Well i ordered and replaced my cats with the magnaflow 93689 direct bolt up system. Install was pretty easy other than the top passenger side bolt to the manifold was a little harder to get a socket on with the design of the new piping. I had to add 4 washers before the nut. I was hacked up the old system for recycling and found out the driver side cat was completely hollow. I have been getting a lean bank 1 and 2 code randomly and Im surprised i wasnt getting any others, with the cat gone. Hopefully that clears them up, we will see. The discovery is quiet as it should be now.

 

That's weird

 

Here is your answer

Catalytic Converter Theft - Edmunds.com

 

No. He's catalyst degraded and blew out his exhaust fragment by fragment.

 

He's lucky it blew out fragment by fragment. I had a piece of catalyst break off and lodge in the tail pipe of my '94 Firebird Formula. Didn't even get stuck in the muffler, but wedged itself right in the tailpipe after the cat.

The poor V8 was so constipated it couldn't muster a rev higher than 2k RPM before stumbling. The shop (this was years ago, and ironically the "catalyst" that made me an avid DIYer) was convinced it was the "alternator" because of all the noise (backblow through the intake manifold) they could hear through their screwdriver around the alternator.

Nope, dropped the exhaust, pulled out the fragment, and my power came back, but sadly, the old LT1 never ran quite the same again....I'm sure I blew the intake manifold and that was part of my vacuum leak-like symptoms, but I was in college with no garage, so I eventually sold the car.

That was the last time I've paid a shop for troubleshooting/repair-work..

 

I would be wondering why the catyalist detoriated.

Good read here of possible culprit.


Excess Fuel Entering Exhaust. The fuel that powers your vehicle is meant to burn in the combustion chamber only. Any fuel that leaves the combustion chamber unburned will enter the exhaust system and light-off when it reaches the catalytic converter. This can super-heat the converter far above normal operating conditions and cause a meltdown. Possible causes are an incorrect fuel mixture, incorrect timing, corroded spark plugs, a faulty oxygen sensor, sticking float, faulty fuel injector or a malfunctioning check valve.

More here:

http://www.alliedmuffler.com/site/mo...forma.php#2820

 

should have found a recycle place for your cats, I got a 100 a pop for my old ones. The oem's bring the high dollars not the after market stuff...

 

Could have been worse. My cat on the driver side was completly packed when i removed it.

 

you probably superheated the cats with raw gas.
What codes are remaining on the check engine light?

Please pull the codes and post them.

 

Just yesterday i was helping a friend fix his exhaust on his 91 rx7 fd and when we stood the cat upright all the material fell out. Wasn't a real surprise since his car spits flames out due to the way its tuned.