# 06 Altima S Cat. Converter Install Issue [SOLVED]



## The Chase (Jul 4, 2021)

I have a 2006 Nissan Altima S. The catalytic converter was going bad, so I got a new one from Amazon. When I took the old one off and put the new one on, there was about a 1-inch gap where the bottom of the cat connects to the rest of the exhaust system.

When I tried to put the old one back on, the gap was still there. We can't figure out what happened, because we didn't leave any parts off. Does anyone have any idea what could have gone wrong?


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

You have to have shifted something, probably the engine if maybe you have a bad motor mount. Bad tranny or nose mounts will both let the engine squirm around quite a bit, and a bad front or rear mount along with a bad torque mount will let it rotate. If not that, most of the exhaust hangers are pin-and-donut and can sometimes let the whole exhaust slide back on the pins. Rust usually prevents that, but one way or another, something has to have moved.


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## The Chase (Jul 4, 2021)

VStar650CL said:


> You have to have shifted something, probably the engine if maybe you have a bad motor mount. Bad tranny or nose mounts will both let the engine squirm around quite a bit, and a bad front or rear mount along with a bad torque mount will let it rotate. If not that, most of the exhaust hangers are pin-and-donut and can sometimes let the whole exhaust slide back on the pins. Rust usually prevents that, but one way or another, something has to have moved.


Thank you for the reply, but that hasn't happened in this case. Everything fit together before we took everything apart. The car literally didn't move when we took everything off to when we tried to put it back together. It was maybe 1.5 hours. Nothing shifted. Nothing moved. It just won't go back together flush.

Edit: I think I understand what you're saying. Thank you for the info.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

The Chase said:


> I have a 2006 Nissan Altima S. The catalytic converter was going bad, so I got a new one from Amazon. When I took the old one off and put the new one on, there was about a 1-inch gap where the bottom of the cat connects to the rest of the exhaust system.
> 
> When I tried to put the old one back on, the gap was still there. We can't figure out what happened, because we didn't leave any parts off. Does anyone have any idea what could have gone wrong?
> 
> View attachment 7528


Well first of all the spring is on the wrong side. It doesn't belong between the two flanges. What's missing is the "seal bearing" that goes between the two flanges.


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## The Chase (Jul 4, 2021)

rogoman said:


> Well first of all the spring is on the wrong side. It doesn't belong between the two flanges. What's missing is the "seal bearing" that goes between the two flanges.


We did that to see if it would suck back in. We actually figured it out. We feel kinda dumb, but what happened was the entire exhaust past the cat had shifted about an inch and a half back somehow. Just took some pressure on the muffler at the back of the car to get it back in place. The way it was secured, it didn't look like it could move like that. Makes sense though.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

The Chase said:


> what happened was the entire exhaust past the cat had shifted about an inch and a half back somehow.


Like I said, pin-and-donut hangers. If all the donuts slip backward on the pins, the whole exhaust slips backward with them. Glad you got it fixed!


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