glow nonetheless) my question to yall out there in AW land, has anyone seen anything like this before, is this normal (outside of the vibration) do I need a new turbo / intercooler both? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

StevenH

Glowing turbo and exhaust manifold is normal after hard driving.

Tbandido

This is not an uncommon problem with people breaking cats at the flange on the turbo side. I believe it is related to the heat and abuse we inflict with our cars. Glowing is quite normal after most driving, and it will REALLY glow after hard driving. However, since you just had a new exhaust installed, make sure all support bolts are in place, and the system is hanging properly. There is a bolt from the transmission to the downpipe, make sure it is there. Without it your exhaust is hanging hard right on the cat to turbo flange. Good luck.

StevenH

I have a used catalytic converter sitting around in my garage with about 15k miles on it and I'm seeing post like this quite frequently about people wanting to buy a cat. I heard a few weeks back it is illegal to sell a used cat, but is it illegal to sell the cat itself or just to install a used cat. In other words, could I sell my cat "for race or display purposes only" or is that illegal too? I only need about $200 for a turbo kit and this could be my answer Thanks.
StevenH

Andy_FL

...and so is the cat breaking at that point. Seems to happen to a lot of folks with Borla exhausts....good luck

Andy

Yippers®

rather than buy a new one OEM who's going to squeal?
FWIW, there is an Oregon car running my OEM exhaust, turbo back, and neither he nor I turned us into the EPA ....

StevenH

atp stage 2 here i come

Mirror|rorriM

If someone opts to pay for a cat before they hit 80k, they should have read their warranty info :-)

StevenH

shhhh!!! I only need a little more cash...

Mirror|rorriM

Only if I get half