Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting I hate cats...so gutting them sounds good

I posted before about my 97 SE and its cat problem...and of course the infamous howler monkey (also known as moosing).

Well, the cats went all to heck last week. The car starting making this horrific whirring noise and my performance dropped off.

I took it to the dealership, where I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that the car wasnt worth fixing, as it would cost $2900 just to do the cats...and a total of $4400 with the laundry list of other issues.

Pfft!

I love my car, and I wont give up so easy. I found myself a nice little shady mechanic who is going to gut my cats for me. By the way, my car is registerred at my parents beach house, so as to avoid emissions issues here in Washington...Im already super shady with that, so I figured why not?

So, here are my questions...and YES, I already searched the threads to get answers on some of those questions.

1. What do you all think mechanics should charge for this service? He wasnt able to tell me cost because he wasnt sure how long it would take.

2. Will this give me back the performance I so dearly miss in my wee-little V6?

3. Does the sound really resemble headers? Or will I find it really sounds more like shot cats on a Subaru? Which, by the way sounds like a hole in a muffler.

4. If it doesnt sound like headers, is the item I need installed a "resonator"? Will this make it sound normal?

5. Finally, when I search "gutted cats" on the interweb, why does it appear that people are bragging about this "mod"? Is this something cool??? Will I finally be cool? Could it be??????

1. around 2000K to replace with new manifolds and labor ( friend pricing ) To gut them, around 300 would be fair given the amount of labor to pull the rear bank manifold. But I promise you that your mechanic will probably never touch your car again. LOL!!!
2. Definitely
3. Kind of
4. Depends on if you don't like the sound. And you already have a factory resonator. You can replace it with an aftermarket or remove it completely and have piping welded in its place.
5. You will surely be one step closer

Cool! Thanks for the answers I was seeking!

Ive had estimates on replacement pre-cats anywhere from $1700 to $2900...so, suffice to say, $300 is worth the illegalities of it all.

Im feeling cooler already.

Don't forget to install mileliminators.
www.mileliminators.com

You all rock my socks...

Question...what are these mil-thingies you speak of? And are they providing me some service that is worth any costs associated? ie; will they do sensual massage? as going beyond that, Im not really thinking its worth it.