Running no cat, what is involved?
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 178
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Just found out that it was going to cost $255 for a new one installed, money is tight right now and this is her only way to work without driving my wifes vehicle which she needs to go to doctors appointments, found out she may have breast cancer
, so not spending a lot of money right now on something that could be a cheap fix would be better.
, so not spending a lot of money right now on something that could be a cheap fix would be better. 
Is it causing drivability problems? Is it due for inspection soon? If not I would just leave it and wait until you can afford to get it fixed. As far as removing it, you would have to cut it out and replace it with a piece of pipe. As mentioned it will be louder and smell bad, and it will turn the check engine light on. Even if you had someone edit the PCM and delete the code for a bad cat, if someone were to actually look under the car during inspection they would see no cat and it would still fail. Probably the cheapest and easiest way to do it is to buy a universal replacement cat the same size as the factory one and have an exhaust shop or a competent welder cut out the old one and weld it in for you. Should be cheaper than $255. Also you could ask to have the old one returned to you and sell it to a scrap metal recycler, and get some of the money back. Hope this helps.
Magnaflow cats can be had for about 60.00. I have used one before in a Impala and it has been working OK for a couple of years. Probably not as good as a factory cat but so far....
Try ordering the car somewhere and bring it to a exhaust shop. There are several local guys around here that do direct replacement jobs for 30-40.00 dollars
Try ordering the car somewhere and bring it to a exhaust shop. There are several local guys around here that do direct replacement jobs for 30-40.00 dollars
