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      05-18-2019, 10:04 PM   #1
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So i took it on myself to gut my catalytic converter, apparently the hardest part was the downpipe fused onto the midpipe, i banged for hours and with WD40 it finally came off, surprisingly it took 20 mins to clean out the cat, I used a concrate drill and it went through like butter! No joke! I then chip off the opposite ends and the entire piece came out. See pic below. I DIY this without spending money, though it was a PITA, it was the best bang for the buck a person could ask for. Also I have 2 defoulers on the 2nd O2 so no CEL will trip.
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      05-18-2019, 11:11 PM   #2
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Man the thread name had me a little concerned
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      05-19-2019, 12:49 AM   #3
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Man the thread name had me a little concerned
lol, its a car forum, come on.
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      05-19-2019, 08:21 AM   #4
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How many miles on that cat?
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Sounds pizzagatey.
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      05-19-2019, 08:24 AM   #5
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Was the special o2 tool necessary or could you just use a crows wrench?
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      05-19-2019, 09:13 AM   #6
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Was the special o2 tool necessary or could you just use a crows wrench?
I had to use a proper o2 socket. Mine were on pretty tight.
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      05-19-2019, 10:22 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by pdegene View Post
Was the special o2 tool necessary or could you just use a crows wrench?
I had to use a proper o2 socket. Mine were on pretty tight.
So what about that tool is any different than using a wrench. Is there more torque or something? Or are people using an impact drill to get it out? I'm installing mine within the next week and want to by as few tools as possible.
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      05-19-2019, 10:39 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by pdegene View Post
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Originally Posted by sspade View Post
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Originally Posted by pdegene View Post
Was the special o2 tool necessary or could you just use a crows wrench?
I had to use a proper o2 socket. Mine were on pretty tight.
So what about that tool is any different than using a wrench. Is there more torque or something? Or are people using an impact drill to get it out? I'm installing mine within the next week and want to by as few tools as possible.
Good question. Not positive of the answer though... other than it was worth the $10 for me to know I wouldn't have to fight it and risk damaging sensors or pipe (without proper tool).

This is the one I used. Can get on eBay for less if you have a few days to wait on shipping.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...nch-97177.html
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      05-19-2019, 10:43 AM   #9
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I live in British Columbia, there is no emmission inspection, or else I would not have done it. The CEL shouldnt trip as I has 2 defoulers on the 2nd O2, plus I have bimmer link & bimmer code so I can reset it anytime in 10 seconds with the phone if it ever trips. The O2 sensors were very tight like sspade said, I had to WD40 the heck out of it and wrench like mad for about 10 mins, you can see the O2 socket I bought in the pix too. The cat (and the car) has 21,000 miles only, I covered all the questions I think.

Today I'll be putting it back on the car, hopefully less pain in the ass than removing it. I got anti seize for the O2s. Turbo side v band clamp will the toughest to line up, everything else is just taking the time to bolt up.
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      05-19-2019, 11:00 AM   #10
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I like that workbench
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      05-19-2019, 11:02 AM   #11
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I like that workbench
lol fancy aint it?
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      05-19-2019, 11:09 AM   #12
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lol, its a car forum, come on.
Hey I was about to call the Humane Society until I actually read the post!
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      05-19-2019, 11:43 AM   #13
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Beyond the obvious CELs that will now be thrown even with the defoulers, the engineer in me thinks that exhaust flow going from 4" opening tumbling into a ~5" pipe and then out through a 3" pipe is going to impact the exhaust pulses in a negative way. This can impact power delivery, low rpm driveability, and wonky and tinny/farty sounding exhaust noise created within the larger portion of the DP can. With some sort of cats in place, the pressure differential (i.e., backpressure) helps align the exhaust pulses has they go through the varying shaped pipes with little reverberation. The ideal setup would be a graduated straight pipe design like the aftermarket uses.

At least it looks stock and there should still be some power gained assuming the DME doesn't go into some sort of power protective mode when getting odd O2 sensor readings.
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      05-19-2019, 12:02 PM   #14
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What about protecting the air we breathe from harmful emissions, does that not factor into your equation?

I guess you have not spent much time in hospitals watching family gasp for air because their lungs are damaged from smoking, Pneumonia, asbestos and the other airborne killers that steal their ability to breathe. Their lungs fill with fluid and they slowly suffocate because they cannot get enough oxygen to live. There is only so much that that oxygen machines can do. The process of draining the lungs is very painful and you can see the look of terror in their eyes when they see the nurse bring the apparatus over to drain their lungs a bit. The drip from their lungs, for the smokers, looks just like black coffee. It drains for weeks and still looks the same dark colour. Imagine what tobacco has done to their lungs.
After a few weeks of misery they die, they all die. You cannot live if you cannot breathe.

