Car had 47K miles at the time. I believe the damage occurred after I bought the car as I put 3,000 kms on it prior to the problem. There are three nuts that hold the flange on the cat to the bolts on the header. These nuts are Titanium.

 

....hope this exercise puts troubles behind you, thanks for sharing....what did Cat alone set you back, I'm sure you tried all areas to get a good price...JimB

 

We`re talking four years ago, but I seem to remember the pre-cat was quite reasonable (circa 720.00 British Pounds). I got it from Scuderia Systems in the UK.

 

....sorry...I got engrossed in you getting job done without r/r motor...very difficult...lost sight of fact this was done in 2013-14...still good information...
Has the VAS5054 worked well...I am investigating before committing to purchase of Code Reading System...many variables, many choices...any suggestions for a novice knowing nothing about computers...JimB

 

This is not the correct thread to talk diagnostic systems. However, suffice it to say that the VAS5054A is NOT for beginners. It was created for Factory-Trained technicians. It is a very deep Rabbit Hole and you can do serious harm to your car if you are not competent. Just for reference, the manual is over 230 pages. It speaks to the old Chinese Proverb: `be careful of what you wish for, you may get it`.

 

....thank you...I will be guided accordingly...JimB