[xj] cat removed

XJ
1

After seeing the clunker video on here I decided its only
fair now to relieve my ‘‘clunker’’ of its main
clunkiness…the catalytic…I’ve suffered from clogged cats
on other vehicles so i’m aware of the symptoms. I’m sure
mine is plugged so I took my cat from the 86 parts car, cut
the pipe, took out the contents, including the wire mesh and
then had my friend weld the pipe back (i finally bought a
welder, now I have to learn to use it!)
I’m confident i’ll see a huge increase in performance. I
have always replaced cats in the past, but considering what
is going on in the world…its all small potatoes now!.
I’ve never even driven a catless car, having seen how
restrictive that cat material is i’m amazed the gas can get
though it all even when new.
Hopefully i’ll get it all put on the car tomorrow and i’ll
post back the new feel of raw illegal power!.–
Chris. blk/tan 84 XJ6VDP, blk/tan 86XJ6 VDP parts car, blk/t
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2

In reply to a message from uncoded sent Thu 27 Aug 2009:

the Series 3 XJ-6 will pass emissions inspections without the cats.
The performance increase is not huge, but the engine will breathe
better and you get better fuel economy. The original Y pipe has a
second cat, did you replace the Y pipe too? or just the front cat?
There is a European Y pipe available, used in the Series 2 I think,
but fits the Series 3 perfectly.

Zurdo–
The original message included these comments:

fair now to relieve my ‘‘clunker’’ of its main
clunkiness…the catalytic…I’ve suffered from clogged cats
on other vehicles so i’m aware of the symptoms. I’m sure
mine is plugged so I took my cat from the 86 parts car, cut
the pipe, took out the contents, including the wire mesh and
then had my friend weld the pipe back (i finally bought a
welder, now I have to learn to use it!)
I’ve never even driven a catless car, having seen how
restrictive that cat material is i’m amazed the gas can get
though it all even when new.
Chris. blk/tan 84 XJ6VDP, blk/tan 86XJ6 VDP parts car, blk/t

–
1965 3.8 ‘S’ 1984 XJ-6
Florida, United States
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3

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

I recently did the same to mine. After help from the forum
determining it was clogged! Really clogged.
I gutted the front one only. I have the back pipe and may
replace it later. The front surface of the front cat was
very clogged but the back seemed very clean so I stopped there.
The weld was not done too well so there are a few leaks.
But the engine noise seems a bit louder. Maybe the cat
provides a bit of muffling. I can’t say for sure there is
better performance but it feels stronger.
Dick
85 XJ6
64 E Type FHC–
Dick Thigpen
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4

In reply to a message from Dick Thigpen sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

if you completely cleaned the front or ‘‘down’’ catalytic and it
wasn’t properly welded (sealed) and then pressure tested, the noise
increase is probably a leak in the catalytic housing. I noticed
very little noise increase in my '84 after emptying-cleaning the
front cat and replacing the Y pipe with the non-cat Euro Y pipe.

Note there is also a ‘‘down’’ Euro pipe which replaces the front
catalytic but it has no mounting for the O2 Sensor, you would have
to modify it using the O2 sensor mounting from the old catalytic.

Zurdo–
The original message included these comments:

I recently did the same to mine. After help from the forum
determining it was clogged! Really clogged.
I gutted the front one only. I have the back pipe and may
replace it later. The front surface of the front cat was
very clogged but the back seemed very clean so I stopped there.
The weld was not done too well so there are a few leaks.
But the engine noise seems a bit louder. Maybe the cat
provides a bit of muffling. I can’t say for sure there is
better performance but it feels stronger.
Dick
85 XJ6

–
1965 3.8 ‘S’ 1984 XJ-6
Florida, United States
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5

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

Whoa…guys there is absolutly NO reason to have to ‘‘open’’ up the
front cat on a series III to empty it and therefore should require
no welding. Mine was off the car, emptied and back on in about an
hour. The ‘‘membrain’’ or ‘‘honeycomb’’ inside is very accessable from
the top with it off the car and can be easily pounded out with a
tire iron then the outer screen material grabbed and pulled out
with needle nose. Mines clean as a whistle and looks nothing but
stock from the outside with no ‘‘welds’’ needed. The back ‘‘Y’’ pipe
can be ordered from Pauls Jaguar and takes all of the same 1 hour
to remove and replace the rear. Performance gain? eh, so, so.
Running cooler? Yes!–
Milner
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6

