Found out I have one and am considering removal. My truck came from Washington state and I live in Hawaii. No checks for engine cleanliness here. What do you think about removal? I had a mechanic for Dodge and other diesel engines look at my truck and he said the triangular shaped can is a catalytic convertor.

 

Take it out. It will sound much better and may lower egt's a bit. When I first got my truck I took the cat and the muffler out and just replaced it with a piece of three inch straight pipe. I loved the sound. Hope this helps.

 

Just gutted my cat yesterday. I removed the cat, gutted it, and put it back into place.<br><br>It was a witch to get the cat off at the connections, the clamps came of fine, but the pipes were &quot;crimped together&quot; from the clamps. Even with the pipes loose it was tuff. Lot's of rocking, penetrating oil, and heat. Their is also a rivet on the top of the pipe and a &quot;V&quot; or groove on the cat to prevent it from turning. Kind of like a locking pin. I used blocks of wood along the frame and just kept rocking the cat back and forth to finally remove. Just make sure you support the pipe that goes from engine to cat so you are not putting alot of tension/torque on the connection at the turbo housing.<br><br>As far as the catalyst material inside the cat. Get a big heavy hammer, a few various sizes of pipe about 2 ft long and keep whacking away. It will eventualy break apart. It is hard work to finally get it to break apart , but it will. <br><br>Your truck will breath easier, sound a little (very little) deeper/better, and run cooler, probably better mileage, and probably better power.<br><br>On a scale of 1-10 on the *itch meter, it about a 5 or 6. Hands will be black/sooty for a few days, and that catalyst is sharp! Be careful. Good luck, Kevin

 

I agree with KD640, but I suggest you wear a mask while you are exposed to the dust from the cat. Not sure whats in them, but can't imagine it would be good for ya. Tony