Walker CATALYTIC CONVERTER

Well I own a 1996 Toyota Camry V6 LE edition and it was very loud. Where the convertor connects to the condenser pipe broke off so I decided to go for this assembly. Make sure you pick up the gaskets also when you are replacing this item. I got lucky and my local advance had this in stock... but only one of the gaskets. Luckily another parts store did have the gasket I needed so I didn't have to wait for an overnight shipment. Installed easily enough but if you have a lift it makes it 100 times easier. Fit Perfect.

The quality of this part is low. It's a Walker, which is one of the better brands. I believe the quality of most other brands will be even lower. So I think you options are pretty limited here. You can either buy this lousy part ... or a worse one. This catalytic converter assembly does not come with any gaskets. Make sure you get two exhaust flange seals (between the pipes and the exhaust manifold) and also the rear flange gasket. Advance Auto can get these as well. You may want to replace some of the hardware (nuts/bolts) as well. The bolts for the exhaust manifold can be tricky to find ... I went to the dealer for these. The nuts/bolts for the rear flange can be purchased from the local hardware store. Advance Auto can get the catalytic converter assembly in one day, which is great. However I was really out of time. I had already bought another catalytic converter via mail order (not through Advance Auto) ... and it was defective. Still trying to return that part. So returning this part and waiting for yet another new one was just not an option. I had one weekend left to do the repair, so I was forced to correct the problem myself. The problem with this particular part was with the O2 sensor fittings. I'm talking about the threaded donuts that are welded to the pipes to accept the O2 sensors. They welded the fittings to the pipe but never did any QA. 2 out of 3 holes were obstructed with steel. Maybe you will get lucky and the part will be made correctly or maybe not. Walker certainly does not know if the part is OK when it leaves the factory. As you could probably guess, I had already installed the assembly in the truck. I tried to thread in the O2 sensor, no go. I stuck my finger in the hole, and I could feel lots of jagged metal behind the threaded part. The hole was obviously obstructed. The entire unit had to be removed. Not a fun job to do once, let alone twice. In retrospect, I should have checked all the fittings before installing ... hence the reason for this review. I happened to have a Dremel tool with small abrasive drum that was the perfect size. It took about 45 minutes of careful work. I was able to grind away the excess steel inside the pipe without ruining the threads. Once I had all of the sensor fittings cleaned up and carefully checked, I was able to install the part ... again. The fit was just fine, no alignment issues or anything like that. I don't hear any leaks. I also replaced all 4 oxygen sensors along with the catalytic converter assembly. I have only driven 180 miles since the repair, but the O2 sensors and catalyst passed the OBDII tests. This is not too surprising since every single part is brand new. If you order one of these, bring an old O2 sensor and check all the O2 fittings at the store. Check the rear flange and make sure it is reasonably flat. Basically do a complete visual inspection. You are the QA person for this part so take your time and be careful. If anything does not look right, do not accept the pipe.