Some may know that my car has had this ticking for the first few minutes of driving. Turns out it was an exhaust problem and not valves.

I had just turned into my neighborhood and there's a long straightaway, so I goosed it a little bit. Things were pretty quiet but during acceleration, there was sort of a pop and the car started REALLY taking off! (it was kinda fun!!) Got it back home, popped the hood and...holy ****! The catalytic converter had completely separated from the turbo flange!! There was about a half inch gap between the flange and the CC.

I took a large screwdriver and moved the whole CC and downpipe.

Obviously, I need to replace the CC, so I'm wondering if anyone has any good suggestions of where to get either a CC or a CC/downpipe combo.

Something a little higher flow than stock would be nice, but I also need it to be somewhat inexpensive, as I'm needing new tires very badly.

 

Does your state do emision tests? If not get a test pipe. Ebay acutally has some quality test pipes for pretty cheap for our cars.

 

yea its surprising theres actually something cheap for these cars. if you do need to pass emissions or just dont want a test pipe you can get a high flow cat, labree motorsports (google it) makes some good ones for under $200 for stock fitment, alot of people buy their cats, i probably will in the future. theres other universal cats out there for under $200 as well.

 

My state requires it, but only in certain counties. My county happens to not require an emissions test, but I really don't want to add to the pollution problem.

I'd like a cat, but a higher flow one.

LaBree Motorsports is $250 for OEM fitment.

 

Get a universal cat and have the flanges welded on then. If money is tight you could have your cat rewelded. But the time/money it takes to remove the cat just to put it back in might not be worth it in the long run.

 

I was just hoping for a replacement for $200 max...I'm gonna get a new cat regardless...I won't put the existing one back on.

 

Well, I got a high flow cat from LaBree Motorsports. Brent is awesome and his work is a true art.

Got the old cat out last night, but forgot to get new gaskets. Brent said he typically used the same gaskets, but mine are pretty shot. Just ordered two O2 sensors and both gaskets from ECS Tuning. They should be here tomorrow so I can finish the job tomorrow night.

In the meantime, here's what my car looks like.

 

Anyone who reuses exhaust gaskets is crazy. I can't believe he said that...

Whats with the floor jack?

 

That's what he said....on 3 different occasions when I talked to him! I couldn't believe it either. I was planning on picking up some gaskets at my local auto parts store, but no one has them, which is why I just ordered them from ECS.

About the floor jack...
If you're wondering why it's off to the side like that, I just angled it out of the way. The car is on jack stands, and I've got one of my old tires and some wood under there, just in case. I HATE getting under a car that's just on jack stands...something uncomfortable about that. Anyway, the jack is still under the car, but it's jacked up just enough to make some contact with the crossmember.

Answer your question?

 

I hate being under a car thats on jack stands too. Which is why I usually throw a couple extra stands under for peace of mind. How long did it take you to get the cat out? Did it go smoothly?