gjones22793

So when buying my car the previous owner had informed me that the cat was hollowed out. The car was too good to pass up so i bought it. Should i buy a new cat or leave it as is?

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Depends on the emissions laws in your area. If you require having a sniffer hooked to the tail pipe as an emissions test, you'll probably want a new one. If not, and nothing is leaking, you can leave it as it is and the guys in the inspection station won't know the difference unless you tell them (which is an automatic failure, so it's probably a good idea to keep it to yourself).

But, if you end up selling the car for some reason, you'll want to tell the new owner that the cat is just a shell.

KNBlazer

gjones22793

Thanks i talked to my friend who works at a mechanic shop and he said as long as its there i should be good so ill go give it a try

gjones22793

Allegheny county. County: Allegheny
Year: 1985
Vehicle: Car
Tests: Two Speed Idle, Visual Check and Gas Cap Check
Note: Brand-new vehicles and vehicles driven under 5000 miles annually may qualify for an exemption sticker. Ask your service provider for more details.

Disclaimer: Gasoline-powered motor vehicles with a model year of 1975 and newer with a GVWR of 9,000 pounds or less and registered in an I/M county or region are subject to an emission inspection. Actual test requirements based on make and model, drive system, vehicle weight, etc. The regulations in Title 67 Pa. Code, Chapter 177 shall determine the test type for any individual vehicle.


My car does a produce a gassy smell from the tailpipes though? Do you think the smell itself will fail me?

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

"An emissions inspection" will either use the sniffer and a dyno, or just a visual check to make sure the hardware is installed. Call around you or talk to your mechanic friend to find out if local shops use a dyno (as you will certainly fail this without a cat AND with excess gas in the exhaust stream).

The reason I say this is that I don't know about the emissions laws in PA, but down around NYC, here in NY, all cars, and cars registered to that area, are subject to the sniffer test (I'm NYS safety and emissions inspection certified). It may be the same in PA, as well, depending on the area.

gjones22793

Thanks for the help man when i get it done ill let you know how it goes lol

generalchase

that kinda sucks here in OK no emission laws after you take it off of dealership. I am gonna get the cat cut off completely.

86ttopbird

I used to live in Westmoreland county and I know that the emissions tests there involve a visual and a gas cap test as well as a sniffer test. With a gutted cat, you will certainly fail a sniffer test. I am not sure about Allegheny county's emissions laws. 96 and up require a scanner hooked up to the PCM to check for codes. Any codes that show up automatically fail the vehicle. Now here in Manchester, all they do is a visual and a gas cap test.(for pre-96 vehicles) Personally, I would just have the cat replaced. It is not that expensive. I had a shop out here replace mine because the guts were busted up and I didnt feel like messing with it myself or it would have only cost me about $80.00. All total, it only cost me around $230.00 including labor and they welded up the system real nice for me. The late model fuel injected engines are designed around the backpressure that the cat generates. While a hollow cat is certainly better than one that is busted up inside and restricting exhaust flow. If you are concerned about flow, there are some real good high flow cats available from Summit or Jegs for very good prices for our cars. I just checked Jegs and a Dynomax high flow cat for my Firebird is about $85.00. And the best thing is it keeps you legal

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

That's what the PO of my car did (Alabama car) and it ended up costing me $200 in the end to replace every pipe under the car from front to the tail along with the cat I needed to pass visual inspection (welded a test pipe in place of the cat, cutting off the cat flanges and removing the trans bracket, and welded everything together including the engine pipe he busted right in half somehow, all welds were half-baked and needed to be tossed). If you want to do this, fine. But do it right in case you decide to sell the car in the future, or if you somehow end up moving to another state. There are things called "test pipes" that are a direct fit in place of the cat. Slip it on the engine pipe, bolt up the rear flange, and go. Don't cut the flange off of the intermediate pipe and weld another pipe in as things may not align properly afterwards.

Basically, ANY cat made nowadays is a high-flow cat compared to our stockers, which were like trying to push a fire hose stream through a coffee stir stick (those tiny hollow ones).

Oh, and OBDII testing doesn't check for codes, exactly. OBDII cars have a set of 8 self-test routines (called monitors), such as a test for engine misfiring. If a certain car hasn't passed at least six of these, it fails the emissions portion of the test (state computer hooks to the PCM and tests to see how many have been passed). Which is why you can't just fix a code, reset the computer, drive to a shop, and expect to pass emissions. Unless your shop is around an hour away with steep hills. Just an FYI.

86ttopbird

I have heard something about that. Which is why they will not retest until at least the next day.