sometimes we all have to bite the bullet.

 

Yes, that's a test pipe. The year is in my sig. There is an O2 after the cat. The SES light has only come on twice so far for catalyst innefficient or whatever it is, P0420. I have a handheld code scanner. I just cleared it and went on my way. It runs great. I think passing people is where I noticed the most difference. It doesn't labor to get there anymore. I use to have to wait and wait and wait for it to pick up speed. Now, if I'm not careful when passing from 70mph, it'll tag the speed limiter quickly. I haven't noticed any loss of low end torque, either. It actually seems to run better there, also.

 

hi midnightbluS10
do you think i can just knock out the stuff in my cat and make it hollow and it will run the same as if i had put a test pipe on it? or do i need to put a straight test pipe to get the same or simialar results as you? thanks much

 

when i punched the cat on my '92, i had no issues with the way the truck behaved-other than having a little more power, and being able to spool alot higher.
i punched my cat so that upon visable inspection-even the "tap test" ('cause the shell was so thick on it), it would pass as being there. but if anyone checked it with a laser thermometer they would've figured it out pretty qiuck.
if you don't have any etesting to worry about, and only a ticket if you're caught, then you can try it. but why not replace it with a high flow cat? they flow alot better than a stock one, plus they actually do the job (helps out the air we all breath).
don't get me wrong, i'm not some "green eco-freak", but i do think we should all do our part to help.

 

You can try it. The stuff in my cat was hard as hell to break up. I was more worried that I'd only be boring a hole thru the middle of it instead of busting it all up. My intentions when I started were to hollow out the cat, but it seemed more difficult than just removing it.

 

really? i think i spent more time warming up the pipes, so i could remove the back of the exhaust, than i did knocking out the s**t inside. just be sure, if you do leave the cat on your truck while punching it (like i did), to make sure you vacuum out all of the crap in there. the last thing you want is for a piece to get into your muffler, and rattle around in there 'til the end of time.

 

ok, ill try it. but just incase i cant break it up, where can i get a test pipe? do i buy that or make it out of striaght pipe? i can not afford a new cat so the test pipe has to be cheap in cost. is it? or can i use some regular straight pipe? what did you do?

 

Go to your local parts store and look in the exhaust section. I lucked out and found a piece that was exactly the length I needed.

 

you guys are sounding like the material is as strong as steel, it's not, it's pretty fragile (that's why we can hear them rattle sometimes). like i said before, i did mine while it was still on my truck, just be sure to clear everything out before the exhaust gets put back together. i used a shop vac to vacuum out the last little bits.

 

A lot of you probably already know this, but I figured I'd share my experience in hopes it will help someone. I had this rattle problem with my 97. Thought it was a heat shield, but they were all tight. I decided I would remove the cat since it seems to be a bolt on unit. After spending several weekends dremeling the nuts in half, and hammering the halves off, I was finally able to remove the cat, (after dropping the trans crossmember first.) What I found was the entire substrate was loose inside the housing, and had been creating a fine dust that had clogged my O2 sensor. I bought a replacement cat and O2 sensor and some new bolts. Luckily, the entire tailpipe and muffler assy can be removed easily so you can drill out whats left of the studs. Some new bolts and nuts and I was back up and running like nothing ever happened, and no more rattle. Yes it was a pain, and yes I have a lot of dull drill bits, but it sure beats paying someone to do it.