Howdy everyone
I recently noticed a sort of egg smell coming from my 03 4.0 ranger from time to time. After talking with a buddy who has an 04 4.0, he said same thing happened to him and all it means is that the cats are going bad. Was curious if my only option to fix this is to replace them completely or if I can just delete them, and invest in a better muffler eventually. I don't care too much about the HP or sound, but I got a fairly high quote from a shop to replace em, and a much much lower quote from a different shop to just delete em and weld new pipe in. Curious what anyone on here thinks of this or if anyone has done something similar? I also do not live in a state with emissions testing, so not too worried from that end.

 

Surprised a shop would quote you on deleting a Cat
Its a Federal offense so applies in any state regardless of emissions standards in that state
Up to $2,500 fine for Cat removal with no replacement, for personal deletion
$25,000 fine for business deletion of Cat
So "heads up"

As for operational issues, there would be no issues, except for the rear(downstream) O2 sensor codes that would keep the CEL(check engine light) on full time
Downstream O2s are there to check if Cats are working, if you are not getting those codes now then Cats are working, at least enough not to set codes
But yes, the "rotten egg" smell does mean Cat converter is on its way out

 

so..what 's the fine for getting a cat stolen?? lol..
you guys are so lucky in michigan no state vehicle inspections...
if i were you i'd be getting the pipe welded in for sure..

 

Cat converters are worth $100 to $200 at recycler's which is why thieves go after them
Battery operated saws-all with a good blade takes less than a minute to cut one out

They target trucks or any vehicles with higher ground clearance, because they are easier

Unless they are caught "in the act" its pretty tough to catch them, Cats don't have track-able serial numbers
Say police pull over a pick up truck with 2 guys and 6 Cats in the bed and a saws all, at 3 in the morning, lol, Cops know they are stolen but they can not PROVE they are stolen, because they don't know where they were stolen from
To be convicted of theft there has to be a loss, so Cops would have to find at least one vehicle they could match one of the Cats to

Most recycler's require valid photo ID and they often no longer pay out Cash, just a check or transfer
But there are always people that thieves can sell to, at a lesser amount, but cash is cash

 

now here's a bright idea ... lol

https://www.watertownmanews.com/2022...verter-thefts/