Exhaust shop says $160 for a new cat installed or $45 to straight pipe it.

On initial inspection, I don't see any O2 sensors on or around the cat or downstream. Did a search and found that the upstream sensor is most important.

Will a straight pipe job hinder my performance/mileage? It's surely the most attractive option at $45, but I also want everything to be "right" as far as performance goes. I don't want to throw the computer off.

Only rattles at idle in "drive," but still annoying.

 

Straight pipe is best for performance. But it is illegal, and if your state/city does inspection or emission testing it will fail.

 

Well, that's done. Only took the guy 15 minutes and he charged me $40 instead of $45. Welded on a straight pipe and it sounds fine with the stock muffler.

There's a mild drone (nothing bothersome in the least) on acceleration, but settles down at speed in or out of OD....sounds sweet!

40 bucks well spent.

 

Hmmm....

One day after the cat removal and the CEL popped up.

Getting a 32 code (EGR.) I'm thinking this has to do with the reduction in backpressure for it to show up all of a sudden. Come to think of it, I do notice a very slight drop in low end grunt compared to when the cat was on. It's not much of a drop, but a drop nonetheless.

Guess I should have "lived" with the rattle until I had $160 for a new cat.

Dammit! Always sump'n.

 

On top of that, I went for an alignment this morning thinking that's all it needed. It had a slight pull to the right (very slight.) They couldn't do an alignment, too much play. Needs new upper & lower ball joints and inner & outer tie rod ends. $1062.00 estimate....minus the inspection and alignment.

I can do a little engine work, but I don't know jack about front suspensions or have the tools to do it.

The "free" truck is turning out to be not-so-free after all.

 

Several years ago I had an '88 4x4 and the steering was kind of unstable driving down the street. I thought the alignment got knocked off real badly. I took it to a tire shop and was quoted $500+ and told it was a bad watchamacallit. A few days later I went to a different tire shop and the mechanic looked at it on the hoist and pointed out that where the tie rod end screwed in there's a clamp that was loose. He tightened it and that was the end of that problem no charge.

 

My old 93 4X4 Dak LE with 5.2-Litre V8 doesn't have a cat...I get about 14 mpg in town and 18-19 mpg down the road at highway speed. Try some Seafoam in a tank of Techron to clean your fuel system/engine. Mine has never set an emissions code without the cat. It's louder, but that keeps yuppies in SUVs at a distance.

 

I hear ya. The thing with mine is, it's nowhere near unstable on the road at all, just barely a little pull to the right and only noticeable if you let go of the wheel. If I'm closer to the crown of the road, it won't even do that.

The shop guys called me to the garage bay and showed me the "play" in the wheels with the side-to-side, top-to-bottom movement. They probably moved about 1/8" to 1/4 " at the most. Then he pointed to the upper ball joint on the pass. side while he moved the wheel and said, '...looky there...'

I looked, but didn't see much. These guys have been in business for 56 years and are "the" go-to guys in town supposedly. I'll still get a 2nd opinion somewhere.

 

My CEL went off on it's own and hasn't returned. She's pulling strong & smooth on accel. I can live with that.

 

I say taking the cat off is the only way to go. Also I wouldn't worry too much about the CEL. The ball joints are a tough one to install, but $1,062. sounds like a lot of bucks!