Cat question

[sin`]

Yes I know it's illegal to drive without a cat and won't pass emissions, but is it safe for the car? Some people told me that it might hurt the car without a cat. They weren't sure but I just wanted to check as well cuz I don't want anymore problems =P I have a 98 CSVT. The reason is, a piece of the cone or whatever in the cat broke off and stuffs still floatin around in there and a huge peice went up throught the exhaust pipe but couldnt get around a bend. Noticed it after the pipe where one of the claps was rusted and broke right off =| Ya that was fun. But what I want to do is just replace the cat with a straigh pipe if possible, for the time being while theres about a year left b4 emissions.

 

[gotmike01]

Well I don't have emissions testing where I live (wahoo!) so it's not a issue for me. I don't think it's a problem to switch it out. check the forum I thought I saw someone talking about it.

 

[Ryan]

Which cat are you talking about? The Contour has 3 cats, two pre-cats (one in each exhaust manifold) and a main cat (just after the ypipe). There are quite a few people who have either gutted their pre-cats or are running headers which elminate the pre-cats all together, but both require MIL eliminators. I don't think anyone is running completely catless.

 

[LostRacer]

not sure on the contour platform, but there are a few cougars running test pipes in place of the main cat. And a couple people who even gutted their main cats as well.

 

[Jason43]

I'm running completely catless. It wont hurt anything. Like they said, you'll need MIL eliminaters to turn the cel off if you delete the pre-cats. If you kill the main cat, you'll want to run a test pipe instead of gutting it. The general opinion is that gutting the main cat slows exhaust velocity and loses power. I believe tru-bendz still sells the pipes.

 

[Steeltwo]

on a sidenote for the same item.


how does one gut one of these cats? someone mentioned a crowbar a while back....

mine are getting stinky again and i'm not about to go thru the hassle of replacing them again

 

[Jason43]

For the pre-cats, a bucket handle and a drill is about the best way. You'll need to drill a hole in the one to get to the bend. For the main, a pry bar and a hammer would probably do it.

 

[LostRacer]

there is a how to for it on www.contour.org

 

[psvt39]

i wouldnt gut the main cat..... u should remove it and replace it with a piece of straight pipe..... i was told if u gut it u get a swirling effect in the cat if it is empty.... i replaced mine with a piece of pipe and didnt have to do anything with a mil adapter.... my cel hasnt come on once..... im just running no cat with a magnaflow high flow muffler in place of the resonatoer... and the stuck muffler are replaced with 3.5 inch magnaflow tips... sounds great and no problems at all....
go to either of these links to here my exhaust

http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b200/psvt39/?action=view&current=Picture141.flv

http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b200/psvt39/?action=view&current=Picture140.flv

 

[Paul Vincent]

How many miles will the catalytic converter last?

 

[Kremithefrog]

I'll probably be going completely catless right soon.

 

[Steeltwo]

How many miles will the catalytic converter last?

i think around 70k or so.