evanjp

hey guys i have the opportunity to buy a used catted magnaflow x pipe for 60 bucks. here's the catch: he replaced one of the cats with another high flow cat. he said a flange stud was almost cut off, so they torched it out? and the other cat sounds like a heat shield is loose, and he said i might have to replace that cat.

what should i do?

should i have him cut the two cats off, and replace them with the pypes cats off american muscle and clamp them on? weld them on? or would i be better off replacing the cat he thinks need replacing with the same cat he relaced the other one with? or does it even need to be replaced? and about the flange stud... what is that and is that bad he torched it off?

anyways 60 bucks is really really hard to beat. i hope someone can inform me on what i should do thanks!

02stang2113

why dont u just get the cats off and run an off road x?

evanjp

the emission laws are strict in MD. i'm pretty sure i would fail without cats... which sucks 'cause i would love an offroad x haha!

ChalknCover

You will fail a sniff in MD, but since it is a 02, it just gets a obdII test. If you tune it out, you should be fine. In a year and a half I get to give it a try. I installed mine right after my emissions test.

Z28KLR

Swap back to your factory h-pipe when you gotta go for emission inspection. Regarding the cats, I would just make sure they are both matched (brand and type) and welded in is best.

evanjp

sounds good. thanks for the answers guys they really helped me out.

bluebloodedpony: so i would fail without cats? and what can you tune out to pass emissions?

z28klr: yeah one cat is good and he thinks one is bad. i was planning on buying two new cats so they could match, which i also think would be way better than having two different ones. that could be odd sounding and would just not be good. are there any places where i could rent a welder or would i have to take it somehwere?

Z28KLR

Not sure where you could rent a welder; maybe Home Depot if you have those on east coast, they have tool rental dept.

02stang2113

Probably be better off just to have a good exhaust shop weld it imo

ChalknCover

Yes and No. Yes you will fail if A. Your CEL is on, that is a automatic fail. B. They visually inspect the exhaust due to noise or fumes and notice a lack of cats. C. Hook your car up to a sniffer due to fumes.

No, you will not fail if A. You just swap midpipes again before your next inspection. I am going to do this only if I fail the first time. B. You get a tuner and turn the rear O2's off or throw on some MIL eliminators. C. You get the typical employee who doesn't give two craps about his job, your car, or the environment and doing the above mentioned, you pass.

I have friends that run with o/r pipes and it is hit and miss with them. Once a manager standing next to the stall could tell. Visually inspected it and they failed with flying colors.

evanjp

blueblooded pony: hahaha that's funny about the guys that dont care about their job , etc. yeah i would be interested in doing the off road x, but i dunno. how difficult is it to swap pipes like that? i've never put an exhaust system on, and would do it in my driveway with jack stands and ramps. if i did do the offroad x, do i juts find some pipes and weld them/get them welded in place of the cats? how d i eliminate the 02 sensors? where do the mil eliminators go?

02stang211: how much would it cost me to have someone weld them in? i might just put some pipes in place of the cats now that i think about it more, but i'm still not sure.

sorry about the detailed questions guys, i just need to figure out a way to make this work! keep the good answers coming thanks a lot guys