2.9L has two catalytic converters "Question"?

[88 XLT Ranger]

Have an exhaust question?

My 2.9L Ford Ranger came from the factory with two catalytic converters. Mine is a California truck with tight smog rules. I see Magna Flow has carb certified front and rear cats both with differiant part numbers. What is the differiance between the two? both are same size inlet/ outlet and case size. The front is higher price than the rear cat

 

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There really aren't two though. It is considered, for all reasonable purposes (so this does not apply to any thing that happens in or around the horrible state of Commie-fornia) a single, dual-bed cat.

As for the Magnaflow, in a system where there are truly upstream cats the upstreams need to be a bit more efficient because the cat efficiency sensor is usually between the two cats.