2011-2017 Chevy Equinox & GMC Terrain Catalytic Converter Replacement

In this video I walk you through all the steps of replacing the catalytic converter on a 2011 Chevy Equinox. The same procedure can be used for various years and other GM vehicles.

[@wesarter9370]

Excellent visuals. So hard to find in a video.

[@TheGiant117]

Thank you so much for this video. I just finished doing this on my 2013 GMC Terrain. I'm not a mechanic and the only other work I have done is replacing spark plugs, changing oil, brake pads and rotors, air filters, lights, etc. It took me two days and about 12 hours. The only thing not in your video was the air injection check valves. Maybe because I'm in California or cause mine is AWD. They were a pain and were totally in the way. Had to remove them and zip tie the pipes down so they would be out of the way. That bracket holding the cat on was the worst part. I was finally able to get it off by reaching down from above with a combination wrench. I would have gladly paid a shop to do this work, but nobody would do it because of California laws. No way could I have done it without your guide. Thank you bro!

[@BrakeTheBank]

Thanks! Those check valves must me a California thing because this one was AWD. Glad you got it done. Sorry about those CA laws

[@misaelherrera2845]

​@@BrakeTheBankyeah CA laws sucks.

[@allyoman]

Thank you for this video. My dad and I were able to do this ourselves and you saved me 1k+

[@BrakeTheBank]

That's awesome!! Glad to hear it. Nice work on the repair by the way.

[@benjaminleinonen2153]

I have a 2013 GMC Terrain AWD. Took me 8 hours. Got the part from RockAuto. Borrowed the O2 sensor socket from O'Reilly's. Longest part of the job was figuring out how to get the back nut on the bracket off - I ended up cutting the old cat in the middle of the L so I could push it to the side and get the nut out. If anyone else has an AWD, I recommend cutting the pipe as I did. There are other ways, but cutting the pipe is easiest/fastest. Probably could have personally saved an hour or two with a better cutting tool, but you use what you've got! Thanks for the video!

[@BrakeTheBank]

That's a good tip!

[@misaelherrera2845]

What pipe are you talking about, are you talking about the catalytic or the exhaust pipe?

[@benjaminleinonen2153]

@@misaelherrera2845 The exhaust pipe just below the catalytic converter

[@misaelherrera2845]

@@benjaminleinonen2153 oh ok

[@jdksynthetics]

Thank you for this good video. We have a 2011 that is at 190k miles. We are keeping it alive and shooting for 300k.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Nice!

[@subkommander9007]

Very well done young man..with your instructions i should be able to get this job done

[@BrakeTheBank]

Awesome! Glad I could help

[@yuliyc612]

This is a quality video thank you very much for showing the entire process I'm sure your following is sure to grow quick

[@gav3379]

Good job in the removal and install. Mine had rusted bolts that had to be cut off.

[@JaidenStylezTV]

What did you do when you had to cut the bolts

[@gav3379]

The two bolts that secure the Cat to the exhaust pipe were rusted so I cut them off and replaced with new bolts. The single bolt that attached the cat to the engine Bracket also had to be cut and replaced. What a pain!!

[@highlander5170]

Wow! Great video very thorough and methodically explained step by step.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Thanks!

[@tahafattouh4863]

You are amazing and helped me so much. I was going to remove the motor base😂❤

[@BrakeTheBank]

Glad to hear it!

[@marky1991221]

Brother, you are a badass man. I'm definitely subscribing. Great work.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Haha thanks!

[@pete7413]

I have a 2013 LT Equinox and I found a couple of parts, which I think are something to do with emission control, on top of the heat shield which meant I would have had to remove them to get the heat shield off. So to anyone watching this video have a GOOD look before you start pulling bits off, the job may be bigger than you realize!

[@BrakeTheBank]

Oh wow! Might be something different for cars originally sold in CA or something?

[@pete7413]

@@BrakeTheBank Could be for CA compliance, I didn't have the passion for doing the job myself (pulling the cat) so I'm getting a mechanic to do it. It is shop that sold me the vehicle, he feels guilty he sold me a vehicle that needed work, so he's doing it for a greatly reduced cost.

