2005 Catalytic Converter replacement DIY

[Chris Watkinson]

I've owned an '05 for a number of years, currently at about 140k miles. Ongoing problems about replacing coil packs, etc and that eventually took a toll on my catalytic converter(s).

About a year ago I got a OBD code for Bank 2 caty con (don't remember what it was). Just kept driving and eventually the code didn't come back. Outta sight, outta mind... Of course my gas mileage has remained terrible (around 11mpg/12mpg city) and the exhaust is super smelly, so the problem remained.

Fast forward to now, and I've been getting a P0430 code which I believe is still bank 2 (driver side)... Took it into the shop and the mechanic said the PASSENGER SIDE cat has got to be replaced, and he said we might as well do both. That seems odd, as I'm pretty sure the code I got a year ago was driver side (bank 2), and the 0430 code is bank 2 (driver side), but with a truck this old, this many miles, and has had persistent issues in the emissions system, I guess I'll take his word for it.

MY QUESTION: Shop wants to charge about $1K for the job, but it looks like I can buy some direct fit parts for around $500 (both cats). I'm not a mechanic but I can turn a wrench, and this looks pretty accessible (although the rust is gonna be a sonofabitch I can tell).

Looking under there, it looks like there's a pretty substantial subframe brace that protects the cats. DO I HAVE TO REMOVE THIS to get the cats off? Or will the whole thing just drop out if I remove that subframe piece?

Thoughts? Anyone ever do this before on an '05 and want to share any tips?

Here's a pretty crummy picture of the subframe brace I'm talking about. Pic is from the driver side, just beneath the driver seat. I think the bank 2 Cat is at the top of the picture, bank 1 may not be viewable from this angle.

 

[autoarcheologist]

I can't speak to the subframe, but every time I touch an exhaust all the bolts are rusted and half break. Make sure you pick up some new hardware. And good luck.

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[1955moose]

If your playing with exaust at home, its always a struggle! That being said, your working downwind of the exaust manifold. Push come to shove if a stud breaks at the cat your removing, its not that big a deal. My advice buy a can of kroil oil penetrant, douse the heck out of the nuts/ studs hours before disassembly. That and have a big hammer to help break loose anything stuck. Push to shove if you get stuck a Muffler shop can finish the job! Kroil oil can be bought at Wal mart/Kmart. Or online. Stinky, but good nut buster!

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[Don Hall]

Just for reference: shop replaced both cats $280/ea. + labor $85 (2004 XLS)

 

[Chris Watkinson]

Just for reference: shop replaced both cats $280/ea. + labor $85 (2004 XLS)

Yeah I think their parts total was coming in around $500-$600, and another $500 for labor... A little too rich for me, considering I've also got to replace all my rocker panels due to rust...

ANYWAY I went ahead and ordered both Cats on CarParts.com, Evan Fischer brand (no idea if that's reputable or not). Borrowing some jack stands from a buddy, and going to dive in myself. Prepared to douse the thing in penetrating oil, but still have no idea about socket sizes, etc. If anyone has any experiential wisdom to share, that'd be appreciated. WISH ME LUCK!

 

[1955moose]

As far as sockets/ wrenches, a basic set of each, 8mm to 19mm, your covered. I'm guessing 13-15 mm is the size for removal. The spraying down ahead is a good idea. You might want to have a sawzall handy just in case. Also scout out any connector pipes, in case you need them, along with studs and nuts. You never know what your going to be able to reuse.

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[CAKD07]

I've had both sides replaced on my '05 EB. First at around 100K and Ford dealer referred me to a muffler shop that specialized in this. Ford wanted 1K, muffler dealer did it for under $300 in less than 30 minutes. Later with over 200K the other side died. Goodyear shop I do my service with referred me to same muffler dealer but different location with same results (price and time). Come to find out they are the primary place to get this done in DFW. They also told me if you got 100K on a CC you were doing good.

 

[CaptOchs]

You can get away with buying a non-CARB compliant cat converter. California vehicles require them, NY requires them if the car came with them. I've been using them anyway. It works with NY emissions. I replaced everything from the manifolds back for $700 + $400 installation. The installation was higher because one of the oxygen sensors broke removing it. I went to walkerexhaust.com and it shows all the parts. I ordered everything on Amazon.

