I'm taking my '05 STR to the local exhaust shop and was quoted 3-5hrs of labor to drop exhaust manifolds and weld in the new Magnaflow 99675HM cats, 11385 Mid Muffler w/ internal X-Pipe, and put the new DENSO 234-4798 Down Stream / DENSO 234-9030 Up Stream O2 sensors in.

My concern is that the engine bay looks tight and this shop hasn't worked on Jaguars before. Is it necessary to drop the exhaust for this work? Has anyone done it and have any tips to offer?

Thanks, Dan

 

Magna flow makes a converter, flange and tailpipe all in one pieces. Might save you some money. $258 each at Amazon

 

DEFINITELY not necessary to drop the exhaust manifold. What. How do I know?

I just got my cats replaced this morning @ 10AM lol. Take your car to a more competent shop who won't rip you off and/or knows how to replace a cat without taking off the manifold. That's just crazy.

 

Everything went great today, this got rid of a terrible rattle and restricted performance errors when driving it hard! Sound is just slightly deeper then the stock set up. The shop didn't drop the manifold just the lower part before the cats. The guys their are experts, a Ferrari California was up on the lift when I went back to pick up the STR (pretty rare sight in Des Moines, IA).

 

What brand cats did they install and what was the total cost ?

 

Total cost was $1,184.96 which includes $646.48 in parts I got off eBay (2) MagnaFlow 99675HM cats at $122.50 each, (1) MagnaFlow 11385 Mid Muffler w/ internal X-Pipe at $105.00, (2) DENSO 234-4798 Down Stream O2 Sensors at $53.64 each, (2) DENSO 234-9030 Up Stream O2 sensors at $94.60 each. The shop (Iowa Muffler & Brake) then charges a very reasonable $538.48 for the following:
(1) Customer Supplied Parts Charge $35.00
(4) O2 Sensors Nuts $60.00
(2) 2.25" Exhaust Pipe $20.00
(10) Welds $120.00
(3) Hours of Labor $270.00
(1) Misc Supplies $3.00 and Tax @ 6% = $30.48

 

Great info with full detail, thank you. I have the exact same set of parts standing by, waiting for that emissions CEL. At 80k, it won't be long, and now I have an idea of the shop charges.

 

I took some photos yesterday when I had the car jacked up for other servicing; I've done about 100 miles now and no CEL!

 

I also bought a pair of extenders for the after-cat O2 sensors, because they seemed to solve a CEL problem for one or two forum members who did as you have done.

Don't want to use them unless I have to, as I understand that they interfere with the ECU info cycle and may cause a shift in average fuel trims. So, let us know if you are still CEL-free after another 400 miles.