[@misaelherrera2845]

​@@pete7413idk, i live in CA, and my chevy equinox looks exactly like in the video. Probably yours was a v6 engine, because this one looks like a 4 cylinder engine like mine.

[@pete7413]

@@misaelherrera2845 Lol, no, definitely a 4 cylinder though how I wish it WAS a 6 or at least any other engine but the oil using 2.4 configuration. To anyone considering buying a secondhand Equinox do better research than I did and pay the extra to get a 6. You won't regret it. Update to my first post above. I got the cat replaced, and the engine check light came on within a day. I bought a gadget to reset it and it does that fine however it came back on after a day or so. I don't even bother to reset it anymore as being an aftermarket cat the car will always throw a code but the difference in price between an aftermarket catalytic converter and an OEM is enormous. Too much to justify on vehicle I didn't intend to keep, but, here we are a year later and I still have it, and the light is still on :(

[@misaelherrera2845]

@@pete7413 that is very true. Oem parts are very very expensive. Thats what my younger brother was telling me when i used to own a 2015 chevy cruise. The check engine was on 130k miles, he told me to not bother because it has 2 catalytic converter one in the front and the second one in the back and its a pain in the rear end. The part was somewhat affordable in the after market but paying for labor was going to be expensive part for the car. Doing smog check in California was expensive because of the check engine light from the catalytic converter , every 2 years we had to smog it illegal for it to get tags. The illegal smogging would come out 500 dollars or more depending on the California emissions laws that keeps changing every year.

[@Hami19]

Excellent guidance

[@BrakeTheBank]

Thanks

[@globalans]

What problem was you having to make you replace the cat currently mine does have a loss of power under acceleration.

[@BrakeTheBank]

It was due to a check engine light

[@TheSocratesian]

How much would this job cost on average?

[@BrakeTheBank]

Just speculation here but I would guess about $300 labor and another $1200 for an OEM catalytic converter so $1600. When you have a shop do the work they keep the old cat which has a lot of recycling value. I got this cat on rockauto (not sponsored) for $300 and took the old one to scrap and got $300 for it so my total cost was pretty much $0. Obviously the aftermarket Cat isn’t as good as OEM but it will do the trick.

[@toddforslund3571]

Any special place you bought yours at?

[@BrakeTheBank]

Rock Auto

[@michellejohnson3975]

Also what kind of impact drill you using

[@BrakeTheBank]

Dewalt 20v

[@bigboopy8243]

Great vid !!!!!!

[@michellejohnson3975]

Where did you buy the catalytic converter?

[@BrakeTheBank]

I got it from RockAuto

[@michellejohnson3975]

Thank you!

[@tljklaus]

What size are the bolts that connect the cat to the flex pipe? There are 2 of them

[@BrakeTheBank]

I'm sorry I don't remember. I think 13mm?

[@jrda_great3860]

what tools did you use to remove the 3 bolts from exhaust manifold ?

[@BrakeTheBank]

If I remember right they are 13mm so I used a 13mm deep socket, attached to a swivel, attached to a 12" extension

[@nickmartinez2321]

This is the same for the terrain if not mistaken? Part number?

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah it would be the same. I don't remember the part number. I got it from rockauto

[@miguelhernandez5675]

You know If is the same process for equinox 2010 2.4?

[@BrakeTheBank]

Unfortunately I don't know for sure but I don't think so.

[@pierrelouischarles4454]

Thanks

[@BrakeTheBank]

No problem

[@jamon2868]

Hello, do you work on other peoples cars for money?

[@BrakeTheBank]

No I do not

[@legendaryslammermanman8646]

Where do you recommend? On buying parts for equinox 2011

[@BrakeTheBank]

Rock auto

[@msaenz0178]

How much did it cost and where did you buy it?

[@BrakeTheBank]

I got an aftermarket part on Rockauto for about $350 if I remember correctly

[@yasminlovesfood]

Can u list all the items u use

[@BrakeTheBank]

Like all the parts or the tools?

[@yasminlovesfood]

@@BrakeTheBank all the tools plz

[@KingCold121]

Thanks bro my shit got stolen 😂😂

[@BrakeTheBank]

Seriously? It's way up there!

