Can We Do Without Them ??

Topic: Can We Do Without Them ?? (Read 3389 times) previous topic - next topic

Can We Do Without Them ??

December 03, 2010, 06:57:28 PM

I've got a question about my oldest son's '96 Cougar. (V8)

He tells me his Cougar has 3, yes THREE, Catalytic Converters on it. This sounded very strange to me... but didn't take me by complete surprise... There is one off of each side of the engine and these two, apparently, feed into a single one. He has been told that two of these have stopped-up (one on the passenger side and the final one) and need replaced. He found out that these three will cost about $700 to buy.

... in the meantime... can I still use the old 'Shade-Tree' trick of drilling holes into these things, to allow the Pressure to bleed off, until he can get them replaced ?

Or, since he lives in a county that does NOT Require exhaust tests to get his Tags renewed, can we just 'Straight-Pipe' them and have them removed altogether ??

Any and all suggestions, as usual, will be GREATLY Appreciated !!

Thanks!

Randy

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #1 – December 03, 2010, 07:28:09 PM

This is the Fox chassis version of what he is talking about. You can see the "pre-cat" on the driver's side of the front-Y leading into the main cat. The picture of the factory H-Pipe from a Mustang shows the FOUR factory cats. I'm sure there is an aftermarket high-flow dual cat deal that would fit the MN-12 platform, or something (straight pipe, shhhh) could be made.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #2 – December 03, 2010, 07:29:19 PM

Unless you plan on moving soon to a place that does require exhaust inespections, I'd take 'em right off. It'll sound and perform better.

On a side note, my fox '88 tbird v6 has 3 cats on it. A friend of mine who has a continental claims he has 5, but I'm not too sure how true that is...

Hoping that ...

Reply #3 – December 03, 2010, 07:38:42 PM

Thanks !

I'll pass on the 'removing' info ! !!

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #4 – December 03, 2010, 07:47:42 PM

Chop 'em off. I don't have any on my 5.0. Take them to the recycler, I think they are worth decent s value.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #5 – December 03, 2010, 09:30:14 PM

When I had cats on my car,I pulled the exhaust,got a long tire iron with the bladed tip,cut off the curved part,and used it like a long chisel and broke out all of the catylist and hollowed them out. Took about 30 minutes,and no more issues.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #6 – December 03, 2010, 10:26:00 PM

Id be careful what you do. Back in 99 I owned my first 87 Cougar and hollowed out the cats, cause NY didnt emission test. I moved to VA where they did. Now they put on a new system with straight pipes from the exhaust manifolds to a bigger cat and it worked awesome, even felt more powerful. Fast forward to now and Im living in Atlanta GA where they test till 1985 and you have to have cats. Youre also not allowed to alter the system, OEM only! Id check your local laws and shop around. Ive had 2 or 3 MN12s ranging from 3-4 cats (pre-cats), its kinda a Ford staple. One of my Town Cars had 4 plus resonators. If you can get away with it try a s yard. Most places wont let you buy exhaust though (cats)

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #7 – December 04, 2010, 12:31:39 PM

yeah my 96 has 2 cats up front (1 after each manifold) then the resonator, then another cat after that.

If you go to supercoupeperformance.com you can order high flow cats to replace them, they will add performance, but will also keep your exhaust a little quieter and less aweful smelling than with no cats at all. and the ones on there are decently priced too. Like 80 bucks a piece, which is WAY less than 800 bucks. thats a rip off man.

You can also order a complete catback kit from them too.

Or, you can just cut em off like everyone said, but then of course your exhaust will be LOUD and SMELLY.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #8 – December 04, 2010, 02:42:42 PM

I seriously doubt that anything is being done by them, except hurting emissions at this point. I do not believe that a catalytic converter does anything. I hollowed out my cats on my old 86, and got better. The next year I put all three new ones on, and ended up getting worse then before I put them on. The smog pump worked on it, and so did all the emissions.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #9 – December 04, 2010, 07:09:24 PM

did you put on stock sized cats? or bigger ones

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #10 – December 04, 2010, 07:40:37 PM

I threw on what master ler said would replace it.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #11 – December 04, 2010, 07:43:30 PM

the car also had 297k on it.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #12 – December 04, 2010, 08:14:18 PM

Quote from: Haystack;344418

I threw on what master ler said would replace it.

lol ...done that I have:shakehead:

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #13 – December 04, 2010, 08:23:51 PM

It was a last ditch effort to try to make the car pass. I was about double the max before I hollowed the cats, barely passed after. the next year I was about 1/2 over and the car would barely run. I probably 2 grand trying to make it pass. Most money I ever put into the car.

Can We Do Without Them ??

Reply #14 – December 04, 2010, 11:02:40 PM

ok,,,
I think there is a terminology problem either with me or you all.

The resonators I thought were the small items directly downstream of the headers.
The catalytic is the larger item further down stream.

Now having said this,, no one that i can recall has ever confirm the the question I have asked (Over a dozen times i know) ...
"Does the resonator have a honeycomb restriction on the inside just like the catalytic?

If not,, then the gutting of the cats is as easy as vinnie says.

Im just not sure what the big deal is here because I have never seen anything up inside the "precats" or "resonators" or whatever you all call them. if theres nothing in there then it stands to reason why they are called simply a resonator.

To the poster.. gut the cat (s) , the larger one only and that should get him running fine.