 

[the bus]

I got a complete walker exhaust from Rock Auto 2 years ago. I would try eastern catalytic instead of the walkers. I had the new cats fail and rattle on the passenger side. Replaced that side under warranty. Then had a another rattle and restriction which was in the muffler. Order the entire muffler, donut, and pipes again from Rock Auto and a walker system. I cut the pipes and found the cat in the muffler. Ugh!!! I continued and replace the system since inhad it and cut the pipes to get it out. The hardest part is lining up the 2 cats at the cross over. And the exhaust manifold bolts may need to be drilled out. Yes the cross member needs to be removed. I also stripped the threads on that too. You will need ramps and a long pry bar, and I put hi temp silicon at all joints. The cat back part is really easy and you should use a sawzall. A local shop should be able to do this for less than your quote.

 

[Chris Watkinson]

I got a complete walker exhaust from Rock Auto 2 years ago. I would try eastern catalytic instead of the walkers. I had the new cats fail and rattle on the passenger side. Replaced that side under warranty. Then had a another rattle and restriction which was in the muffler. Order the entire muffler, donut, and pipes again from Rock Auto and a walker system. I cut the pipes and found the cat in the muffler. Ugh!!! I continued and replace the system since inhad it and cut the pipes to get it out. The hardest part is lining up the 2 cats at the cross over. And the exhaust manifold bolts may need to be drilled out. Yes the cross member needs to be removed. I also stripped the threads on that too. You will need ramps and a long pry bar, and I put hi temp silicon at all joints. The cat back part is really easy and you should use a sawzall. A local shop should be able to do this for less than your quote.

That's all great info, thanks! Can you explain what you mean by "the cat back part is really easy and you should use a sawzall"? I own a sawzall but don't know what I should plan on cutting... I'm having a hard time getting the two bolts out of the top of both cats... Really not any room to move a wrench, and they're rusted on pretty good.

 

[Chris Watkinson]

Well I didn't make much progress on Day 1, and the prospects don't look good for tomorrow but I'll update with some good info here. May edit my first comment to include what I've discovered. I'm pretty sure about these, but it's all rusted so much that they aren't fitting 100% tight

Wrench sizes:
- 2 bolts at head of each cat converter: 14mm
- 2 bolts into muffler: look like they're 10mm
- O2 Sensors: 22mm... I had to rent an 02 tool from VIP, which is basically 22mm socket with a cutout for fitting the cable through it
- Circle clamp on the joint between two cats: looks like it's from Jupiter, possibly Saturn. It's vaguely a 12mm shape, but... You'll see

I borrowed a 3 ton quick jack and two 3 ton jack stands from a buddy. If you're doing this in your driveway, don't forget to put the jack stands on a slab of thick plywood or something... I quickly put some holes in my blacktop right away by mistake.

I'll add some pics, but this ain't as easy as it should be. I wanted to start by replacing just the Bank 2 (driver side) cat converter, because I have a hunch it's just that one that's failed.

I got the upstream 02 sensor on Bank 2 out pretty easy, but the downstream 02 is pretty cemented in place. Kind of black around the fitting, maybe they installed with too much Locktite and it turned into superglue with heat. There's basically zero range of motion there, so I can't really get any good leverage to turn the wrench with much force.

I haven't tried Bank 1 (passenger side) 02's yet, but I expect the same; upstream looks pretty easy to get to but the downstream is totally blocked in by a manifold, tight pipes... No idea how I'll even get a wrench close to it, let alone fit my hands in there. Ugh. If anything requires a few hammer taps to loosen up, I'll be SOL.

There's some kind of crazy clamp on the joint where Bank 2 connects to the Bank 1 cat... Hard to describe, but it's like a circle clamp with some weird red thing, and the bolt is misshapen, it looks alien to me. I'll post a pic. I wanted to just change Bank 2 first, but it looks like I might not be able to separate them after all... more work for me.

The two bolts at the top of each cat are extremely difficult to reach. I tried first with a 14mm straight wrench, wouldn't budge. I think I might be starting to strip the edges of the hex bolt heads, so I don't want to keep messing with it. Went out and bought a 14mm deep socket for my ratchet, and that's slipping even worse, and still no angle to get good leverage for a solid turn. Getting a prybar up there is out of the question.

