80's Ranger 4x4 for the Trails

[eightynine4x4]

Agreed, some places may get picky about generic cats though.

I already managed to source the muffler/pipes down from the cats for like 65$ total or something and install myself a while back, so that stuff is new and fine enough and it was cheap. So if buying the above cats puts me around a grand total of 300 for an all new OEM exhaust after Y pipe, it wouldn’t be the worst total investment. I don’t know anything about custom exhaust work but I have a hard time believing that for 300$ they could have provided something custom from the Y pipe down. Or maybe I’m wrong?
I could also shop for some “nice” cats and find some adapters that link up, that way I’m at least upgrading something instead of buying an OEM cat. But do Cats have a great impact on engine performance? Or are they just utilitarian for cleaning up the output so upgrading that alone doesn’t make sense and I should just buy what’s cheap?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Your truck itself won't care if it doesn't have a downstream 02

The visual inpspection people may care. I wouldn't want to stick a generic cat on and have it fail because it wasn't "correct"

Some cats may work better than others if they put a probe in the exhaust pipe too.

 

[Roert42]

I already managed to source the muffler/pipes down from the cats for like 65$ total or something and install myself a while back, so that stuff is new and fine enough and it was cheap. So if buying the above cats puts me around a grand total of 300 for an all new OEM exhaust after Y pipe, it wouldn’t be the worst total investment. I don’t know anything about custom exhaust work but I have a hard time believing that for 300$ they could have provided something custom from the Y pipe down. Or maybe I’m wrong?
I could also shop for some “nice” cats and find some adapters that link up, that way I’m at least upgrading something instead of buying an OEM cat. But do Cats have a great impact on engine performance? Or are they just utilitarian for cleaning up the output so upgrading that alone doesn’t make sense and I should just buy what’s cheap?

Cats will definitely effect the engine performance and fuel economy. If they are of poor quality they will get clogged easily, and if they get clogged they can cause a lot of issues.

I have a set of aftermarket cats on my mustang and I can pass a PA inspection, which is a CARB compliant state, they do emissions in my county. I do not know what it's like in NY.

I know you can get cats that will come with information proving if it is Federal or CARB compliant.

 

[Curious Hound]

The most difficult thing about it is finding that oval shaped part at the collector flange.

 

[eightynine4x4]

The most difficult thing about it is finding that oval shaped part at the collector flange.

Kind of a good reason to just go with one that’s known to fit.
I checked and I believe NY only does emissions checks for vehicles made 1995 and after. That’s not to say I’m looking to get a crappy quality one and not care about exhaust/health/environment, but I don’t have to base all of this around measurements.
I’ll look into cats that physically are known to fit, OR are known to fit with some adapters. I’ll see if some are better performing than OEM in all regards but not three times the cost and maybe spring for the nice one, if it exists.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Silly question... Will the air quality for breathing be noticeably better if I purchase a CARB compliant catalytic converter instead of just EPA compliant? Like with the windows down and sitting at a traffic light, a CARB compliant conversion should make this a better experience for my lady in the passenger seat?

 

[Roert42]

You can use the flange from your existing contraption to weld into your new cat.

just a heads up.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Silly question... Will the air quality for breathing be noticeably better if I purchase a CARB compliant catalytic converter instead of just EPA compliant? Like with the windows down and sitting at a traffic light, a CARB compliant conversion should make this a better experience for my lady in the passenger seat?

You won't notice a difference.

 

[eightynine4x4]

You won't notice a difference.

Looks like CARB is required in New York when doing any new installations, no matter what vehicle. Adds a good bit of cost, but not horrendous.
I'm cautious about this step though, since i don't want to instantly clog up / burn out the cat right away with any engine issues still remaining.
So i'm going to replace the O2 sensor, finish correcting the flange bracket bolt issue on the one Y-pipe side, and put the fake cats back on and see how the engine performs and also see if the check engine light continues to come on.
Turns out my flange bracket is quite reparable.. The bracket is fine and the one side is loose and both holes are wide open ready for a bolt. The mount spot on Y pipe is half full of an old fossilized bolt segment, and a lot of loose rust around it. I've already managed to dremel a lot of free space around it. The carcass is only around 1/8" deep too, so with enough persistence it will dig/drill out eventually. Once it's out, it's looking like a functional mount.
In all of this, I'm very fortunate that the body lift was installed on this truck. This would have been a nightmare without that working room for getting in tools above the wheel.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Success! Probably a total of 15-20 solid minutes of torching and a whole hell of a lot of awkward tapping with a 2 lb hammer, and a few rounds of PB and waiting long between, and with a 4 foot breaker bar it broke loose and came out perfectly. Threads in Y pipe look great.
The new O2 sensor has thread goop on it already so I’m set to install.
Next up is that bracket ..

 

[eightynine4x4]

Got the bracket half dug out. Made a sturdy temporary clamp to keep the pipe tight though. Will attack again soon.
Put dummy cats back on.
Took it for an hour long drive, two times yesterday.
NO MORE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT

Starting up has started to require a long held cycle though before it turns over. This began a few days ago. And it can lope for 10-20 seconds before settling in. If I give it throttle while starting, this is basically eliminated.
I think that in all this system rebalance that maybe I’ve fouled the new spark plugs or something else regarding mixture.
The truck runs quite well though. Everything is starting to feel much more normal.
There is the classic gassy smell of running a lawn mower though, when the windows are down. Sometimes it doesn’t quite go away while moving either. I think that dummy catalytic under the cab is leaking odors. And of course not correcting them either, allowing the lawnmower smell.
When windows are up it’s gone.
I’m going to do a top end cleaning with sea foam spray and also a fairly aggressive crankcase cleaning then change the oil and add rislone to next batch.

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

The most difficult thing about it is finding that oval shaped part at the collector flange.

i made a bunch of these flanges out of 3/8" stainless steel. i can ship one to whoever wants one.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Limited slip diff, rough test...

I chocked wheels and put it in neutral and lifted one rear wheel and got a basic sense of the resistance the wheel gives me when turning it. I didn't craft a proper attachment for my torque wrench so i did a quick rough comparison with the wrench with the end mounted in a vice and a pole to extend the wrench to about 15-16 inches long which is radius of wheel. From what i can tell it's resisting somewhere in the ballpark of 40-50 ft lbs. Abstractly speaking, it definitely resists, and when not using any leg leverage it's a tough to move around. I can't find info on what it SHOULD be when installed new though. 100 ft lbs? 50 ft lbs?

 

[eightynine4x4]

Woops. Pounded a little too hard trying to get that bolt carcass through.
Guess it’s good to replace it anyway since it’s rather rusted. I think the fact that it gave so easily probably means it’s quite fragile and would give out in the future somehow.

Im hoping the whole plastic wheel well fully detachable from body above it. If so, I have good access to all six bolts due to body lift.
These bolts are going to be a nightmare to not break though. I may hand this over to the local shop I trust.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Inner fender should come out fairly easily, I have at least one of mine out once a year minimum. A couple screws to hold the fender to the inner fender and then a couple bolts to mount the plastic inner fender to the inner support structure of the front clip. Things can mount on it from above (you have an air filter over there etc) and I don't know how they mount on your era of truck.