Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Removing Catalytic Converters

My '98 contour V6 ATX threw a cel. I took it to the shop, the guy scanned it and said that one of the cats was plugged. He removed it and recommends removing the other two. Says the car will run easier. I live down in Mexico so there is hardly any air quality control. Is this a good idea? Thanks in advance, John

You will need MIL eliminators for the bottom O2 sensors to avoid a CEL when deleting the pre-cats located in the exhaust manifolds. (bolted to engine/heads) The main cat is fairly cheap to replace ($70) and will quiet the car down and some say actually improves performance. It wont hurt the car to eliminate the cats, although the main cat is a cheap benefit for the car and the atmosphere.

Where do you get MIL eliminators ?

Also, how do you retrieve Check Engine Light codes ?

I have a '96 SE with ATX and 91,000 miles. It had CEL, so I took it to the dealership. They said Catalytic converter(s) needed to be replaced, which whould cost $ 1100. The trade in value of this car is approximately $ 2800. (no flames please) so I am looking for other options.

If you have any ideas, I sure would appreciate it. I need to keep the car for about another year or 20,000 miles.

Thanks.