Cat Delete?

[CoronaRaptor]

I have smelly exhaust when I tow my trailer up long steep hills, was wandering if the cats are toast and what is the best solution. Smells kind of sweet but burnt smell, at first I thought it was my brakes or transmission but it’s definitely just the exhaust, we did a bunch of testing up hills in the mountains today. Was curious since we don’t have smog up here anymore, if I can remove the cats and just have a muffler shop weld in some pipe or if I should order new cats from SW. There are no mods on the motor except SW long tube headers and SW true dual exhaust. It’s at 152,000 miles and runs smooth. What you think, can/should a guy remove the cats and do you bypass O2 sensors?
Pics for reference…

 

[Oldfart]

Does is still run good? The only time I had cats go was on my V70-R, and it ran like I shoved a corn cob into the exhaust. It lost about 70% of it's power. I gutted the cats and put a spacer on the rear O2 sensor to fool the reading. It's been great for several years now, no CEL's. I never had any weird smells, just a huge power drop.

 

[GCATX]

I would think if the cats were bad you would be getting a code or you would be way down on power if they were clogged. I wonder if your radiator expansion tank is burping up fluid, but you'd probably recognize that smell. Or if your headers are glowing red from the long pull and melting something close by. Did you paint the headers?

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Does is still run good? The only time I had cats go was on my V70-R, and it ran like I shoved a corn cob into the exhaust. It lost about 70% of it's power. I gutted the cats and put a spacer on the rear O2 sensor to fool the reading. It's been great for several years now, no CEL's. I never had any weird smells, just a huge power drop.

It still runs really good, no power loss! If anything I think the cats are blown apart, lol, might not be doing anything for the environment, ha ha.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

I would think if the cats were bad you would be getting a code or you would be way down on power if they were clogged. I wonder if your radiator expansion tank is burping up fluid, but you'd probably recognize that smell. Or if your headers are glowing red from the long pull and melting something close by. Did you paint the headers?

The headers are not painted and the smell is coming out the tailpipe, no engine compartment burning or leakage or burping/farting of the sorts. The smell is worse when the engine is working harder when pulling the trailer up steep hills, there doesn’t seem to be any smell from the exhaust when just driving the raptor around casually or up steep hills at 70mph, just when under heavy loads.

 

[MurderedOutSVT]

I used to run cat free x pipes with original 40 series Flowbasterds on my fox bodies. Yes...that 5.0 noise. There was a O2 sensor like thing that plugged into the upstream and downstream bungs and harness that made the computer run normal with no rich/lean codes. Not sure if there ia anything like that for our trucks.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

I used to run cat free x pipes with original 40 series Flowbasterds on my fox bodies. Yes...that 5.0 noise. There was a O2 sensor like thing that plugged into the upstream and downstream bungs and harness that made the computer run normal with no rich/lean codes. Not sure if there ia anything like that for our trucks.

I will never get the old co2 sensors out, I had one replaced by a muffler shop a few years ago and they had to weld a new b u n g on. When you have stainless steel and Fords co2 sensors made of metal, they corrode in place like cement, lol.

 

[GCATX]

Syrup splashed up on the exhaust and burning off?

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Syrup splashed up on the exhaust and burning off?

Smells like I sucked the ex wife into the intake and she got a little burnt on the way out!

 

[MurderedOutSVT]

Smells like I sucked the ex wife into the intake and she got a little burnt on the way out!

I would add an accelerant and smile. And then pee on what ever came out to establish dominance