Hey Gang,

I have an '89 Sable 3.8L with broken exhaust link. The flange on the "Y" pipe to the Cat rotted off on XMas day. I wired it closed and just now got it to a local shop. The shop will inspect it, and look into welding a fabricated flange back onto the pipe.

If this doesn't work out I've looked into a replacement "Y" pipe. The original part appears to have 2 catalytic converters (or resonators?) built in before the "Y", one for each manifold. I've seen a Walker replacement (part #15782) "Y" pipe that does not have the converters before the "Y" merge.

Am I correct in that these are two small converters? Do I need an exact replacement? Or could Walker part #15782 work? I'm in NY, not CA.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

 

The real question is do you have to pass emission inspection in your location. If you do, removing the cats will raise your emissions, & I know in some states the car may not pass if it is missing emission equipment.

Newer cars have O2 sensors that would set off a code, but I think yours is too old for that. Easy way to tell is does it have a O2 sensor after the cats? If not, then the computer won't know.

 

Am I correct in that these are two small converters? Do I need an exact replacement? Or could Walker part #15782 work? I'm in NY, not CA.