Removing Catalytic Converters and Exhaust Cat Temp ECUs

Have you thought about not removing the catalytic converter but just gutting it instead, that's what was done on my 1988 3.2 Mondial, sounds great. No issues.
Alden

 

It is a very simple system. The ECUs use the signal from the thermocouples to send power to the "Slow Down" light bulbs. If you remove the ECUs, the bulbs will no longer light.

The system is stand-alone: nothing else is affected by removing the ECUs or any other part of the system.

 

Then fix that wiring rats nest.

 

In a car that age something like that is inevitable.

 

Hmmm... What's involved with gutting it out? I'm considering buying a "test pipe", but your solution might be equally good. Definitely cheaper. (And I don't care about keeping original parts).

 

Assuming that the honeycomb is ceramic, it is very brittle and can be easily removed by breaking it up with a sledge hammer and a crowbar.

 

Probably better to preserve the cats as a subsequent owner may want to reinstate them. As for the test pipes, I made a couple for about forty bucks, just buy the flanges and a length of pipe on Summit and have the dimensions and orientations duplicated. I just tie wrapped the probes to the frame and left all the wiring and boxes intact so they could be remounted at any time in the future, no problem with lights. It's a bit louder but to be honest, not that much of a difference.

 

I agree with the assessment that it would be better to leave it original, so perhaps gutting the cat, with a sledgehammer and a crowbar and leaving all of the wiring intact would be the best solution, as I said, I did not perform this on my own car, so I don't have a comparison for before and after sound, but I think it sounds very good, and everyone else seems to think so too!
Alden

 

So just tie off the probes to the frame, leave the wiring in place and you're good to go!
Alden

 

I'm wondering what is actually involved in the gutting. You mentioned a sledgehammer and crowbar..........that seems excessive. Remove cat and tap it a bit (quite a bit) until everything inside falls out. Don't want to dent the thing. Also concerned about the sound difference. Anyone have experience with 308?

 

I did not perform the gutting of the cat on my car, the sledgehammer and crowbar method was mentioned to me by a very experienced Ferrari mechanic, so I just pulled that out as the way it was done, I have no firsthand knowledge of how to gut a cat, other than maybe an alley cat!
Alden

 

Got it...........Does the car sound OK with the cat gutted, or too loud? Also any problems with the "slow down" dash lights?
As for the alley cat.............please don't eat my cat!!!

 

T
No problems with the slowdown light on mine. To my ear, the car sounds great! I'm not sure if the original mufflers were gutted as well, but it has a very F1 sound, and I'm very pleased with it!
Alden