Viewing 4200 - Any Advice...

Spartacus

Member
Messages
3,184
Dented front cat ? hmmm they are full of ceramic and if it breaks up can cause all sorts of woes to the engine .
 

ChrisH

Junior Member
Messages
89
I'll post a pic later... may not be the cat... maybe just a collector... It's the lowest part of the manifold branch before it turns and starts running under the car. It's quite a bulbous section of the manifold and they do on both sides sit very low... So I would have thought them taking a bit of stick is quite common.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Yes, it has coilovers. Does it have a Sport button or a PWR button? If the former, then it has Skyhook.

You weren't driving it in <shudder> Auto, were you?

C
 

ChrisH

Junior Member
Messages
89
Mostly drove in manual... did test the auto briefly to finish.

Button definitely read Sport. Then traction control switch to the left. Pretty sure I could perceive a difference in dampening...

I must admit I had assumed skyhook was air spring but is it just shock adjustment?
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
It’ll drive much better in Sport. ;)

If the cats are dented. Either walk away or insist they’re replaced. It’s 2k+ to get them replaced with OEM or Larinis.
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
Ask Suoercar Centre Sheffield to PPI it. Best £200-300 you could ever spend.

Totally.
Regarding the cats it sounds to me like it has the latter US spec exhaust manifolds (totally normal) and if they have been hit, it is not good with the fragile ceramic inside potentially damaged and these cannot be unbolted and replaced being integral to the exhaust manifolds. There is then the worry of the loose ceramic potentially being sucked back into the engine and causing engine damage. Google it!
 

ChrisH

Junior Member
Messages
89
Totally.
Regarding the cats it sounds to me like it has the latter US spec exhaust manifolds (totally normal) and if they have been hit, it is not good with the fragile ceramic inside potentially damaged and these cannot be unbolted and replaced being integral to the exhaust manifolds. There is then the worry of the loose ceramic potentially being sucked back into the engine and causing engine damage. Google it!

Hi All,

Yes I can see now they are the US spec manifolds...

Hopefully below is a pic of the denting. It's on the bottom section which won't be the cat itself, that will be in the cylinder part above... but it is obviously very close to it. Impossible to say how hard it was hit or whether any damage to the cat has been done. I have seen pics of others online which look exactly the same... as I said in my original post... it must happen a lot with these owing to the position. The EUR design looks much more sensible in that regard as it sweeps more. That said, the EUR design prob makes the cats themselves more vulnerable.

20180119_132300.jpg

I have emailed the dealer to see what they say. Handbrake shoes were knackered which is why the parking brake wasn't working... they are fixing that... but whether they will take this on is probably another kettle of fish.

Thoughts with the pic above?

If it was thought essential to swap it out... could a EUR set be swapped in up to a common point? I.e. header to centre section? Or more to the point... is that easy enough without getting into ECU and wiring loom issues (save for extending the lambda wiring which I guess would need to be a little longer). I can imagine that just getting the headers off is quite a labour intensive job mind...

Thanks,

Chris
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
Yes you can swap out for euro spec, buy larini manifolds (£££), or cut the bottom off in-situ, gut them, and weld back up.
I don't think the seller will want to do anything, rather wait for another buyer...
 

jayblue

Member
Messages
452
If you want to remove the existing manifolds and replace them with euro spec it will cost around £1000 labour plus the cost of buying euro spec parts at around £350 per side. So budget £1700 plus you then need to replace the secondary pipe as Euro spec manifolds come with a four bolt flange rather than a two bolt. So basically this route is cost prohibitive for all but the most dedicated.

Much cheaper to just cut them open, gut them, weld back up and fit sports cats further back. Relocate the lambda sensors while your at it, from what I've read the wires are long enough to do it. I have had a quote of £650 to do that on my GS.

As for the car you are looking at I would agree with Dicky, get a PPI done if your in doubt. For me a new clutch stacks in its favour and TBH as many of the cars are around 10 years old now expect some areas in need of cosmetic attention in many of the vehicles that are for sale.

As regards brakes they not all that great - even with brand new discs, yellowstuff pads and new Michelin PSS all round the brakes on my GS still leave something to be desired. They aren't bad but lets just say my daily drive Golf GTi gets me out of trouble better...
 

ChrisH

Junior Member
Messages
89
If you want to remove the existing manifolds and replace them with euro spec it will cost around £1000 labour plus the cost of buying euro spec parts at around £350 per side. So budget £1700 plus you then need to replace the secondary pipe as Euro spec manifolds come with a four bolt flange rather than a two bolt. So basically this route is cost prohibitive for all but the most dedicated.

Much cheaper to just cut them open, gut them, weld back up and fit sports cats further back. Relocate the lambda sensors while your at it, from what I've read the wires are long enough to do it. I have had a quote of £650 to do that on my GS.

As for the car you are looking at I would agree with Dicky, get a PPI done if your in doubt. For me a new clutch stacks in its favour and TBH as many of the cars are around 10 years old now expect some areas in need of cosmetic attention in many of the vehicles that are for sale.

As regards brakes they not all that great - even with brand new discs, yellowstuff pads and new Michelin PSS all round the brakes on my GS still leave something to be desired. They aren't bad but lets just say my daily drive Golf GTi gets me out of trouble better...

Thanks... that's kinda where I'm at... most cars will have some secrets or surprises... at least with this one I know some positives i.e. clutch, bodywork, suspension, rear brake rebuild.

I have pushed the seller today so we'll see what they come back with. I'm not really expecting them to go the whole hog... But if they at least move a fair amount on price to reflect some work it may get me there.

I'll wait and see what they say. PPI wise... I think the only think left is to have it on an SD3 system or similar... because I've had it on a ramp... crawled all over it... even watched the brakes being stripped on identification of an issue... some the computer history is all that really remains to tell. If I can get a sensible position on the exhaust then I will maybe get that checked as a final stage.

Whilst throwing thousands at it isn't the idea... at the right price it gives me an excuse to work up the exhaust system to my spec a little sooner than I might otherwise have got to!

For the brakes... I guess decent pads... braided hoses and a high spec fluid will have a pretty positive impact on peddle feel...

Cheers

Chris
 

Spartacus

Member
Messages
3,184
My 4200 could be for sale if you prise it out of my mitts . I just need to decide wheather im buying a GS or not :nottalking:
£16000 .
67k miles
new clutch ,flywheel and all the bearings
straight through exhaust ( optional )
serviced 2 weeks ago .
mas.jpg
 
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conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Sounds like a good car with a little TLC will bring it up to a great car and the added bonus or a newish clutch.

Brakes, well yes, from your description sound normal to every other 4200 I have had, so no worries there.

Suspension, they were all skyhook (apart from the odd one) so what you see in the coilovers is correct.

Buttons and scuffs inside all sounds very typical.

The only slightly alarm is the leaking oil. Its a pig to get that case off so either you live with it or it will cost to get it done.

I say you have been more than diligent so go for it.