Cat Converter for ford

[ford46guy]

I needed a cat converter for the explorer in the sig. Died from a rust hole, making lots of noise. Lived a very long life. It is long out of stock at ford, not even in the computer. Needs catback stuff too, but that is cheap.

Got three quotes to feel the market, but doing it my self. Lets say the lowest was 1500 with tax. I don't see where all that labor is, I got off what is left of the three nuts with cold chisel and some taps. With heat this is maybe a 1.5 hr job if you are very slow. The rest of the exhaust can be very easily removed. The markup on the cat was also insane, almost 3X what I paid in one place. If not that they had obscene labor for the other parts.

So my choice is aftermarket. I decided on Walker, it had some good reviews about fitment for that application. There were some other brands but I'm not sure. Magnaflow was 200 more but some people said the cat didn't fit. Also one of the very reputable shops I got the quote swore by it, and made it a point to show me many installations of that converter in his system. He said it will last the life of the truck. (Well it should for his 850 price). He said it is probably a step under Ford in terms of quality.

Thing I'm wondering is how these will last in the salt belt. I know aluminized steel mufflers are rust buckets in 2-3 years. They said they converter is mostly stainless, but has some aluminized. Hopefully it will last the 5/50.

 

[Rolla07]

Why dont you check salvage? Might be able to find a used cat for less.. Guessit depends how long you plan to keep it

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Thing I'm wondering is how these will last in the salt belt. I know aluminized steel mufflers are rust buckets in 2-3 years. They said they converter is mostly stainless, but has some aluminized. Hopefully it will last the 5/50.


I don't know, but since aftermarket catalytic converters have a reputation for not lasting, perhaps having it rust away in the same amount of time isn't so bad. That and if it managed to rust away, how's the rest of the vehicle? How do we know it won't outlast the rest of the vehicle?

Also, if you are going to DIY this I highly recommend owning an angle grinder.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Why dont you check salvage? Might be able to find a used cat for less.. Guessit depends how long you plan to keep it


In a lot of states it's illegal to sell a used catalytic converter (except for scrap). Something like that. Never done it myself.

 

[ford46guy]

Illegal in NY, and there are aren't even any pick and pulls within 100 miles. Any exhaust that age (you could get a 98) is going to be scrap by now anyway.

 

[ford46guy]

The three nuts are that hold it came off with a cold punch chisel. Could have used an air hammer too, too lazy to pull hoses. They were pretty bad. Cat has a bracket which slides out.
Cats sit right under the passenger side seats, don't have to touch any studs on the engine.


don't take much to cut the old AL pipes.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Why dont you check salvage? Might be able to find a used cat for less.. Guessit depends how long you plan to keep it


In a lot of states it's illegal to sell a used catalytic converter (except for scrap). Something like that. Never done it myself.


I believe it's actually federal law. That's why you never see them for sale. I think one junkyard said it was a 10k fine so if you wanted to buy one from them it was over 10k. Aftermarket cats don't have to meet the same spec as the manufacturer, I think they just need a 5 year warranty whereas the manufacturer is supposed to make them last 10-15 years. I think the logic on the 5 year is that by the time you need one, you probably won't keep it for much more than 5 years.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Gee up here you just find a good guy garage to give you a sticker and you run a gutted cat or eliminator pipe. Who is going to know? Is NY environmental crawling under cars or doing dyno emissions. This is too much burden on the "little guy" with an older car or beater.

Guess next time get a pre-emissions used truck

 

[pbm]

Rockauto seems to carry them.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1996,explorer,4.0l+v6,1119653,exhaust,catalytic+converter,5808

 

[JTK]

Being a 1996, does it have an O2 sensor after the CC? If so, you'd want a quality CC on it. Main thing is keeping the catalyst inefficiency code from popping up and creating a nightmare at yearly State inspection time.

 

[ford46guy]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Being a 1996, does it have an O2 sensor after the CC? If so, you'd want a quality CC on it. Main thing is keeping the catalyst inefficiency code from popping up and creating a nightmare at yearly State inspection time.


Sure does, I actually bought a new one cause the old is very sized in. Was 20 bucks or so.

I got everything from rockauto, the entire system from tailpipe to cat was around 500 shipped. If I purchased it by the end of last may there was an 80 rebate, oh well

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