Thing was as red as the devil, probably redder when I opened the hood. Could of been past 5 minutes give or take. It was stalling really bad, I barely made it home. Rode like I was on 2 cylinders :rofl:

I will, but I'm 100% its the cat. Sounded like it was melting, I could hear all of the internal parts breaking apart when It was cooling down. I try to install new cat tomorrow.

While cooling down, there is often a lot of cracking, popping, rattling, ticking, etc. It's a natural occurrence. Being that it was as hot as you mention, it was probably quite loud as it was cooling down.

I'm confused as to how you can hear the cat making noise now. There are no moving parts and not really any noise to be heard in operation. If you removed it and the cells had broken down, you would hear them as you shook the cat but if you had removed it already, you wouldn't have to ask how hard of a DIY it is. You'd already know.

Just because it was glowing red or orange doesn't mean it's dead. They operate at high temperatures anyway and at highway speeds, will attain very high temperatures, especially under load, even to the point of incandescence.

Also, is the catalytic converter visible under the hood? I thought it was further under the vehicle in which case I question what you saw under the hood glowing orange or red.

Like others, I suggest moving forward with caution and a bit of diagnostic common sense. Otherwise, if you just want an answer to your question, I think one has been provided already. Good luck.

Was able to remove the cat, but not from the engine bay. Let me say this isn't a easy job, I'm beat :bawling:,and just as I suspected the cat no esta bueno. Honeycomb came out in pieces and looks melted in various spots. Safe to say it is burned toast. Tomorrow I will continue and see what I have to do to complete the job.

If it got red hot then it’s clogged and yes it’s toast. And ard is right at that point they can break up and make noise. That’s usually caused by a rich condition over and extended period of time though, failing O2 sensors can cause that. While it may have officially died during your VCG misfire, I still don’t think the short term misfire was the primary cause

[QUOTE=absentmathis;1157027]If it got red hot then it’s clogged and yes it’s toast. And ard is right at that point they can break up and make noise. That’s usually caused by a rich condition over and extended period of time though, failing O2 sensors can cause that. While it may have officially died during your VCG misfire, I still don’t think the short term misfire was the primary cause[/

I'm guessing it was a mixture different things, the valve cover, ignition coils fouled up plugs, air leak. I replaced a good amount of parts and she's running great except the cat issue. Ran her through ISTA and the cat is the only issue I'm having. I need to get this done, I have emissions testing before the end of the month. :nervous:

Agree exhaust system can make noise under normal cooling condition, esp after spirited drive. But red hot cat isn’t typical, and when toasted can break and rattle. Re: visibility, can’t say for certain on all models, but they’re in the downpipe on at least some models.

[QUOTE=BMWX5CHI;1157028]

Why don’t just empty the cat and use fouler to insert the post cat o2 sensor?


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[QUOTE=Dr.M.Kassab;1157080]Aside from the main point that I care about the planet that my kids live on, most BMWs I’ve heard with no cats don’t sound great. My first attempt was way back when my old e36 cat got clogged and turned red hot.

[QUOTE=josiahg52;1156936]While cooling down, there is often a lot of cracking, popping, rattling, ticking, etc. It's a natural occurrence. Being that it was as hot as you mention, it was probably quite loud as it was cooling down.

If you take a good look you can see a the front cat pretty good, the rear is a bit more hidden but still somewhat visible.