Aftermarket Converter 2000 Accord ULEV in MD

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Bruce_Nolte_N3LSY& - 15 Nov 2005 21:23 GMT

I will eventually need to replace the converter in my 2000 Accord with
the 23A4 engine, which is a ULEV model. The car has 145,000 miles on it,
and the media is coming apart inside and rattling. Searching the online
parts sources, converters for the standard motor are readily available
and reasonably priced, unlike the factory model that comes with a $1500
sticker that will put me in a serious financial hole.

All of the aftermarket converters I saw advertised had some sort of
disclaimer such as not available in California, not for the SULEV, won't
fit California Emissions, etc. I just want it to work, and as long as it
will do the job it is supposed to and pass my MD emissions test next
year, fits my exhaust system, and won't adversely affect the way it
runs, I will be happy.

Will the aftermarket stuff work, or am I screwed?

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Bret Ludwig - 15 Nov 2005 22:37 GMT

> I will eventually need to replace the converter in my 2000 Accord with
> the 23A4 engine, which is a ULEV model. The car has 145,000 miles on it,
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Will the aftermarket stuff work, or am I screwed?

This is what we call an engineering project.

Does the ULEV model have a physically different exhaust system? Can
you simply swap some pipes, or will you need to fabricate tubing?

Once you get the standard cat con in there, will the ULEV system do
bad things with the alien catcon? I don't know. Probably not.

I would get with the rice box modifiers as they know what works with
what in terms of parts and firmware.

The other thing is what does your state allow and disallow and how
well do they search for it? Can you get a waiver if the cat is there
and apparently does nothing? You may be able to gut or punch it and
live happily ever after, with or without sensor mods or firmware
changes.

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N8N - 15 Nov 2005 23:46 GMT

> > I will eventually need to replace the converter in my 2000 Accord with
> > the 23A4 engine, which is a ULEV model. The car has 145,000 miles on it,
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> live happily ever after, with or without sensor mods or firmware
> changes.

MD does a visual check, to see if there is something like a cat in the
exhaust system, and a sniffer test to actually check the emissions.
However, I think on the newer vehicles (of which I have none) they just
plug into the OBD2 connector and see if there's any codes present, if
not they check to make sure all the appropriate flags are set (i.e. you
didn't disconnect the battery around the corner to reset the computer
before you pulled into the inspection station) and if everything looks
good there you get a pass. I seriously doubt that you could get away
with a gutted cat, as I'm pretty sure the OP's car has an O2 sensor
both upstream and downstream, although I wouldn't bet anything
important on that statement.

So I guess the real question the OP is asking is, will an aftermarket
cat fit, and will it keep the computer clear. And those are questions
I can't answer...

nate

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