Hello All,

I am UK based and I am pretty sure my catalytic convertor is on it's last legs, there is an awful rattling sound coming from the car.

Upon raising the car, there is a section of the exhaust that looks like a resonator or muffler of some sort toward the middle of the car, that I believe is the rear cat (I could be wrong) and that is where the noise is coming from. It sounds like whatever is inside it has broken apart and is rattling around inside causing the noise. I have no performance issues, although there is a juddering at idle speed which is getting worse with time.

Having looked for a replacement cat on the net, I can see the section that is rattling seems to be part of the N/S cat.

I just have a few questions that I am hoping the community can help me with:

1) Is this part thats rattling actually the catalytic convertor, I don't see an 02 sensor (Lambda) in it?

2) Can this section be removed and replaced with a straight through pipe?

3) Do I need to replace both the O/S and N/S cats?

4) Where can I get a reasonably priced replacement cat in the UK? I've seen them for about £200 on eBay for the N/S - is that about right?

I apologise for not having taken any pictures of the troubled part of the exhaust, but I know the cat can be a common fault our cars and am hoping someone might know what I'm talking about and be able to help.

As always any help or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Regards

AR