Will I get an engine light?

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NOTW

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If I were to hollow out or completely remove the catalytic converters when I put my exhaust on, would this cause an engine light to come on? Keep in mind, my truck is for "off road" or "show" use only, so don't hit me with all the tree hugger jargon. LOL

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KGBIGCOUNTRY

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Yes unless you use non foulers and steel wool. Even then your truck might still toss a code.
 
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NOTW

NOTW

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Thanks man! Anyone know about high flow cats? How will the work with the computer?
 

KGBIGCOUNTRY

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I think those will still toss a code from what I gather. Wait to hear from the other fellas to make sure im correct. Whats your plans for the truck?
 

nim81

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my father has high flow cats on his jeep and f150 with no engine lights. I say either hollow yours out and use the non foulers. did this on my durango with no problems and no light.

@kgbigcountry
what is the steel wool used for? i havnt heard of this..
 

truckin151

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The high flows are hit and miss. Some get a cel and others wont. Just stick the stock cats back in and don't hollow tthem out. That's what I did and haven't had a code at all
 

KGBIGCOUNTRY

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The steel wool is used for gutted cats and the non foulers. The steel wool dissapates the flow down some so the O2's dont freak out.
 

RubberFrog

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You *******! You're killing the planet!

I would hollow out the stock cats and use the non-fouler trick. That way you look stock and won't have problems down the road.
 

shadow11

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I don't have any cats and i did the non-fouler trick with steel wool and I have no cel.
 

Redtruck-VA

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I have posted this a couple times, but here is a little that I have found out with my truck which is a single cat 03 model. I replaced the OEM cat with Magnaflow High Flow cat and the truck slowed a couple tenths on the 0-60 mph runs. The 03 OEM single cat simply out flows the supposed High Performed aftermarket cat. I'm about to install the LT's and am using dual 03 OEM cats. As for the O2 sensors, the rear sensor monitors the health of the cat by sending a high/low voltage flip to the PCM (0-1vdc). Basically anything less than 1 volt is a considered low voltage and counts as a flip. The PCM also counts flips from the front sensor and compares the count of the rear sensor. As long as the rear count is less than the front there are no emission codes. The second circuit within the sensor is a heater. If the heater circuit fails you will also get a code, usually a "high voltage" error. Isolating the rear sensor is the key to not getting codes. There are electronic simulators but the mechanical isolators are cheaper and very effective. Good luck..
 
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NOTW

NOTW

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So what is the "Non Fouler" trick?
 

Redtruck-VA

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So what is the "Non Fouler" trick?

The non-fouler is really a spark plug fitting used back in the day when there were many engines burning oil, hence the name "non-fouler". Now the more common use is to stack two of them together, the first is drilled out so the sensor will screw into it properly. The second one that is screwed into the exhaust pipe is left with a small hole to isolate the gases from the sensor. This is not enough sometimes and steel wool is used to further isolate the gases. There are even some who have used three stacked together. But the whole idea is to keep the rear sensor from reading the same as the front sensor..
 
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NOTW

NOTW

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Oh okay, I get it. So, where does the steel wool get placed if its needed? I'd hate to get the exhaust all welded up and have to cut back into it to put steel wool somewhere.
 

Redtruck-VA

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Oh okay, I get it. So, where does the steel wool get placed if its needed? I'd hate to get the exhaust all welded up and have to cut back into it to put steel wool somewhere.

The steel wool is placed inside the non-fouler that is screwed into the exhaust pipe. There will be no need to re-weld anything. Good luck..
 
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NOTW

NOTW

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Got it! So here's the plan. Two FLowmaster 40 series (originals), I'm going to cut the stock pipes just past the cats, hollow out the cats, and run dual 3" all the way back.

Eventually, I'm going to put headers on it with 3" collectors and either high flow cats or no cats at all to meet up with what I'm about to do first.
 
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