It's a sad reflection on humanity that the proverbial light only comes on when it affects them directly or a loved one.

Instead go spend an evening or two in an Emergency Ward. Watch the broken bodies of young men and women being brought in. The carnage from our streets. The ones who also believed "it will never happen to me." Watch the fear in their eyes as they realize they are not going to make it even though the nurses say otherwise, to calm their fears. "You are going to be fine, just relax." knowing they will be dead in a few minutes or hours. Nurses and doctors discreetly wipe tears from their own eyes, another wasted human life.
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      05-19-2019, 12:18 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sspade View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdegene View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by sspade View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdegene View Post
Was the special o2 tool necessary or could you just use a crows wrench?
I had to use a proper o2 socket. Mine were on pretty tight.
So what about that tool is any different than using a wrench. Is there more torque or something? Or are people using an impact drill to get it out? I'm installing mine within the next week and want to by as few tools as possible.
Good question. Not positive of the answer though... other than it was worth the $10 for me to know I wouldn't have to fight it and risk damaging sensors or pipe (without proper tool).

This is the one I used. Can get on eBay for less if you have a few days to wait on shipping.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...nch-97177.html
Isn't Harbor Freight awesome for cheap tools that work. Some auto parts stores loan specialty tools for free too. I believe that the O2 sensor tool is just a socket with a slot to feed the wire out coming from the sensor.
I guess a socket is always going to afford a better grip than a wrench. Used to have a long pipe that would slide over a wrench to provide more torque like a breaker bar, but needed clearance to use it. It could loosen up anything.
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      05-19-2019, 01:48 PM   #16
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Shame - that OE cat was worth a shit ton of money
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      05-19-2019, 02:52 PM   #17
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If that cat had nine lives it sure used 'em all. -cousin eddie
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      05-19-2019, 04:11 PM   #18
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so 4 hours of struggle later, I mounted the downpipe back and plugged the O2 sensors in, I started the car leaving everything else off to check for exhaust leaks and the CEL, theres no CEL! I rev a bit and checked the v band clamp, no exhaust leak! rear exhaust tips are blasting, so it looks like theres no leak anywhere! Time to put everything else back together

Funny thing is with gutted cat the BOV sounds louder like an after market one, the woosh sound is great, engine sound stay the same.
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      05-19-2019, 04:41 PM   #19
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My friend and I did the same back in college when the cat was "melted" on his Civic si. The car rev-ed so much faster, but when I followed him back to our apartment I did not enjoy that blue smog at all. I couldn't see anything and it smelled horrible as well...

That's the reason why I would never go catless... at least OP is enjoying it. Please try to drive it off road
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      05-19-2019, 05:10 PM   #20
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My friend and I did the same back in college when the cat was "melted" on his Civic si. The car rev-ed so much faster, but when I followed him back to our apartment I did not enjoy that blue smog at all. I couldn't see anything and it smelled horrible as well...

That's the reason why I would never go catless... at least OP is enjoying it. Please try to drive it off road
The blue smog is from the civics leaking gasket, my exhaust has no smoke, no color, and all of it is coming out from the tips. I just put the whole car back together, time to go for a drive and grab some food, I will report back if the CEL trips, currently there is no CEL at all so I'm very happy
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      05-19-2019, 05:20 PM   #21
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The blue smog is from the civics leaking gasket, my exhaust has no smoke, no color, and all of it is coming out from the tips. I just put the whole car back together, time to go for a drive and grab some food, I will report back if the CEL trips, currently there is no CEL at all so I'm very happy
Yup, I remember him doing some valve gasket work but that didn't solve the oil leak problem, which caused the blue colored smog from the exhaust pipe. My apology for making it sounded like catless would create the blue smog for sure.

I am surprised there's no color on yours. Just a random thought, is the Canadian model the same as US? I recall reading something about US models can have more power than EU models, due to the regulation, but not sure about Canada.

Please report back if the CEL triggers, pretty surprised it didn't come on right after the install
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      05-19-2019, 05:46 PM   #22
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Yup, I remember him doing some valve gasket work but that didn't solve the oil leak problem, which caused the blue colored smog from the exhaust pipe. My apology for making it sounded like catless would create the blue smog for sure.

I am surprised there's no color on yours. Just a random thought, is the Canadian model the same as US? I recall reading something about US models can have more power than EU models, due to the regulation, but not sure about Canada.

Please report back if the CEL triggers, pretty surprised it didn't come on right after the install
The canadian models are identical to the US, the N26 is more green than the N20, thats all I know. The car drove great, I didn't floor it yet, only a short drive for sushi so car not all warmed up. Butt dyno feels the pickup is definitely quicker off the line. I doubt there is any peak power gain but the turbo spools up instantly, which makes sense having about 70% less back pressure now. There is still no CEL, but I haven't floor it or drove it far, we'll see what happens next.
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