in my jeep the everything in the cat broke apart and made hellatious noise with the engine runnin. its like honeycombs in there and all that crap can break apart and rattle like a ****

 

get a new cat. a bad or gutted one will hurt the power. just get a random technologies or a Catco one, they are cheaper than stock ones anyway.

 

Dude Jeeps always do that. I wish Chrysler never bought em out... jeep would be on top of the world.

 

a clogged converter will cause your car to run very crappy indeed, as exhaust gasses are unable to flow through the exhaust at the necessary rate to keep up with engine revolutions. Cats last a long time, but just like anything else, they can go bad.

Saying a gutted cat will hurt the power is just like saying a higher flow header and catback will hurt the power. It doesnt hurt the power, just moves it. Higher flow exhaust (which is what you would get from a gutted cat) is bad for low end because there isnt enough exhaust backpressure to induce the 'scavenging' effect at low rpm. However at higher RPM the exhaust will be flowing much mroe freely, uninhibited by the flow stopper known as the catalytic converter.

Either way gut or replace your cat. Driving with a clogged cat can be very dangerous, as the cat is designed to remove carbon monoxide from your exhaust gasses, and if it is clogged that carbon monoxide can possibly back up into the cabin, putting you in serious danger.

 

make it easy and just replace it with a high flow cat. they arent that much and if you dont require a "name brand" go look on ebay. you can get a decent one for between $20 and $25

for 88-91 civic
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...950769738&rd=1
for 92-95
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...950769741&rd=1
for 96-00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...950769744&rd=1

these are just some of approx 150 listed

 

please elaborate on how backpressure increases the scavenging effect. im facinated by the backpressure argument. backpressure hurts power. period.

 

and ill get into why a gutted cat hurts power despite being more free flowing, after you post your argument.

 

you guys dont have an argument against sacicons....bad cat = bad power

.best respons for this one was the spray paint can one..it makes the same noise as a rattle in a spray paint can. easy to hear when u start the car and when ur at low rpm's. havnt really smelled a bad cat but i guess its possible

 

i think the argument was a gutted cat VS a new one.

 

hehehe oops ur still right