Todd Last wrote:
>Probably the best solution would be to simply knock the insides out of the
>cat and keep it in the system. (See the John Muir manual for the rabbit
>under "gutting the cat") Be careful as there may be dangerous (i.e.
>carsenergenous) stuff in cat guts. If you took the cat out you would have
>to make a custom bracket to support the muffler.

I would recommend that if your cat is still good don't destroy it.  You might
need it later. Get an old cat from a salvage yard.  My cat expired (broke up
inside) a short time ago blocking the exhaust.  As I do not currently have the
cash to replace it and my Dallas suburb county does not yet do smog tests I
elected to just clean everything out of it with a broom stick (it looks like old
used charcoal briquets) and put it back on.  The resulting performance/fuel
economy is surprising, though you must live with the damage you are doing to the
environment.

BTW: Midas (yes, Midas) has a perfectly good cat for the Vanagon for under $200.
The cat has the O2 sensor port to which they must weld on a nut with the
required threading for the O2 sensor.  It worked fine on mine for over 2 years
(the warranty period) until I was forced to drive a distance with a bad plug
wire which resulted in dumping lots of fuel into the exhaust ruining the cat.
(Yes, I know now I could have prevented this) ;).

I will be replacing the cat as soon as I can afford to.  I like things to be in
order and to spec. ...And I like to sleep at night without the fear of some gov
agency bursting in to protect the world from my anti-social behavior:) he he he

Eric Small
Dallas, TX
'86 GL
'93 Audi 100 (never gets out!)