Just one of many questions regarding my 2000 Durango. I have had a miss for quite some time and was getting some sort of "silt" material blowing out my exhaust pipe. I had a new throttle posisition sensor put on and it did not change anything. A freind of mine told me that I needed to clean out the catalytic converter and that it would fix the problem. Well, I did just that and now the computer is throwing several different codes. I contacted Chrysler and and they told me that I needed to purchase a new converter for a 4.7L v8 and it would cost me about $600.00 for a mopar replacement. My question to any one out there is, Do I need to put the same converter back on the vehicle that it came with, or can I just find a converter for any v8 dodge truck with the same diameter exhaust pipe?

 

As far as replacing the kitty kat goes, you can get one from Jegs or Summit, most of the time for under $100. Just make sure everythings the right size.
As far as installation goes, you can use exhaust clamps. If you wanna get it welded and you or a friend doesn't have a welder, a exhaust shop can usually do this pretty cheap.

 

While you are at it get a Hi Flow Performance Cat. You will be happy and when and if you do the exhaust system it will already be installed.

 

What did you use for cleaning out the cat?
What color was the silt?

 

The silt is black. I can also tell you that the engine is burning very rich. I took the converter off and used a crow-bar to loosen the webbing inside and removed it. I put the empty converter back on the vehicle. Can I use any size converter or do I have to put one just for a 4.7? Any help to this on going problem will be greatly appreciated!

 

I think you have to go with a converter customed for your vehicle. Because alot of vehicles may have sensors that monitors the pollution level of gases. If you have a converter not tailored for you vehicle, your sensors may throw a code and you may or may not pass inspection.

They make OEM converters as well as performance converters.

So go with Hydra's recommendation and get a performance converter. It will have a higher flow to give you a little more power and I think the cost of a performance converter is not much more than the regular converter. Either of these converters is alot cheaper than getting a OEM converter from the dealer.

 

He has a 2000... meaning he has 3 converters, 1 off each e-manifold, then 1 before the muffler. one thing you could do is to find out what is causing the problem with the cats and fix that 1st. I started an O2 sensor cleaning thread over in the 2nd gen ram forum, have a look. it's easy and effective.