[@KingCold121]

Yup it happened overnight noticed when I turn my car on

[@jasonmiller4046]

thanks for the video but i would replace all sensors

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah it might be a good idea to replace the sensors if you want to avoid having to replace them down the road. In this case I had just replaced the down stream sensor.

[@Awol2020Latimore1]

Hey do you know how I can identify this issue with my own vehicle..? My car smell like exhaust gas fumes especially when the heat is on And sounds similar to a low rumblling motorcycle. And now has began to seem as if it’s losing gas or stalling and sputtering…I order the front cat converter and gaskets it’s a 2016 equinox could this really be the issue I’ve been having as well. I’ve also gotten the p00420 code

[@joeyoungs8426]

@@Awol2020Latimore1Cracked exhaust manifold.

[@mikemuzzell5167]

Cracked manifold! No one noticed?

[@BrakeTheBank]

I did 🙋‍♂️

[@gwzaiser]

they all are, lol

[@kenwillis8487]

That’s why I ordered the cat and the manifold from rock auto at the same time! Doing this repair tonight or tomorrow after church on wife’s terrain!

[@Awol2020Latimore1]

@kenwillis8487 Can I ask you what was the terrain doing to need this repair? I have a ‘16 Equinox that’s driving terribly and I think the front Cat is the problem

[@gwzaiser]

@@Awol2020Latimore1 on mine it was obvious noise from manifold. It ran better afterwards too, I guess b c of pressure

[@ChildOfTheAlmightyGod1974]

Where is your shop located this guy is awesome please say you are in Georgia 😊😊😊😊😊😊 let me hurry up an subscribe to your channel I got me a new friend 😊 😀

[@BrakeTheBank]

Minnesota

[@Robert-ww7gz]

Spend mor time getting stuff out the way than actually fixin it.

[@BrakeTheBank]

It's all part of the process

[@yazminegarcia3655]

Only if had the strength & tools 😩🤦🏼‍♀️

[@BrakeTheBank]

You got this! You could get all the tools you need for this job for under $100 at menards or harbor freight. That's way less than you'd pay in labor costs.

[@snatcher420]

@@BrakeTheBank Yes but it's so much easier with impact tool. I love doing auto work since I picked up my 1/2, 3/4 and 1/4 inch cordless. Tried it without them and It was murder without them or breaker bar. Could not get the the bolts out close to the back cat or the back sensor.

[@KingDizzleLTDinc.]

And they want you to spend 1000 of dollars for this work at shops

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah true

[@matthewm760]

bro video is fire

[@raypalermo1603]

How much is the part?.Do you know how much a dealer would charge to fix this?.

[@BrakeTheBank]

I got an aftermarket part on Rockauto for about $350 if I remember correctly

[@jflo158]

You made this look easy bud. Thank you for the walk thru very very helpful

[@davidt3559]

AWESOME video!!!! I know it won't be as easy as you made it look but, I'm going to give it a try. Unless you are near Erie, PA, then swing bye with your tools. LOL Thank you very much for sharing your skills and taking the time to provide this valuable assistance!!!

[@BrakeTheBank]

You’re welcome. Glad I could help. I’m sure you’ll be able to get it no problem.

[@julioponce1158]

Is that a crack on the exhaust manifold? That could cause a leak and trigger a code . Might’ve been your issue

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah there was a crack

[@ratinspector8406]

Great video.. I would change both oxygen sensors too.

[@BrakeTheBank]

I can change them if they break in the future. They are very accessible so it's not really a "while you're in there" type of job.

[@alexvoss8179]

nice!

[@mjkirk12]

Looks like the exhaust manifold is cracked here - like mine.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah I was cracked

[@dge2027]

Yea I'll pay for this to be done

[@luismarquez487]

Is the catalytic converter for a 2014 equinox fwd 2.4l front or rear

[@BrakeTheBank]

This would be the front cat. It comes right off the manifold.

