[aroncornell]

Hey guys,

New to the site, just picked up a 2000 ram with the V10 and the cats are rattling like crazy. I want to take them off but i have heard from many people that these trucks need a lot of back pressure. It has a Vforce muffler on it right now. I was just wondering what is gonna happen when i take them off, i dont want to lose any power and hurt anything, but i dont exactly wanna spend a big chunk of change to buy 2 new ones either. any help or info would be greatly appreciated

thanks, Aaron

 

[aroncornell]

one more thing, i was also wondering how much louder the exhaust is going to be, currently with the vforce muffler, it isnt loud at all.

thanks

 

[98QuadCabV10]

Removing the cats won't make it any louder. At least it didn't on mine. When I removed mine, my gas milage went up a little bit. The cats shouldn't make any difference on the performance of the V10, maybe a little more power but nothing noticeable. Make sure you don't have a downstream o2 sensor. Since you have dual cats you shouldn't. Mine have been off for about 4 years now with no problems.

 

[aroncornell]

what is the downstream o2 sensor,and how do i tell if i have it?

 

[98QuadCabV10]

A downstream o2 sensor is a sensor that monitors the cat. It will set a code if the cat is not operating correctly. It's easy to tell if you have one. Look at the cats then see if there is a sensor screwed into the cats or after them. If you are unsure what they look like then follow the exhaust pipe up towards the engine. After the pipes split and go to each side of the engine there will be 1, o2 sensor screwed into the pipe on each side. The downstream one will look just like those.
If you do have a downstream o2 sensor you would have to buy an o2 simulator. I don't think your truck has it unless it was made for california.

 

[aroncornell]

ok, so im figuring my truck was made for california because i just had to replace my smog pump, and i followed the tubes going from the smog pump to the cats, so my next question is this, if i wanted to remove the cats? can i still do it if so what do i need to do. second, with my cats rattling and leaking, will this rob power from my engine. just wondering cause i have a buddy with a ford v10 and it has tons of power, and my dodge can barely turn 31's on dry pavement. any help is appreciated.

 

[98QuadCabV10]

My truck isn't a california model and I also have a smog pump. Does your truck have 1 cat or 2? If 2 then it's most likely NOT a california model. If yours is leaking then it is most likely blocked or partially blocked. If so that will reduce your power. I have 35's on and can spin them easy. If you do have a california model and you remove your cat's the only thing it will do is set a check engine light. If it does that then you can buy an o2 simm which makes the computer think the the cats are there.
When is the last time you did a tune on your truck?

 

[aroncornell]

my truck has 2 cats, but what are the tubes going into them? is that the o2 sensor, how much are the simulators. What if i take the cats off and knock out all the crap outa it and put it back on, would that work better? I just want a lil better sound and the power that i am missing

 

[sgillett]

My '96 Cali truck has no smog pump and one cat converter.
I have 4 O2s, 2 in the down pipes, one at the entrance to the cat and one after the cat.
Scott

 

[98QuadCabV10]

The tubes that go into them come from the air pump that is belt driven in the front of the truck. They inject air into the cat to help burn unburned fuel. The best way is to remove the cats completely and put a pipe in-place of them. I'm not sure how much an o2 simm cost I have never used one. I've just heard of other guys using them and I know how they work.
Can you take some pictures of your cats and the area around them and post it here? If so the I can tell you if u need an o2 simm. It sounds like you don't. sgillett corrected me a year ago. Not all V10's don't have a o2 sensor. I thought they all didn't. Usually if there are 2 cats then there is no downstream o2 sensor. if there is only 1 cat then there is.

 

[aroncornell]

yea i will try to take some pictures tomarrow and post them. So if i remove the cats, then what do i do with that air tube? coming from the pump up front, which by the way is there a bypass for that because i just spend 128 bucks on a new one

 

[98QuadCabV10]

You can cut the air tube to remove the cats or disconnect the rubber hose. What i did is disconnected the hose at the pump. when disconnected it at the cat it made a loud noise from the air coming out the tube near the cat, so then I disconnected the hose at the air pump and the noise went away. I would leave the pump on the truck that way if you need the truck to pass emissions you can always hook it back up easy. I was thinking of turning my air pump into an air compressor but haven't had any time to experiment with it.

 

[81 RamCharger]

just go to a muffler shop and grt them to put it on the hoist. they will be able to trll you if you have o2 sensors behind your cats or not. if not than its cheap to cut the cats out and replace em at work we only charge like 35 bucks or somthin

 

[d34]

I was thinking of turning my air pump into an air compressor but haven't had any time to experiment with it.

the smog pump wont build pressure... this spring im wanting to put another ac compressor in its place... i will let u know how it turns out...

 

[wickedV10]

anyone know the size of the exhaust pipe on the dual cat v10, mine are rattling and i plan to remove them very soon

 

[98QuadCabV10]

I think it is 2 1/4". Not 100% sure, it's been a few years since I did mine.

 

[wickedV10]

cool tat what it looked like without measuring just wanna be sure the parts place has the length i need before i cut them off and delete them and hopefully get a little better mileage!!

 

[98QuadCabV10]

Are you going to put a new muffler on too?

 

[wickedV10]

no why do you think its worth it? the stock one is in fine shape, it wouldnt be hard to change though either

 

[98QuadCabV10]

It probably don't matter. I haven't found any mufflers that sound good on a V10 anyway. If you don't get the results you want you can always add it in later. Like you said the muffler on a V10 is easy to change. The cats were easy to. You will need to by pass the air pump hose. You can just cut the rubber hose that attaches to the cats. You may get a humming above 2,300 rpm when the hose is disconnected. I think to get rid of the noise I disconnected the hose from the pump at the engine. Make sure you leave the one on that goes to the air filter for the pump. The again you may never even notice it so you won't have to do any of that.