I need some help to get this thing through emmissions (CT). I'd like to get it all set so it still sounds good and flows well but I don't want to have to change everything around everytime its emmissions time. Right now its a little too loud anyway...

so the emmissions guy says the check engine lights is manually turned off somehow because its not on but I'm getting a bunch of codes.... pretty much o2 sensors not getting info or something, like there are none.

its got long tube headers (unsure of the make but they are chrome) and no cats but there are o2 sensors in the header collectors. not sure of the exhaust make at all but it looks like a good quality brand. it has one very slim muffler before the pipe splits again and thats about it.

the guy I got it from gave me a programmer thing that plugs into the obd2 port I guess. I don't know what you can really do with it. I'll get the name of the programmer tommorrow I guess.

I don't really know where to start. it would be nice if I could just find a high flow cat on a mid pipe I could just insert after the headers, but not knowing what anything is kinda makes that hard. any help would be appreciated....

 

so there is no muffler in the back, right behind the rearend? im thinking that slim muffler may be the cat. can u find a name on the headers? take some pictures and post em, engine, headers and exhaust. like to see the car too.

 

are we talking about a 97 bird?

 

Hi, I live in Ct. and work for a certified emissions repair shop and deal with these issues daily. What year is your car? Lets start there and try and get you through. If you are pre-96 you will need some kind of cat/cats to pass the visual inspection. If you are post 96 you need to get your car to run without any stored codes and all factory equipped emissions systems working with the ECU to pass the readiness tests. This can be very hard on modified cars and you will need some patience. If your registration is coming up go through emissions anyway so your in the sysytem even if you will fail. You will then get a 60 grace period and a free retest. Let me know and I will help you if I can. By the way what part of Ct. are you in?

 

yes 97 T/A....
yeah, theres only the one muffler (or whatever. its maybe an inch wider than the rest of the pipe.) before the pipe splits. dunno when I can get pics cuz I have to bring it to my cousins lift. I cant even get a floor jack under the car cuz its too low.

in east hampton. any help would be appreciated. but I know you probly don't want to let me in on the cheap easy ways to do it... lol

I know with my mustang when you delete the cats all you need is o2 eliminator things that plug into the o2 sensors and send the correct signal back to the computer reguardless of what exhaust you have. is there anything like that for the 5.7? I already failed so I'm working on 53 days or so... I cant afford to spend much money on this.

 

A picture will be helpful if you can. It sounds like you may already have a high flow replacement cat or just one of those "loudmouth" systems with just a little muffler inline. Either way your car has to pass all of the readiness tests that your car originally came equiped with and must communicate with the test facilty's equipment. I don't know if you can find the O2 eliminator device for these cars but that isn't your only hurdle. I would have to plug into your car to see what systems are supported and what areas you will need to focus on. I work for this shop so I wouldn't charge you to check it out on my own time. I'm in Canton weekdays and Torrington weekends and can at least point you in the right direction. Even though your car just requires a plug in test they may still do the visual cat check and gas cap testing. I believe you also need to get your retest from the same shop that you failed with the first run. Let me know

 

I believe it is that loudmouth pipe. I might be able to get some pics today, gonna try to get it on the lift and try to find a starting point at least.

 

ok got it back on a lift, pictures to follow...

biggest problem: why is the service engine soon light not working? bulb is good, wiring seems good, checked all fuses under the hood and in the car.

how many o2 sensors are there? theres only 2 that I can find. these are in the collectors of the long tubes. I would have thought there would also be 2 upstream ones.

emission test results:
OBD-fail,
MIL- fail,
readiness- fail,
secondary air system- not ready,
oxygen sensor heater-not ready,
o2 sensor- not ready,
catalyst-not ready

codes:
p01402 sensor circuit No Activity bank 1 sensor 2
p01602 sensor circuit No Activity bank 2 sensor 2
p0400:exhaust gas recirculation flow
p1441:Manufacturer controlled aux. emis. controls

last question: the easiest way to get a cat on it is to just put one cat right after the pipes come back together. will it pass with just one cat? or do I have to find a way to get at least 2?

 

heres the exhaust pics

 

I'd say your headers look like some random ebay brand, most of the more high end headers exit at a slight angle on the drivers side so you have a little better ground clearance on the Y-pipe and around the steering linkage. Then I'd say you dump into an off-road Y-pipe and a resonator (that's the wider part of the system after the pipe). Your aft-cat O2 sensors have been eliminated from the system entirely. This is what's causing you trouble. Theoretically you can probably pass with 1 cat, but it may not get hot enough that far back in the system. In order for the catalyst to actually function as it should it needs to be as close to the source as you can get it. My cats sit right behind my collectors. It sounds like you need to find out how the codes were programmed out of the computer or how they were disabled so you can undo that and pass.