[@Zaxbox]

Great video! I wish I had the tools and time to do this to my 2011. I'd like to replace my complete exhaust system. But buying all of the parts and tools and finding the time to do it is a problem for me.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah it's a pretty big job. Some of the tools (Like the o2 sensor socket) you can borrow for free from your local parts store. This would be the hardest part of replacing the whole exhaust system so If you can do this you can do it all. I'd encourage you to try.

[@subkommander9007]

Just get a basic tool kit like harbor freight 301 piece or something similar and get other tools as needed..most of the guys will tell you exact tools needed for the job. The satisfaction you feel when you fix your own car is not only great but awesome 😁

[@brendanf8969]

I just did this and the light went off, I thought the P0420 was finally gone, but it just came back 6 days after replacing the cat. I did not do new oxygen sensors, this car burns oil, do you think the sensors may be compromised? Great video and thank you

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah sounds like something is going on. You'd have to view live data to see if the o2 sensors are working properly. Also check fuel trims. If it's running rich it will foul the new cat.

[@brendanf8969]

@@BrakeTheBank pulled the 02 sensor today, thing was TOAST!!!! Replaced a cooked densor (someone must’ve been in there before) with the AC Delco OEM sensor. I didn’t clear codes as I want to see if it will clear itself after some drive cycles. Will keep you updated.

[@misaelherrera2845]

​@@brendanf8969from what i read in the article about the 2011-2014 chevy equinox recall, the excessive burning engine oil caused the catalytic converter to fry up. Thats what i read in the chevy recall when i was researching about the excessive oil consumption.

[@GvillBoy]

I'll probably be doing this soon!

[@BrakeTheBank]

Awesome!

[@chs4201]

manifold is cracked

[@BrakeTheBank]

Yeah it is. That was fixed later

[@jayjeyaram2585]

beautiful video.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Thank you! Please consider subscribing if you haven't already

[@blakeetherington2155]

Hey where did u cut

[@BrakeTheBank]

You don't have to cut it

[@keithgraver5482]

Any idea if it's the same in 2012 terrain

[@cswann8]

I believe so. Yours will likely look a little different up underneath because this car is an AWD, but for the purposes of the cat replacement everything should be exactly the same. I'm about to tackle this on my 2012 Terrain this weekend. It's a FWD 2.4L. I went to Harbor Freight and got a cheap angle grinder just in case some of the existing fasteners need to be cut. I already have all the impact tools I'll need and a Oxygen Sensor socket. I bought a Cataran brand convertor from AM-AutoParts eBay store for just over $300. My car uses oil and I think it's going out the exhaust, hence the need for a replacement cat. Hopefully it'll last me 2-3 years. By that time I'll be into a newer car.

[@keithgraver5482]

@@cswann8 I just replaced the cat on mine last weekend. It wasn't that bad and I'm no pro. The 3 bolts at the top are accessible in the engine bay the center bolt you can get from in between the manifold.

[@keithgraver5482]

@@cswann8 I got quite a bit of the bottom end power back I was actually surprised on the difference I put new plugs in to it was definitely worth it

[@cswann8]

@@keithgraver5482 Very nice. If I get some low end power that'd be OK, but I just want my car free of any ECU fault codes.

[@keithgraver5482]

@@cswann8 the only code I had was p0420 its the down stream o2 sensor I had a blown out seam in the cat. Do your self a favor remember to pull of any stickers or tags on the cat or they will burn off and smoke quite a bit I left them on not thinking about it I had my wife freaking out lol.

[@shawncordeiroTerraceBC]

CHUCK the cat and straight pipe it

[@dongwang-xz7yb]

Hi thank you for the awesome video, I’m trying to remove the converter of my 2011 gmc terrain, last step about removing the 15mm nut of bracket, it doesn’t give me enough space like in this video to reach it, can you give me some suggestions?😅

[@dongwang-xz7yb]

For update, I have changed it successfully, my problem is solved by cutting the pipe. In my case, the pipe has to be cut in order to reach the inside nut of bracket.

[@dongwang-xz7yb]

More reference: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnabgYaprsSlrsU

[@BrakeTheBank]

Try using a swivel and some long extensions

[@knockout7611]

New sensors bro, or at least clean them.

[@BrakeTheBank]

Can be done at any time