Ok, I want to completely redo the exhaust on my Contour, especially since I am pretty sure the cat is bad. Anyway here is what I think I know about the exhaust and then hopefully somebody can correct me where I am wrong and offer some advice.
First, I bought a shorty header off ebay for a 2000 Focus for only $27.03, which I know seems offely cheap and you get what you pay for but I am in college. Anyway, from what I have read, and have been told by other members I will have to have a flange welded on so that the stock "down pipe" and cat will fit, which makes sense looking at my exhaust and the header. This is where the questions start...
I think that the "square box" shaped pipe that bolts directly to my manifold is called a precat? and from what I have read in the archives should be gutted?
Is this the actual cat converter, or does that come later in the exhaust? Next, what I would like to do is just buy a universal hi-flow cat and put it in the exhaust inbetween the 2 o2 sensors then I won't have to worry about CEL's.
My plan then is to either...
If the "square box" is a precat then it will be gutted and the universal will be put in later down the pipe, if it is the actual cat then I will put the flange I need to make directly on the universal cat and this will be my new down pipe, if that really makes sense but I don't know if it does?
Is there a difference between a "precat" and a "cat converter?"
Anyway at this point I am only looking to replace the manifold with the header, and that first section of exhaust which I think has only a precat, a flex pipe, and an 02.
Any info or clarification that anyone can offer would be great, and I am going back to paruse the archives.