Just a quick question, and I do know about emission laws.

My Cat is going bad and money is a bit low, would straight piping the cat cause any problems such as computer or electrical, or should i let the bad cat on for now ?

I do not have emission inspection in my area, so that is not a worry right now.

I do plan on buying a Magnaflow replacement, later down the road.

Thanks in advance, for any answers.

*1999 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, 5.9L, auto

 

Hello, welcome to the forums!

It will most likely pop a CEL until you put on a new converter. A bad cat will eventually clog up (usually), putting a bottle-neck on your exhaust and causing driveability issues (like not being able to get to highway speeds, sluggishness, etc.).

Up to you. I'd drive it until either symptoms of a bad cat show up, or the CEL pops on with an O2 sensor code telling you the cat is bad.

 

That is what I was leaning toward. I know the muffler is not going to make it much longer than the cat. Looks like a good time to upgrade to a nice exhaust system.

 

if you dont have to worry about emissions, buy a cheap 3" y-pipe (summit sells them) and drill a hole for a O2 bung where the two down pipes meet. no cat, no emissions, awesome sound, good performance.

 

I would NOT drive any more than you have to with a bad cat.

The cat on my truck was bad when I bought it, it caused the #5 cylinder (I think that was the number, rear drivers side of the block) to heat up so much that the electrode on the spark plug was destroyed completely, I'm not sure what other damage it did but I still have occasional misfire problems with that cylinder, and I assume it was because of the clogged cat.

My 2 cents.

 

I dont get it? The magnaflow high flow cats are only $65 shipped....why go through all that work to not replace it? Honestly wouldnt the straight pipes basically cost just as much to fab up?

 

magnaflow high flow cats are not $65 shipped. where are you looking at? maybe for a simple straight-through cat, but not a direct fit one with O2 sensor hook-up.

 

I wouldn't gut my cat. I did my 98 and lost significant low end torque plus the exhaust sounds terrible. It's almost as easy to weld in a replacement than go thru the hassle of cutting it open and welding it back up. Not to mention inhaling all of those toxic particles. Is yours the 2 in, 1 out version that is part of the y pipe like mine? If so I doubt that is a $65 part.

 

your right doesnt have the o2 sensor hookup....thats an extra $5 piece and requires welding....but I'm assuming if he was going to fab up straight pipes with the o2 sensor he would need to weld anyway...and i thought the y pipe was separate? My Bad
anyway here's the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...4506.m20.l1116

 

double post...sorry