Dealer says catalytic is bad. What's the mechanical difficulty rating of DIY?

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Engine207

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I had an incident while taking my '07 EL camping in the mountains. I got a CEL, lost most of my power and limped home. Dealer said my heater hose broke and leaked out onto the plugs and wires.

Soo...$800 later I was back in business. Next morning...CEL again, so back to the dealer we go. This time, it's my catalytic converter. $2000 they say. That ain't happening. I'm reasonably handy and have worked on my trucks as long as it wasn't a total rebuild. Should I consider DIY? What about non-dealer repair?
 
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Engine207

Engine207

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I had an incident while taking my '07 EL camping in the mountains. I got a CEL, lost most of my power and limped home. Dealer said my heater hose broke and leaked out onto the plugs and wires.

Soo...$800 later I was back in business. Next morning...CEL again, so back to the dealer we go. This time, it's my catalytic converter. $2000 they say. That ain't happening. I'm reasonably handy and have worked on my trucks as long as it wasn't a total rebuild. Should I consider DIY? What about non-dealer repair?
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stamp11127

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Rock Auto shows them and they appear to be bolt ons in the pics.
Get the codes read and post them on here.
 

thenaaks

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Did you drive your truck all the way home with a heater hose spraying coolant? Did it get hot?
 

montecarlo31

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Here is a great cat converter replacement how to guide.

1. Disconnect battery
2. Disconnect O2 sensors
3. Remove Y-pipe
4. Insert broom handle into y pipe
5. remove all inside "guts"
6. reinstall Y-pipe
7. re install o2 sensors
8. if needed install o2 sims in the rear to fix CEL.

Enjoy more power and less emissions bull crap.
 
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Engine207

Engine207

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Here is a great cat converter replacement how to guide.

1. Disconnect battery
2. Disconnect O2 sensors
3. Remove Y-pipe
4. Insert broom handle into y pipe
5. remove all inside "guts"
6. reinstall Y-pipe
7. re install o2 sensors
8. if needed install o2 sims in the rear to fix CEL.

Enjoy more power and less emissions bull crap.

I don't actually think the catalytic is bad, as I've driven since with no change in performance. Is there a way to reset the CEL, to see if it comes back on? I don't have emissions til next October, so I have some time to figure it out.
 
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Engine207

Engine207

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Have you cleared the light to see if the cel comes back?

How do I clear it. I've been driving since this happened, without any change in performance. I suspect the CEL will reset and the catalytic isn't bad at all...
 

1955moose

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You can try disconnecting the negative battery cable, leave disconnected for about 15 minutes. Should clear dtc codes. Of you can go to a Midas muffler shop or any shop these days will usually run the trouble codes for free. Ask him or her if they can clear the codes for you. Snap on or Matco code readers have a clearing device built into them. Drive your SUV and see if the codes come back, they usually do, but who knows!


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steelnewfie

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I believe the engine computer will clear itself after a specific number of drive cycles if you are unable to clear manually. Not sure what the interval is.
 

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