smoking cat after a hard drive

[Michael999]

Drove home quite aggressively the other day, and when i got home i smelled some kind of burning.
I smelled under the hood, nothing there.
I smelled my tyres and brakes, not there.
Took a look under the car and saw smoke, or steam of some sort.

It was all coming from one end of of cat.
There was a palm sized area of jet black on the end of the car, and stinky smoke was coming off the surface.

Have i mushed something?
Do i need new cats? (if so how much and can you go cheap aftermarket?)
Is this not the cats fault and something else is going off?

[Alexlind123]

You can always remove the cats, depending on your local legislature.

[Fetch]

If it smelled like rotten eggs, it was your cats

[Rus]

It was all coming from one end of of cat.
There was a palm sized area of jet black on the end of the car, and stinky smoke was coming off the surface.

If there was something on the cat than you probably snagged up a plastic bag somewhere. People litter those all over the roads all the time and the exhaust systems are prone to picking them up. This would explain the smell and the smoke. Just my $.02

[shogun]

If it smelled like rotten eggs, it was your cats

not always:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/50699/

[Bill R.]

the US that its legal to remove your cats on a street car. Regardless of your local legislature? Its a federal law not a local state law. 49 states federal emission laws apply to every state, the only exemption is california which has its own even stricter laws.

You can always remove the cats, depending on your local legislature.

[genphreak]

If there was something on the cat than you probably snagged up a plastic bag somewhere. People litter those all over the roads all the time and the exhaust systems are prone to picking them up. This would explain the smell and the smoke. Just my $.02

I've never caught one in the e34 but a freind of mine's Nissan R33 GTS attracted them like a weird road-magnet... it was incredible, you'd be driving down the street and the plastic would blow out from the side as if they'd heard long ago about our our never to be miseed road pilgrimage to Heaven, finally saw us coming and HAD to join us... they'd fly out against the prevailing wind, whip around in front of the car long before we got there and then zwock! under they'd go and fire would rage if one stopped the car.... LOL what a joke it was... as i said though, never ever has it happened yet in the Bimmer...

[Jehu]

I've heard of huffing kittens but never smoking cats.... well,on ward and upward..

[mattyb]

any oil or fluids about? brake master cylinder, power steering, abs, engine, tranny all have a habit of sometimes working their way down there if there any leaks. is it continous? just my 2 bobs worth

[BlueM60]

Ha!