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I abandoned the idea of eliminating the cat converter and decided I might as well do it correctly......I have been jerked around by many on net-seller sites/business and sellers on ebay whom give me range of 2.25'' - 3'' for the size of the INPUT to the cat converter......Until I can be assured of that "input size", I am at a stand-still, and, I am still waiting for my hanger bracket insulator to arrive....I did have another question though;
I have been under the car but, have not had it high enough to get a good view of the AIR TUBE at the side of the cat...Being that the cat has to come out, HOW does the air tube "disconnect" from the cat converter?
Look at the pics of the 88 posted earlier in your thread. There is a crimped "ring-thing" over the joint. Much like a v-band clamp, but is intended to be a one-time deal by crimping. I have successfully been able to open the crimp and remove the tube, then re-crimp the ring-thing. Not all replacement converters have the correct tube configuration. Most replacement converters I've seen have the tube joint welded.
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Thanks for the reply...
I have looked at the air tube joint but, it is not all that clear...I have seen replacement tubes that use clamps so, if I have difficulty I may have to escape to that....I see a rather large and very wide clamp at the front connection (input) to the cat but, still not all that clear...It doesn't look like a typical clamp to me.
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Thanks for the reply!
I downloaded the previously posted picture of same but, was a bit "scrambled" when I attempted to enlarge it...This one is much better!...What I thought was a huge and wide clamp turns out to be a wide bracket holding the pipe from the engine to the frame at the inlet of the converter....I can also see the separate "u-clamp".....I somewhat see the air tube "joint" and it looks like I will have to crawl under car as soon as I get a new cat and see how it is put together....I have seen "kits" on ebay and those use "gas-line-clamps" to make the joint...It looks somehow that the replacement airtube is sleeved.
I have purchased a new cat the other day and it should be here on Saturday or Monday/Tuesday......
I have a question about the air tube from engine compartment to cat...I have located a close up picture of that unusual connector (see pict.) and it appears it is a 1-time use....
What I need to know is, what is the OD of that cat air pipe?.....The way I see it, I should be able to take a copper fitting(s) and join the 2 ends together and seal the joints up with some high heat refrigeration solder (starts to melt close to 900* if I remember correctly)....I have seen many "kits on ebay that appear to use a hose section and a few clamps but, can't see how it could take the heat near the converter.
Last edited by Da Mail Man; Jan 16, 2020 at 06:11 PM.
Reason: uploaded pict
I was able to determine the correct size for the air pipe to the cat after 2 tries.
The cat is in and pipe(s) are fastened and hung....I had to fasten a heat shield onto the replacement pipe with a couple of screw clamps - no pretty but, serves it's purpose....I was VERY surprised about the difference in weight of the mufflers...The old mufflers I removed had little to no weight to them but, literally, the new stock mufflers weighed at least 10x's the weight of the old!...I checked the old mufflers I removed, although in bad shape but, saw no signs of tampering which could be the cause of such light weight (such as hollowing the mufflers out).....
It was difficult to bolt the pieces together laying on my back to get the correct angles so that the hanger points would line up. I even took them from underneath the car and "lined them up" to see if I somehow made some mistake....I suspended the pipes and/or mufflers by rope to mock the alignment but, it worked.
I had 1 leak where the cat bolted up to the "input" pipe to same but, cranked it down...Car has a "drone" sound to it but, it is far better than what I had...Next project is to trace down a under-dash plug-connector to find where it goes.
Last edited by Da Mail Man; Feb 9, 2020 at 07:44 AM.
Additional: "Swiss cheese pipes". I wish to thank all whom gave me advice and supplied pictures and other information to assist me in completing this endeavor.
Last edited by Da Mail Man; Feb 9, 2020 at 07:55 AM.
