Alright so my drivers side cat is completely plugged up and shot out. My exhaust shop said a new one will cost me $400 including installation. He also said that he could completely do away with that one cat, where I live does not have emissions tests so that is not a problem. My question is whether it will damage the truck in any way at all, and if I have the other cat, and a 50 series flowmaster muffler installed will it be that much louder than it is now? I eventually will buy the replacement, but around Christmas money gets tight. Thanks for any help.

 

all the cats do is clean the exhaust for emissions purposes,emissions is the only reason the cats are on there. it really depends on the motor and rest of the exhaust whether it will be super loud but it will be louder because the cat somewhat muffles the exhaust. i dont know how good of an idea it is to have only 1 cat on one side and 2 on the other,that seems like it would kinda offset more back pressure on one side but that im not 100% sure of

 

BB I agree with you about the pressure. I would say that as long you remove both and you keep the two front cats you should be fine for now. Just make sure there isn't and sensors after the rear two cats. I am not sure if there are on the newer trucks. I have a 03 and there isn't any after the cats. If money is tight you can cut both of them off yourself and just use clamps and put a piece of straight pipe from Napa or Autozone where the cats where and you can take the cats and turn them in for money. I did that to my back to cats and I got $220 for both. Well I have a welder so I bought a four foot stick of pipe from summit and I welded mine in but you get the idea.

 

Well I had the bad cat cut out, and of course the shudder is still there!! We are completely out of options!! Anyone know anything about the torque converter?!

 

Torque converter??

I think the first thing you should do is take it to an Autozone and have them scan it for any codes. Even if the check engine light isn't on there should be something there. You also might have to bite the bullet and take it to the dealership and have them look at it to review the history on the ECU. That can tell the whole story about what is going on.

 

Got ya. We've had plugs and coils changed, transmission fluids flushed, the last thing I've heard of happening is the torque converter not wanting to unlock when you accelerate...i'm just out of options at this point!

 

That does make sense about the torque converter. I see in your sig you have a CAI. Is there a chance you could have a vacuum leak? I know that would cause the truck to idle funny as well but it could be causing the stuttering.

 

I guess that could be the case, any way I can check for a vacuum leak? I honestly don't know what that is haha!

 

You can check for a leak by looking at all you connections for you CAI. A vacuum leak is when something in your intake system or PCV (Positive Crank Ventilation) is leaking, air is coming in from other then the intake. There is a lot of hoses to check but I would start with your CAI kit and anything that you might of disconnected to install it. If the clamps on the kit are too tight they can leak as well.