In reply to a message from Milner sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

on older cars the front catalytic develops weld cracks particularly
at the bottom where it meets with the Y pipe, so that’s a perfect
opportunity to finish prying it open and cleaning the insides out.
Then it needs to be rewelded and pressure tested. I really doubt
you got all the junk out of it, especially the honeycomb mesh where
it is tack-welded to the inside surface. The only way to get those
off is to grind them off clean.

Zurdo–
The original message included these comments:

Whoa…guys there is absolutly NO reason to have to ‘‘open’’ up the
front cat on a series III to empty it and therefore should require
no welding. Mine was off the car, emptied and back on in about an
hour. The ‘‘membrain’’ or ‘‘honeycomb’’ inside is very accessable from
the top with it off the car and can be easily pounded out with a
tire iron then the outer screen material grabbed and pulled out
with needle nose. Mines clean as a whistle and looks nothing but
stock from the outside with no ‘‘welds’’ needed. The back ‘‘Y’’ pipe
Running cooler? Yes!
Milner

–
1965 3.8 ‘S’ 1984 XJ-6
Florida, United States
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7

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

You really don’t think I got it all out? Are you daft? Are you so
brazen as to your assuredness of the condition of MY cat and of my
competence to properly clean my own cat as to say I’m an idiot and
don’t know that my cat is completely cleaned out? I would highly
suggest you take a long look at your posts before you jump to
conclusions about MY CAR. I can tell you with all assuredness that
my cat is clean as a whistle inside, period. Just because you THINK
you know everything doesn’t make it so.–
The original message included these comments:

Then it needs to be rewelded and pressure tested. I really doubt
you got all the junk out of it, especially the honeycomb mesh where

–
Milner
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8

Now c’mon Milner…!
Don’t sugar coat it; don’t hold back!
Tell him what you really think… !?!
Bill
Alaska
'86 v12 vdPOn Aug 28, 2009, at 7:50 PM, Milner wrote:

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

You really don’t think I got it all out? Are you daft? Are you so
brazen as to your assuredness of the condition of MY cat and of my
competence to properly clean my own cat as to say I’m an idiot and
don’t know that my cat is completely cleaned out? I would highly
suggest you take a long look at your posts before you jump to
conclusions about MY CAR. I can tell you with all assuredness that
my cat is clean as a whistle inside, period. Just because you THINK
you know everything doesn’t make it so.

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9

In reply to a message from Milner sent Fri 28 Aug 2009:

if you check your own words, it was you who came into this thread
acting like Mr. know-it-all, and I quote:

‘‘Whoa…guys there is absolutly NO reason to have to ‘‘open’’ up
the front cat on a series III to empty it and therefore should
require no welding.’’

your ‘‘only-I-know-it-all’’ statement above obviates the fact (as I
took the time to explain), that these catalytics develop cracks at
the lower welds and require re-welding anyway, and that’s the
perfect opportunity to clean them up inside with a grinder tool
after removing the mesh. Obviously mister, you haven’t really
looked inside one of these to see what is left inside after removal
of the mesh honeycomb, and to say that yours is ‘‘clean as a
whistle’’ because you used a neandarthal method to pull the stuff
out, is a totally ignorant, not to mention arrogant, conclusion.

and by the way, ‘‘membrain’’ is correctly spelled ‘‘membrane’’.

