Catalytic converter removal
 

Hello!

Okay, SO. my catalytic converter has fallin apart inside on my 96 jimmy and makes horrible rattling noises now. I want to remove it, completely (please spare the lecture green peace).

This is my first OBD2 car (yes i have an issue and like early 90's japanese ****) so what i am wondering is if i remove it and put a straight through pipe in it does that throw a CEL? the OBD2 cars i've worked with (mostly 99+ jettas/golfs) will throw a downstream 02 sensor code if the cat is removed. if so can you use a spark plug spacer to trick it like you can on VW's?

you can cut out the cat.
green peace has nothing to do with it as american federal laws dont touch canada...
you can get an o2 simulator to trick it (i think i saw that on here) and you will throw a CEL with out the cat.

as for just replacing it with a pipe: you will not gain much, if anything, BUT it will stop your cat from melting down and eating your muffler on the way out.

just burn your cat out

I was wondering how to remove my cat. without having some annoying light on my dash all the time, so I pretty much gave up on that idea until now. However, I have never heard of using a spark plug spacer before. What exactly do you mean, does it work, and how? BTW, I want to remove my cat. because I have already removed the muffler (straight pipe) and the truck is still extremely quiet with the cats. on! I don't want to piss off the neighbors, but I do want to be able to hear it. I was thinking that with a cat. removal, a flowmaster would not make it as quiet as stock.

02 sensor spacers are these... VW guys use them to trick their ECM's

http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/i...20800_x600.jpg




I don't want to "gain" anything, i just dont want the damn rattle and replacing it with a tube is a cure for that. I'll look into an 02 sensor simulator... my buddy has one on his LS1 3rd gen, i'm sure he'll know a thing or two. Completely gapped my brain.

Are they just plug - n - play? Do you have experience with them really working? Do they re-use the stock O2 sensor? You have my curiosity peaked. If they really work, that would be a small price to pay to remove a cat. without screwing up the codes or engine performance!

Reminder

Discussions about removing a catalytic converter pertains to those driven in Canada. If you drive on public roads in the U.S. it is a Federal offense to tamper with or remove a cat from a vehicle.

you can weld 2 o2 sensor bungs together and then weld them to the one thats already there and that will get the o2 sensor out of the exhaust stream far enough that it won't set the CEL.

While I stated that Canada does not fall under our federal laws, I believe they have their own Emmissions laws (something like 8 years 130k km)

**EDIT**
turns out even that is wrong. You guys just add "Canada or Canadian" to what ever our laws are...

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999
every model of vehicle or engine that is certified by the US EPA, and that is sold concurrently in Canada and the United States, is required to meet the same emission standards in Canada as in the United States. Canadian vehicles will therefore have progressively improved emission performance without specifying interim phase-in percentages in the Regulations. The final phased-in standards apply to all vehicles and engines sold in Canada, in the model year that they apply, to 100% of a class of vehicles or engines in the United States.

http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/ca/
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/auto-au...g/am01205.html

so your up sh*ts creek just like us :p

I've heard of a lot of people having trouble with O2 sims burning out quickly. Plus they're a little pricey. If you have a tuner in your area you can get them tuned out for cheaper than the cost of Simulators and it's a permanent fix.