any idea how i could gut the cat that's circled. it is loose from looking at bore scope it is mostly whole. i believe it too be restrictive and don't want to pay for another if i don't have to.

 

If this crossover pipe is still in good shape, AND you still have a good downstream O2 sensor, my vote for the least expensive GOOD solution would be to take it to a good muffler shop and have them cut out the old converter and weld in a new, general purpose cat. Deleting it completely can really confuse the ECU's fuel management control loop. Getting it perfectly gutted would likely require having the crossover pipe completely off the car, and you'd probably also need a pressure washer. At that point, why not just try one of the "YouTube" cleaning methods first (albeit questionable)? If you do try to mechanically "chop up" the honeycomb inside the converter, I would be slightly concerned about not getting all the debris out and then having it foul the last converter. I would be very hesitant to do it. Just FWIW.

 

thanks...its already removed from the car. i'll probably just bite the bullet and pay the $190 for a new one. probably cost at least $100 or more to have a welding shop fix it and then it may not line up properly. also, the last converter is already gutted.

 

Get a flexible drill shaft and drill it to bits.

 

thanks..that's a good idea. ill look at those.

 

I would just cut the whole cat out with a sawzall, get it to an exhaust shop, and have them put a flex pipe in its place. with the cat already cut out they won't give you a hard time.