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S/V/C Magnaflow or Bosal Cat. 2001 S40

alschnertz

Enough already!
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Location
CT
Have to replace the front catalytic converter on my 235,000 mile S40.
Tasca Genuine Volvo - $852;
FCP offers Magnaflow - $329;
Rockauto has Bosal at $169.

I've been less than impressed with the quality of Bosal's rear converter (that includes the flex pipe.) The last one I only lasted 2 years due to the flex pipe failing.
I'm just wondering if Bosal's front cat., which doesn't have any moving parts, would be the way to go.

I do have to change the aforementioned rear cat.+flex pipe again due to another leak. Unfortunately, Bosal seems the only ones to offer one at a reasonable price.

Any experience with Magnaflow vs. Bosal?
 
I have experience with both of those brands but it is on my 240s. They both worked fine. The quality of them seems ok. In my experience the magnaflow was slightly better built. If you want to find a better price for the magnaflow try summit racing or parts geek.
 
I ordered two different downpipes + cats from magnaflow for my 850, neither fit correctly. They sometimes list compatible fitment but can have issues with it. One of the downpipes had the cat welded in upside down too (heat shield facing the ground, rather than the car :???:
Their materials and welds seemed OK. Some weld splatter in some places, but overall OK.

I put a flowmaster cat in the 240, but that was just the cat alone, no piping. No experience with the Bosal.
 
Thanks. I checked around for better prices on the Magnaflow, but FCPs was pretty competitive.

Regardless, since I have to change both cats. and the flex pipe on this 235,000 mile car, I'm going to roll the dice and try Bosal again.
Hate shopping just by price, but can't justify the extra $$ at this time.
 
Hard to justify lots of cash for a converter when they are made very cheaply nowadays. Even the high performance ones are reasonably priced if you buy a weld in or lap joint clamp version.
 
Ended up purchasing the Bosal front catalytic converter. It did not fit. The weld at the flange where it mates to the turbocharger outlet was tapered, yet the turbo has a perpendicular collar on the outlet flange, if that makes sense.

I returned the Bosal to Rockauto for a full refund and purchased the Magnaflow front converter from FCP. Fittment of the Magnaflow front cat. is good and proper. A Bosal rear flex pipe / cat. seems to fit ok too, but I suspect will only last another 2 years based on previous experience. Probably should have bought a Magnaflow rear flex pipe / cat., but was already stuck with the Bosal that couldn't be returned.

Have to buy some new clamps since I cut out the rusty front muffler. I prefer the Volvo factory clamps instead of generic "U-bolt" style.

Hopefully this will be done by the weekend. Been driving my 854T since this simple exhaust project started 3 weeks ago. Ironically, the 854T has a blown out exhaust system also.
 
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