Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

Hi Everyone,

Sadly, My 214 failed its MOT test today on high emissions.

I have recently heard a rattling noise and wondered what it was?
Apparently it was the insides of the cat broken up.

Been looking on line for prices tonight and the results vary dramatically???

Ideally I would like to buy from a local outlet of a reputable National Motor factor.
But obviously don't wish to be ripped off!
Anyone had experience buying a cat??

Thanks in advance for suggestions

Darren.

Hi 214Gsi,

I had the same issue with my 216 GTi in that the Cat started rattling, which was just a loose heat shield on the bottom of the Cat, which is a common problem. To cure that i just removed the heat shield, as it was hanging on for dear life to the Cat anyway via one tack weld as the rest of the tack welds has rotted away, hence the rattling.

A couple of years later the car then failed its MOT on emissions, so i had a new Cat fitted at a local exhaust and tyre centre. It cost me £85 + VAT which i thought was very reasonable, but that was about 3 years ago now. Since then all has been well and even though the Cat i bought was not a genuine Rover item (which are around £200 i believe), it is still in very good nick and has passed every MOT emissions test since.

Best thing to do is ring around a few local exhaust centres for prices, or if you want a genuine Rover item, Rimmer Bros is your best bet.

Hope this helps.

as above, check the heat shields but if it does need replacing look on ebay, i paid around £50 for a new one and thats been through two m.o.t's so far and all is still well.

Thanks for the replies

I will check for a heat shield, but don't recall seeing one on the 214?

I've had the one on my MG ZS120 come loose in the past.

as this is a month old hopefully you ve sorted it ,but the original type approved cats for the r8 are no longer avalible yes of course aftermarket types are but they vary in quality from poor to very poor,the round shape ones around £35+vat (no heat shield) to original shaped type £50/60+vat but unlike the expensive oe type with ceramic and layers of plates containing exotic platinum silver etc the new ones have a single piece of gause sprayed lightly with above metals accross the pipe (you can see through them)my car hasnt been able to reach emisions for last three tests meaning im on cat number 3 under 12mth warranty,i wont say how my cars got through test s on emisions but the k series always seem to struggle (just check out the posts)and im sure has lead to many a good car get scrapped for daft government policys,

sounds like i got lucky with my cheap cat then and i'll see what the next m.o.t brings