hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Topic: hollowing out cats (quick help please!) (Read 1588 times) previous topic - next topic

hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

May 16, 2005, 06:16:07 PM

First of all no, not that type of cat, I pulled the y-pipe off my car and want to knock the catalyst out of the catalytic convertors (all 3) and was wondering of the easiest way to do this, i've got a tire iron that'll reach all the way in there, should I just start beating on it? if I had my welder here i'd just cut them open but that isnt an option right now. I've got the pipes off and I would like to be able to do something tonight so fast help is appreciated (altough it does sound killer straight off the manifolds heh heh)

Thanks
Scott

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #1 – May 16, 2005, 06:21:25 PM

You just have to pound 'em out with some kind of rod or pipe or whatever, and keep on doing so until you stop finding new to crunch in there. The driver's side one is a pain in the ass because it's built at an angle. We had to take a piece of rebar and put a gradual bend in it and break things up as best we could, then take some kind of small hook and tear up the chunks that remained. The passenger side pre-cat is a bit easier, but still somewhat involved.

Don't worry about beating on the outsides, once you remove the heat shields. They're tougher than they look.. and we pounded the out of the precats themselves and it did nothing to them. (I was concerned about a possible puncture.. but I had nothing to worry about)

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #2 – May 16, 2005, 06:23:37 PM

sweet deal, i've got pointy objects (despite doctors orders) and a few BFH's so i'll have at it :D

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #3 – May 16, 2005, 06:35:34 PM

wow theres wirey meshy stuff in there... samash-itty smash-itty one down two to go!

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #4 – May 16, 2005, 07:38:45 PM

Well that was too easy, hammer, tire wrench, crow bar, done! I found a cut in my pipe where someone previously cut the bolts out which explains why no matter how much silicon I put on the joint I couldnt stop the leak :hick: and the heat shiels werent a problem, they rusted off long ago!

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #5 – May 16, 2005, 08:47:08 PM

you found the panty hose eh? friend of mine didnt get that stuff out and it backed up the ler.

so,, did you find anything up in the precats? the two smaller ones?

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #6 – May 17, 2005, 03:40:03 AM

smashed out the passenger side pre-cat and didnt find the wire thingy, smashed out the drivers side one and found one so I went fishing in the passenger side with a coathanger till I found it(whats its purpose anyway?) Didnt find anything out of the ordinary in there, got a trash can lid of catalyst out of them though and now my car sounds a lil tougher :D

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #7 – May 17, 2005, 07:42:27 AM

i always thought the purpose of the wire was a manufacturing design. the carbon cat comes to the auto maker with a wire mold around it to keep the catalyst together. i guess its also a heat sync.

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #8 – May 17, 2005, 09:16:14 AM

Around here the syard will pay about $12 a piece for cat converters that still have the platinum inside. :D

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #9 – May 17, 2005, 04:05:35 PM

yeh syards give high dollar for them, been a few instaces at the school I used to goto people were stealing the cats off the cars in the parking lot.. lol

Re: hollowing out cats (quick help please!)

Reply #10 – May 17, 2005, 04:12:31 PM

Hell, I should sell off the intact ones I have left, then. :p