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.
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.
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