catalytic converter
 

Not legaly. Legaly the vehicle must have what was on it from the factory. It proly wont hurt nothing, but if something goes wrong and the dealer see's there aint no cat under there they'll proly do all they can to pin the problem on the lack of a kitty so they dont have to warrenty the work.

That's been my experiance anyhow.

if you do remove it.. keep it handy. If you ever need to put it back on it will be nice to have, as i believe they are a bit pricey.

I run a straight pipe and it runs great, however mine didn't come with a cat to start with. check the 6.o forum see what they say.

good luck.

just gut the cat....

Warning: You will NOT pass State inspection with out it.

That's why you just gut it, diesels don’t have to pass emissions.

Not yet. A friend on the "inside" says that's fixin to change. Said that sniffer test is commin for gassers and oil burners. The equipment to sniff diesels are $$$$$$ so it will probly still be a couple years or so, but it is comming. There's places up north that have already been doing it.

Gutting is is bad advise in my opinion. If you ever do need it again (when the sniffer test makes it our way) you'll have to go out and buy another one. A stock replacement cat aint cheep. If you just remove it then if they bust you for it you can put it back and it wont cost you much at all.

Why would you want to remove the cat? From the posts I have read in the 6.0 forum removing the cat has no real advantages. The cat is a straight through design like aftermarket mufflers.

The reason I would like to remove is that I spray brush in patures! The cat can get hot enough to ignite any dead grass.

I guess the next question is their a way to get and exception for the removal?

If that's the only reason you want it gone it wouldnt take nothin at all to build a lil "skid plate" type deal for it.
Just go to the hardware store, grab an appropriate sized sheet of thin sheet metal, bend, drill, form it how ever you need to mount it under the cat somehow. It's not like you need it to protect it from anything, just to keep brush and dry grass off of it right? basicly just a lil heat shield. Just dont want it to be mounted too close to the cat so much head doesnt transfer.

Have you used a heat sensor to actually check the temp of the cat? By touch, it is the same as the rest of the exhaust when I have accidentally bumped it working on these trucks and it's all hot.

You can create a heat shield to attach to your converter. You will not get any exceptions to the laws and no inspection staton is going to pass you without it.
Go to a reputable muffler shop and explain what your problem is and they may try to help you.
Otherwise, go to lowes/depot and buy a sheet of 22 guage sheet steel 24"x36".
Trace out the shape of the cat onto the sheetmetal. Include the inlet and outlets.
Now trace lines about 2" wider than the original pattern. Trim out the wider pattern.
Roll the edges with a hammer and dolly making sure to leave a space between to cat and your pan. Clamp the new pan to the inlet pipe and outlet pipe of your system leaving a space between the pan and the cat.