I was wondering if anybody has gutted there pups (cats)? And if it was as simple as just removing the pipes and start ramming away? :smash: :smash: :smash:

Thanks for your input.


[Modified by RWhite, 1:12 PM 2/6/2002]

 

why gut them when you can add nice TPIS headers which eliminate the pups and gain some nice hp #'s :yesnod: :D

 

5+ free horsepower. :jester

That might be a option. I really wanted to get all the H.P. for free I could at first. :cheers:


[Modified by RWhite, 1:32 PM 2/6/2002]

 

I was thinking of removing them as well and just having a straight pipe put in instead. Will the pcm throw any codes if I do this? Will the exhaust sound any different without the pups? Thanks! :) I have stock manifolds, x-pipe, and soon to be installed B&B Rt 66.

 

Gutting the pups can be dangerous, you do not want to inhale any of the dust that it will make. Bypass pipes are a lot easier.

 

I wonder if gutting the pups changes the sound?

 

I wouldn't think it would sound much different than the '97-'00 cars.

 

I gutted my pups this past weekend. The sound did change a bit...a little more snap and pop on decel, a wee bit louder on the gas.

This was a very difficult, time consuming process. After pulling the intermediate pipes, you can see the "stuff" in the pipes quite easily.

Using a piece of pipe and other implements and a vacuum cleaner, I was able to remove 99 percent of the stuff within 2 minutes. No problem with the big chunks of the honeycomb.

However, and this is a BIG however......it took me another 6, repeat SIX hours to get all the little remains of the stuff out of the two internal joints at the front and rear of the pups. I made little skinny tools out of flattened coathanger and picked, vac-ed, picked, vac-ed, picked, vac-ed, picked, vac-ed, picked, hammer, hammer, hammer at this stuff that can't be seen deep down inside these joints. What a total drag....you feel like you'll NEVER get all this stuff out. Right when you think you're all clean, you tap the pup with a hammer and more stuff comes loose. ARRGGHHHHH!!!!! Pick, vac, hammer, pick, hammer, vac, pick, hammer, vac..... Some of it looks like silvery sand, and some of it looks like bits of brown lint. It all looks like a PIA.

Why so careful with these little bits? Because this stuff will not pass through the main cats, and you'll just plug 'em up, create hot-spots, etc etc. All bad.

So, plan on a very rigorous effort of picking, hammering, vacuuming, and tipping the pipes vertical to get remains out of the main cats, on and on and on and on.

Cutting the pups and installing a new length of pipe would be the way to do it right, but you might fail the "visual" test in some states. And getting things to line up correctly would be a real trick if you do this off the car. And if you cut, you still have to worry about anything getting down the pipe into the main cats.

I'm glad I did it, because the pups are obviously restrictive, once you have a close look at the honeycomb material inside. Believe me, you wouldn't be worrying about that silly little MAF screen if you could see cat material!! :D

No codes were thrown. Shouldn't, as the first O2 sensors are before the pups, in the manifold and second set of O2's are after the main cats.

Good luck, and don't tell Al Gore......





[Modified by tracy, 12:00 PM 2/7/2002]