The catalytic converter separated from the exhaust manifold mounting flange on my 99.5 A4 T1.8. I think its the oem part, but I bought it with 80K milesso I'm not sure. I see lots of post about high flow upgrades, so compared to an oem replacement that sounds good. But right now I'd rather finds someone to weld it back on for 50 bucks.
Is getting it welded back on a workable option? Or is there some reason it won't work? It looks like a pretty clean separation. This is the downflow slide of the flange.

[IMG]local://upfiles/9750/43DA51186E5A40E8B28D8CFAD1FE8063.jpg[/IMG]

 

this just happened to me. if you are going to weld it you have to make sure that it is lined up correctly. before u take it off you MUST mark the location otherwise if u are off just a little it will not go on correctly. thats what happened to me. i had it welded for $30 but it was off just alittle to where it threw everything off.

so i went with www.RandomTechnology.com high flow cat. very satisfied. a hell of alot easier to install. no cel. and it passed emissions inspection. also the car feels alot torqueier and powerful.

 

oh by th way. if u do weld it back tell them to put a bead on the inside too. where yours broke is not actually a weld, it is press fit.
due to the different metals(varying rates of exp/contr) over time it separates i.e. bad design. mine went at 122k. my downpipe went just before thecat. also a common problem. u might want to do both at the same time cause the downpipe weld will also break sooner or later.

gluck

 

How much was the high flow?

 

just get a HFC, or if u can, a test pipe

 

yes it will make a big defference with a tp or hfc

 

Thanks, thats what I was looking for. With the effort it take to get it out, I probably do need to think long term. From other threadsI've seen here,it looks like there's some stuff in the way that needs to come out first.

Also, it may be a press fit, but there is a weld bead on the inside. Maybe its been fixed before.

 

hfc was 315 + ship included bolts and gaskets