EGSedan908

Okay so im buying a 92 Honda civic b16 swap, the car is from Pennsylvania and i live in new jersey so i need to get it inspected. the problem is the previous owner of the car put in straight pipe exhaust with no Catalytic converter . so i would need to take it to a mechanic and have them cut the exhaust apart and put on a new Catalytic converter. does anyone have any idea how much this will cost?
also should i get a regulat cat or a highflow cat? whats the price difference?

UPDATE: i called my mechanic shop and they quoted me 450$ but they said something asking about if the o2 sensor was wired or not. i didn't know the answer.

joeshmo

500-1000 dollars. The prices of the parts themselves are roughly 300$ for an OEM fit cat and 100 for the post-stream o2 sensor. Factor in welding and ect, 500 would be on the cheap side, you're more likely to pay 7-8 hundred I would say.

EGSedan908

Okay thanks, hopefully it will be at the very lowest. a friend of mine who owns a car shop said a universal cat would cost 180$

joeshmo

Universal cats are cheaper. If you are going with a universal, it will very likely be closer to the 500 mark.

BlackCivicEX

iTrader: (1)

why don't u ebay the parts....

For that price for welding, parts, and other ****, Why dont u just buy a new cheap exhaust and cat ? run you for 200-300$......

EGSedan908

Usually Ebay exhaust are very ricey , i could look for a cat on ebay though good idea.

joeshmo

Agree'd. For longevity and not attracting police attention and quietness and better engine tone, I'd go with something stock or very close to it.

Solomon1468

I dunno if prices have changed, but I've bought two different Magnaflow High-flow catalytic converters for civics over the past couple years and both times they were right around $100. If it's gonna cost you $600+ to get it done, seriously just buy a new brand name exhaust and cat. My brand new ws2 and the above stated magnaflow cat cost $600 shipped. And the ws2 is about as far from a ricer sound as you can get. As quiet as oem in low rpms but quite intimidating up around redline.

EGSedan908

i Have to get it installed to, i know putting on exhaust systems are not very hard but i have like 0 experience. the car already has a catback exhaust system on it, but it doesn't have a cat on. maybe once they look at the car they will give me a different price. i was hoping to pay like 300$ but looks liek i gunna have to shell out 450$.

deving916

iTrader: (2)

If you want to wait and save the money, do the spark plug non-fouler trick.
I bought my car from florida (no inspection needed) and moved back to New york.
My car doesn't have a cat, it's just welded with a flange, sounds stock but I had the p0420 cel code.

There's a trick which tricks the ecu and your CEL will go off after 100 miles, and it's only like 5$.

The catalytic converter is the proper way to go, but if your short on cash (aren't we all?) then try this:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-type-r-8/spark-plug-non-fouler-1841240/

HondaPartsHero

He needs it for the the primary O2 not the secondary. The O2 fouler trick won't work for that. Plus he probably already has the primary O2 sensor there I'm assuming. If you don't have a check engine light for it odds are its wired and working fine.

KnightmareCS

Check your car if you have the O2 wire hanging or tired somewhere. This is an important step for not getting ripped off! If you have it, with the connector attached, good stuff. If you have it, with the connector snipped, hop over to your local junkyard/parts store and get yourself an O2 pigtail. If you have no wire at all, find the pin on the ECU and make your own and repeat pigtail step.

If you have no place to screw your O2:
While at part store, buy an O2 bung. Mr. gasket or some crap. It's like 3 bucks at autozone, special order. Also buy an O2 sensor for your car. Don't buy Universal as you'll have to cut and splice yourself, good if you know how and if it's cheaper.

For the cat converter:
Go to any junkyard and have them put on a generic cat that looks like a decent size. It should be thicker than your regular exhaust pipe but not crazy bigger. I think these cars like backpressure, so don't go huge/high flow cat.
They'll cut your I-pipe and pop the converter in.

For having no O2 bung, they'll drill and place the O2 bung you bring where it should go. You can look up pics where it should go on your car to know ahead of time.

Once you have an O2 hole, screw it in yourself and connect the pigtail.

You're in Jersey, this whole ordeal should be no more than $200! If anything, go to Willet's Point in Queens, NY (if you're close) and get it done for $150!
I've had my cat-back (cat, over axle pipe, muffler, tips) installed on my other car (non-Honda) for $120, but I knew how to talk to the guys.


Note: if your car takes more than one O2, make sure you know which wire is which and where what bung goes.

Good luck.

EGSedan908

Also guys i need it to pass inspections so it will need to pass the emissions test. i think im just going to play it safe and let the shop do what they need to do. it may be dumb or not the best way to save money but i just want it done right. and the reasons i want to get a cat and not do one of those quick fix's is because i need to pass emissions and the car is super loud to the point were its just annoying and i would most likely get hassled by cops and my neighbors. when i get the car ill take a video of the exhaust and car and ill take a video once the mechanics fix the exhaust.

Solomon1468

Sure, sure. With your experience level it might not be a bad idea to just let the mechanics do their thing with the exhaust/cat and shell out the cash. But, I will say that it might not be a bad idea to find out exactly what they're talking about with the o2 sensor. I've heard of mechanics charging $300-$500 just to replace an o2 sensor because the oem part is so expensive and they'll charge you a full hour of labor when it really took them five minutes to put it in. Really, anyone who knows how to use a wrench and has ten spare minutes can replace an o2 sensor and a brand new one for an eg/ek from Autozone is like $90. Even with your experience, I'd say at least find out what the deal with that o2 sensor is and if they're going to charge you $300 to "fix" it (rewire, replace, whatever) maybe consider doing it yourself. It's honestly one of the easiest things you can replace on your car.

KnightmareCS

What I posted was not a "quick fix", nor was it "unsafe".

But suit yourself...

rhymeshark916

Op, Does your state requires you to have a CARB OE cat or just any cat?

49 states universal cats and OE Denso or NGK o2 sensor should cost less than $200 installed.

For instance, my Magnaflow CARB universal CAT cost me $180 installed and I paid $50 for a Denso direct fit o2 sensor shipped from Amazon or Sparkplug.com. Don't buy Autozone or O'reily sensors. They only carry Bosch and it's like $90.

EGSedan908

i was not trying to insult anyone, but understand i need to pass inspection and emissions test. So tricking the check engine light wont do what i need. thank you for trying to help i appreciate it.

KnightmareCS

Re-read my post. It is actually a "proper" fix that actually does what you're asking. I.E. putting a cat to pass emissions, fixing your check engine light if it's on for missing O2 by actually putting an O2, etc etc.


I'm a snarky person, so don't take offense.

EGSedan908

Okay so now im not even buying the car, the seller wants to much for the car. i would buy it if it didn't have this exhaust problem but the guy wants 3700$ or more for the car and it will cost about 500$ to fix the exhaust so i can drive it.

That is way to much for a 92 Honda civic, even if it has a really nice swap.

Solomon1468

And I thought $90 was cheap for an o2 sensor...you learn something new every day

rhymeshark916

Yes sir. But honestly $90 for an o2 is quite expensive and it's not quality either.