He also divulged that he cannot legally remove the converter but that
some muffler shops will do that, sans service ticket.
On post '98 vehicles the oxygen sensors are at the input and output of the
cat therefore removing the cat will not turn off the light. In some states
the safety check is starting to include a simple check engine light
test. The light must go on with the key then go out after the engine starts.
Anyone have experience?
Some cats plug when bad. My Wife's Honda did just that, no power,
sluggish, etc. The cat was easily unbolted and a rather loud test drive
confirmed a plugged cat. I took a long screwdriver and broke out the
contents so she could drive the car. The light stayed on and the car had
slightly worse mileage but it ran fine. Then cam the real fun. A call to
the local Honda dealer and they wanted over $800 to replace it and they
would not sell me a cat I could put on my self. It has just four bolts and
is a 10 minute job.
I called around and no one but the dealer could replace the cat and no one
would sell me a replacement. My son called several out of state places and
only one would ship to California and they backed out the next day. I
called my son who runs an auto parts store out of state and he ordered it
then shipped it to me, total cost $200. I installed it and it is still
good now four years later.
My pickup had the check engine light come on. I have a code reader, <$70
on Amazon, and found out it was a bad cat. Again I called around and the
replacement was $1200 and only at the dealer. As there were no power or
mileage problems I kept driving it until I was in North Carolina where I
had it replaced for $200. The pickup cat is welded in and I do not
currently have a shop. That was three years ago and now something has
broken inside and the check engine light is back on. The codes indicate a
failed cat. My son is sending me a cat and a local welding shop will put
it in, total cost will be around $200. Still well below the $1200 dealer
cost even having to do it twice.