Any chance of repair?

Michele

 

Any decent muffler shop should be able to weld a new one in for you. People will tell you to just remove it, but I wouldn't recommend that.

 

Tom,
is it worth fixing at this mileage? A local shop gave me an estimate of $2500!
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Yikes! At that price, it really isn't worth fixing. Check with a muffler shop, though. They are probably a lot less expensive. Do you have smog inspections where you live?

 

I just got a ypipe done on my parents jimmy, which included an o2 sensor and cat. It was 1200 fabricated and installed. I would find a different shop.

 

Hi Tom,
I Know, that's why I asked. I'm on Long Island, so we don't have smog restrictions here. We have Midas and Mavis muffler shops, so I can check with them. The rest of the car is rusted underneath, engine and tranny are good. So, maybe I'll get a better price. Any idea how many more I can get out of it?

Michele

 

Honestly, there's no way to predict how much longer it will last. You might get five more years, or the transmission could die tomorrow. If it's pretty rusty, it's not worth doing major repairs, IMO. If you can still register it and drive it with a bad cat, and it runs fine (cat not plugged), you might be best off continuing to do that. In California, we don't have that option.

As far as repair cost, if a muffler shop can weld one in for a few hundred bucks, I would consider it. Otherwise, drive it until it dies.

 

a Converter is only 230 or thereabouts for Federal and about 290 for C.A.R.B Compliant, never take it to a shop, something to learn early with any older vehicle.

 

No emissions inspections? What's going bad about the cat? Cut it out and put a straight pipe in sounds like the route for that vehicle.

 

Just a thought:
2000 has a second O2 sensor behind the cat. If no cat present it will not get correct readings and depending on the ECU it will go either into limp mode or at least throw some codes and you have the MIL or SES light on.

Maybe somebody familiar with the 2000 can chime in with more info.