I hosed everything down AGAIN with penetrating oil and will let it sit overnight, try again in the morning. Somebody say a prayer for me. I'll post some pics for reference too.

 

[Chris Watkinson]

Pics for reference. Here's the circle clamp where the two cats join together. Some weird red fastener that I have no idea how to remove.



Downstream Bank 2 O2 sensor, doesn't want to budge. Can't get a good angle to free it.


View of the Bank 2 upstream O2 sensor (removed), and the two bolt posts (one on the other side) that I can't free... No room to move a wrench up there.


View of the both Bank 1 sensors... Upstream is toward the bottom left corner of pic, downstream is where I'm pointing the flashlight. Pretty sure I can get to the upstream, but the downstream is hidden by this manifold, and I don't even see how I can get a hand up there, let alone a wrench...

 

[the bus]

That's all great info, thanks! Can you explain what you mean by "the cat back part is really easy and you should use a sawzall"? I own a sawzall but don't know what I should plan on cutting... I'm having a hard time getting the two bolts out of the top of both cats... Really not any room to move a wrench, and they're rusted on pretty good.

 

[the bus]

The manifold bolts are tough and tight and usually rusty. Have to spray down those with rust penetration such as the Mopar version or pb blaster or automatic transmission fluid. I used an impact rated universal from harbor freight and light duty cordless impact. The one broke and had to drill it out. A map gas torch may help too, but be careful. The cat back is the muffler and exhaust pipes. The original tail pipe is. One piece and must be cut after the muffler and before it goes up over the independent axle. Hope that helps.

 

[Chris Watkinson]

Okay, final update: I struggled with it for a few days, then re-examined my quote from the shop... I misread the original quote! They had about $150 for labor, and are fine with the customer providing their own parts, so I brought it in and they did it up real quick. Ended up having to replace both downstream O2 sensors too, so total was bout $300 at the end of the day. I had already found both Catys for $400 total, shipped. Evan Fischer brand.

I think the shop had to use a torch to heat up some of the tough joints, free up the parts to remove them. That mighta been where the O2 sensors were damaged, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Long story short, if you've got an older vehicle with lots of rust, don't bother going DIY unless you've got a lift, torch, and can maybe weld too!

Fuel use now is sitting around 13-13.5mpg, up from about 11.5-12mpg in town, so this bought me some better mileage. Exhaust is scentless so the Caty is doing it's job. Engine is chugging around 55mph when accelerating up hill, so I think I've got a coil that needs to be replaced even though it's not throwing a OBD code yet (I've done plenty of those on this vehicle and I know the symptoms). That should bring me up to 14mpg or so, in town and prob 18-20mpg highway.

Thanks again for all the feedback everybody! Next time I'll give the advice: Just have the shop do it! haha

 

[1955moose]

I rarely did exaust work at home on customers cars. Rust, and broken bolts turn a 1 hour job into a 4 or more hour one. Glad you got it done. Curious how the new cats last. Let us know down the road for the others replacing theirs. Their so much trashy parts, it will be refreshing if these are a quality one.

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[Habbibie]

I rarely did exaust work at home on customers cars. Rust, and broken bolts turn a 1 hour job into a 4 or more hour one. Glad you got it done. Curious how the new cats last. Let us know down the road for the others replacing theirs. Their so much trashy parts, it will be refreshing if these are a quality one.

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Agreed, the heat and rust are a nightmare combo to deal with, best advice is leave this one out to the pros... at least the labor factor. You'll save yourself a few bloody knuckles and a lot of swearing

 

[Trainmaster]

I did the cats on my 2000 right before junking it. The Walkers don't hold up like OEM's do, that's for sure. Don't sweat the oxygen sensors. At this mileage they should be replaced anyway and at least one of them is impossible to reach. I got to the manifold bolts through the wheel well with the tire off.

Good tools for driveway exhaust work are a chain pipe cutter, pipe expander, Sawzall and Dremel with a cut-off wheel. The Dremel is great for slitting the end of one pipe to pry it loose from another. I just break the bolts off the clamps with a BFW.