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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
I replaced mine on my f-150 with emico freeflow cats. I had the work done in las Vegas cause no one around here would touch em and I was oging out there for the SEMA show anyway.
I replaced mine - bolt in deal from Cat Co (ordered from Summit Racing) took all of maybe an hour or two- get ALL new fasteners and washers, gaskets-I used stainless , I didnt even use a wrench for removal just cut all of the bolts with a sawsall, pulled it all out, and then cleaned up and replaced everything with new- worked out fine.
Unclemeat has indicated a likely culprit. I think everyone's first gen heat shield(s) start to go within a few years. Mine went at 2years. Just run the engine and press on the heat shields. If the noise stops you found your problem...
If the Cat(s) clogg up you will start seeing performance and gas mileage go into the toilet. Basically the more unburnt fuel that reaches the cat the more work it does and quicker it cloggs up.. So you might want to check/replace your 0xygen sensors while your at it...
I did have a friend who replaced his cats only to have them clogg within a year because he ran his engine too rich....
my new toyota pickup, well new to me, its an 85, has a Catco cat on it... from what i have heard here, they are high flow units... maybe not high flow, but more performance minded than stock......
car sound makes high flows for the explorer your year and they are very easy to install but kinda pricey. the performance is good to 5-10 horsepower10-15 ftlbs of torque
i had mine replaced (dont think it was a high flow). the shop ran some diagnostics and said it was bad. go to an emmisions specialtist, they ought to be able to determine if your cat is working, if its working, it doesnt need replacing. my heat shield rattled too, i think its real common on the 1st gen