my 01 5.4 had its catalitic converter plugged off,so my
dealer has it cut open and "cleaned" out. now it is
quite a bit louder...especially when you gas it...till the revs drop
as it upshifts.

any reliablity issues going to come from this?

thanks

X

 

its against the law to modify a catalitic converter as far as i know.

 

no kidding??

i realize that, they said it was plugged and they had it
cleaned out. do you have an answer to my question?

X

 

I have an answer to your question! No reliability problems will come of this little modification unless you need service from a Ford dealer.
What your "Dealer" has affectively done is installed off-road pipes the cheap way! Nothing wrong with that!! Hey, if your satisfied, that's all that's important.

Jerry

 

It's fine until you have to go for emissions testing.
It has also unbalanced the engine if only one side was done because one side is breathing better than the other now.
It should also light the MIL unless they put a MIL eliminator kit on it.

 

thanks LXman1,

both catalitics were done at the same time.so it should be
balanced. it seems to run good , i get no engine lights
or anything at all.

can you tell me what an mil light is?

X

 

Malfunction Indicator Lamp

AKA Check Engine Light
AKA Service Engine Soon Light.

 

When you get ready to start the truck and all your dash lights come on. Do you see a check engine light? a yellow one. Do you see one with the engine off, and the key in the run position.

 

yes the check engine light iss there,tillit starts then it goes out.
the thing seems to run good. just louder than my buddies trucks

X

 

There is no way the CEL doesn't come on without an eliminator, and I don't believethe dealer can legally modify the cats. Maybe I,m wrong, but it doesn't seem right.

 

My 97 5.4L has both rear CATS removed completely, with a straight pipe in it's place and I have no issues at all with this set-up. I've had Emissions done with the truck numerous times, and I've always passed with flying colors.

 

Maybe I should have said that differently. Most of the time when the downstream O2 doesn't see any change at all in the mixture from the first it will show CEL. If you can get away without the light and you can pass emmissions, then you've got it made.

 

I own a 2001 f-150 with 40k on a 5.4. I notice that my cats are pretty small and there are 4 of them! are there any benefits to cutting them out and puting in larger ones or just 2?
i live in Nevada, our smog laws are kinda strict.

 

I would not take any away. My truck has gained nothing but a slightly more rumble sound that is weak at best.

 

I dont think you have 4 cats ,i think you have 1 cat and 1 resinator per exhaust pipe for duel exhaust or b-4 the crossover on single exhaust.