Zurdo–
The original message included these comments:

Whoa…guys there is absolutly NO reason to have to ‘‘open’’ up the
front cat on a series III to empty it and therefore should require
no welding. Mine was off the car, emptied and back on in about an
tire iron then the outer screen material grabbed and pulled out
with needle nose. Mines clean as a whistle and looks nothing but
stock from the outside with no ‘‘welds’’ needed. The back ‘‘Y’’ pipe
to remove and replace the rear. Performance gain? eh, so, so.
Milner

–
1965 3.8 ‘S’ 1984 XJ-6
Florida, United States
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10

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Sat 29 Aug 2009:

Ah, you’ve made my point perfectly clear.–
Milner
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11

In reply to a message from Milner sent Sat 29 Aug 2009:

Well I have just done this ‘‘emptying the cat operation’’ on my front
cat. Took my trusty Sawzall with a fine tooth blade meant for
cutting metal. WHACK! Sliced the bottom off just above the factory
weld. The ‘‘innards’’ are stubborn to get out as it must be broken up
and separated from the mesh. If the innards are to be pulled out
through the top I doubt that it will be possible to get it all out.
And furthermore the left over ‘‘crumbs’’ will be pushed by the
exhaust further down the pipe and will pile up at the front of the
rear cat. They will not be blown out of the exhaust pipe into the
air, because they will not get through the rear cat. So how do you
really know?? Get a sawzall and slice 'er open. Removing the
exhaust system from exhaust manifold exit to the ‘‘through the cage’’
pipes, is not that difficult. 4 nuts on the manifold to cat, 1 nut
holding the steady bracket to the trans, and 2 nuts on each over
the axle pipe connections. BUT if the car is a rust bucket… some
new swear words can be used when your knuckles get scraped, cut and
bruised. Once the system is sitting on the garage floor it takes
but a few minutes to slice it open. Welding it back together took
about 20 minutes. Grinding the welds smooth 15 minutes, apply some
exhaust paint,…done. No big deal.–
Alyn
Seattle WA, United States
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12

In reply to a message from Alyn sent Sat 29 Aug 2009:

another one bites the dust. it needs to be thoroughly cleaned
inside and a little work goes a long way. Funny you didn’t mention
the mesh being tack-welded at some points of the inner surface? Did
you encounter that? or was the mesh bag completely loose in there?

Zurdo–
The original message included these comments:

Well I have just done this ‘‘emptying the cat operation’’ on my front
cat. Took my trusty Sawzall with a fine tooth blade meant for
cutting metal. WHACK! Sliced the bottom off just above the factory
weld. The ‘‘innards’’ are stubborn to get out as it must be broken up
and separated from the mesh. If the innards are to be pulled out
through the top I doubt that it will be possible to get it all out.
And furthermore the left over ‘‘crumbs’’ will be pushed by the
exhaust further down the pipe and will pile up at the front of the
rear cat. They will not be blown out of the exhaust pipe into the
air, because they will not get through the rear cat. So how do you
really know?? Get a sawzall and slice 'er open. Removing the

–
1965 3.8 ‘S’ 1984 XJ-6
Florida, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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13

In reply to a message from zurdo sent Sun 30 Aug 2009:

Yeah the mesh was a pain in the butt. I had to keep tugging at it
to get it all loose. I guess it was tack welded here and there.
Once I had the cat sliced open I just gutted the beast, until there
was no more ‘‘stuff’’. At least I have a definate understanding that
the left over ‘‘crumbs’’ are not floating down the pipe and piling up
in front of the rear cat.–
The original message included these comments:

another one bites the dust. it needs to be thoroughly cleaned
inside and a little work goes a long way. Funny you didn’t mention
the mesh being tack-welded at some points of the inner surface? Did
you encounter that? or was the mesh bag completely loose in there?

–
Alyn
Seattle WA, United States
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14

In reply to a message from Alyn sent Sun 30 Aug 2009:

I also was able to completely de gut…including the wire
mesh just by using a crow bar and hammer through the top and
bottom pipe holes, I thought the mesh was going to be a real
pain, then all of a sudden I musta scraped it in the right
place and it came right out. I’ll remove the center cat too
and have already made a ‘‘Y’’ pipe to replace it. Cat and pipe
are all painted in cast iron High temp paint to match the
valve covers and heat sheild…Its a shame the guy who sold
me the car was such an %$#@@!..i’d love to show him it now!.–
The original message included these comments:

the mesh being tack-welded at some points of the inner surface? Did
you encounter that? or was the mesh bag completely loose in there?

–
Chris. blk/tan 84 XJ6VDP, blk/tan 86XJ6 VDP parts car, blk/t
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