sebastianholmes

guys, what in the world is this? i opened my exhaust up right after the cat and this was in the pipe. my cat is hollow. reminds me of steel wool but not as tightly woven. thanks.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Weird.

:wabbit2:

yotaman85

looks like the air buffer for you cat-converter... its toast.

sebastianholmes

any idea what it could be? my first thought was whatever used to be in the cat but my dad said that looks more like porous lava rock or something. i took it out because i figured something like that would cause too much restriction. could just be me but i feel like it opened it up a little, like really little haha, power wise.

yotaman85

it spreads the air out to evenly hit all the catilyst material in the converter. either someone installed it backwards or it deteriated inside. either way, it needs replaced.

sebastianholmes

I guess its a good thing i took it out then? i definitely need a whole new exhaust system. im pretty sure it still has the original.

EDIT: The cat is completely hollow inside anyways soo...

yotaman85

the air buffer is in between the two catilyst walls (honycomb looking stuff), after they get pluged they get WAY too hot and toast out, then the buffer is all that is left and ends up bunching up at the back of the cat. it is still less restrictive then your functional factory cat'.. good that you found it though.

sebastianholmes

okay thanks for the explanation! Anyone have any pointers on where i could get a good, fairly priced high flow cat? id like to get one of those and have my exhaust done in 2.25 piping with a flowmaster 40.

yotaman85

magnaflow... get the biggest one you can that has your exhaust OD.. also go for the univesale one and have it welded in.

sebastianholmes

thanks man. i would for sure get everything welded in instead of having to fix leaks like i do now. might as well spend a little more and do it right the first time. would i be able to go to and exhaust shop and just tell them i want a high flow cat yadda yadda flowmaster 40 yadda and they have it there to buy and have them install or would i have to take the cat and muffler there and them just supply the pipe and install? which way would be cheaper? im a super noob when it comes to exhaust so i wanna learn all i can to get it right

yotaman85

it would be cheaper to find it online then have the shop do it.. BUT, in yota tech fashon it would be way cheaper to go buy a flux core welder and some pipe frome harbor frieght and learn to do it yourself!! not to mention a lot more fun.. in fact, how far is cohutta from nashville. i would be glad to let you stop by and try welding it yourself. then when your done we could go wheeling..

peow130

I wouldn't recommend using a flux core welder to weldd your exhaust system.
Flux is very brittle, and as we all know, steel is a malleable and bendable thing..
That said, with the vibration and bumps our trucks see, it's more than likely that you'll crack the exhaust in that weld location. Be it in a week, or in a year, it'll crack and break.

Take it to a good mom and pop exhaust shop, and the exhaust tech will weld it with an acetylene torch and some rods.

yotaman85

ive been welding exhaust and bumper etc. with flux core years and have never had it fail...

chubbydude

Oh my, the web welders are out.

sebastianholmes

thanks for offering to help. its hour and a half 2 hours from you to me. My dads good friend, toyota guru, and guy that helped me rebuild my motor has a small MIG and some welding experience so if i was to do it myself i would go to him. id rather just let a pro handle something like that.