ok i need help from those knowing more than me. i have a 99 dodge ram 1500 sport 4x4 with a 5.9. my cat collapsed internally. i need a new one, but am broke. from what i understand if the o2 sensor is in front of the cat, i can bolt my exhaust rite up. if ts behind, no go. was wondering if anyone had insight. i live in a state that requires no smog testing so that isnt a concern

Thanks in advance
Josh

 

straight pipe it...

 

you should have 2 o2 sensors. one in the front of the cat and one behind.
your cat should also be 2 pipes in and one pipe out, so a new cat will cost you a lot more (230$) than if you had one in and one out.

since you're broke, just cut the pipe behind it, remove the o2 sensors and knock out all of the catalyst material with a pipe and a sledge hammer. after breaking it all up, start the truck and rev it a little to blow all that crap out.
then go to the parts store and get a 2 1/2" ID sleeve (female on both ends) and 2 clamps and clamp it on to put the pipes back together. unless you have a welder, then just weld it together.
also pick up a spark plug non-fouler to put in the pipe for the rear o2 sensor then screw the o2 into the non-fouler so you won't get a cel saying that the cat is bad.

that is what i would do if i didn't have the money to throw a magnaflow on it when it went bad.

the sleeve, non fouler and 2 clamps shouldn't cost more than 10$.

 

yea you can bang out the honeycomb in the cat

 

well that was the plan. but i heard itll **** up if the o2 sensor is behind the cat. ive heard a ton of horror stories about people with no cats. one being that the rest of the system gets extremely hot and will melt plastic and rubber around it. i dunno. i just dont want anymore problems from this. i rodeo for a living and i need a reliable to vehicle as most of my week is spent on the road.

 

your 99 is obd 2 which has the sensor either in the cat or behind it, removing it will set the check engine light but reall wont affect the way it runs

EDIT: ooops, little late for this one

 

the 02 should be right before the cat that could ake it run rough

 

thanks guys. yea i was quoted almost 600 bucks. 350 f0r a cat and 250 labor. that to me is just ridiculous.

 

knocking out the catalyst material will set a CEL if you don't put a non fouler between the rear o2 and the pipe, or if you don't get an o2 simulator (but those run 100$ and a non fouler is just a couple $$)

my sisters 99 sport has the front o2 sensor inside the cat. just remove them while you're knocking the catalyst material out so you don't bust the tips on them.

 

you can get a nice high flow cat off summit for like 180....and do it yourself, it will only take less than an hour