Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

First technical post here - details on the car can be found here;

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/new-member-introduction-118/new-1le-owner-886835/#post6999385

The car has a stock Y pipe and catalytic converter. The converter is cracked/split down the side so it's loud and the car backfires and pops through it on decel. Replacing it is on the top of my list. It's my understanding that OEM replacements are NLA - so I'm leaning towards the Walker OEM replacement unless someone tells me that's a bad idea or there are problems with fitment? Should I replace the O2 sensors when I replace the Y pipe? Anything else I should be replacing at the same time - exhaust gaskets, manifold flange studs etc.?

I want to do plugs and wires (even after reading all of the horror stories). Does it make sense to do that while the old Y pipe is off the car? Some posts I've read suggest it is easier to do the plug and lead swap with the Y pipe out of the way.

TIA.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

No feedback - but just in case someone else goes looking for info.

Fitted the Walker Y pipe today - managed to get the old pipe off cleanly with no broken bolts - new one fitted up nicely and looks to be reasonable quality. I believe NAPA sells the Walker range but they showed none available nationally. Ended up getting one online from Rockauto instead.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Thank you for providing the feedback. Definitely going to help someone in the future.

I somehow missed this post. When I see posts that don't get responses, I'll try to add some sort of comment to stimulate discussion. Sorry I missed this one.

At this point, there are not a lot of "regulars" on this site. Used to have thousands.... now there's maybe a dozen hard-core LT1 owners, and a couple of LS1 owners who seem to be active, and helping out. Hopefully you will understand, and continue to contribute, in spite of us letting you down in this thread.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Hey. The garage I worked at in high school and college used to use Walker exhaust parts quite a bit. Decent fit and quality. Fine for an OEM replacement.

If you replace the O2's, find yourself some AC Delco's. Wasted $100+ on Bosch's that were slow to respond and just were a terrible product.

Manifold studs, if you can heat them with a torch, change them out. But if you have to do it cold you really risk snapping them off and could open up a can of worms.

Its a shame this place used to be fantastic for LT1 stuff. In the past couple weeks I have been trying to get on here more. If you search old threads there is a TON of great information for the LT1 platform available. Look up ShoeBox's links he posted. A lot of great LT1 diagnostic information.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Thanks for the responses - I'm gathering that there aren't a lot of active members here, but the old posts are a goldmine of information. Unfortunately some of the old posts describe problems and suggested fixes, but no conclusions - hence my reason for coming back here and updating my question :).

My mechanic was apprehensive about breaking loose the nuts off the manifold downpipe studs but everything came off cleanly - guess that's one advantage of my car never seeing snow or salt. He's moved on to other things though as he believes the car is not firing cleanly on all 8 and/or running rich and suspects that's why the cat let loose to begin with. He's also found a leaky PS pump that the previous owner had tried to correct with some gooey stop leak stuff.... so a new pump is going in.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Sometimes you can learn a lot from a data log of the computer (PCM). A member here specifically wrote this software for the 1994/1995 LT1 (and has expanded it to support 1993). I've been helping people evaluate the data logs for 20 years, and Scan9495 software is the best available for our cars.

Free download - Need a Windows 10 laptop, and buy a cable:

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/com...95-lt1-874306/

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Yep - one of the first stickies I read - I downloaded and installed the software, then got lost trying to determine where and what cable to buy. My car came with a Hypertech tuner to adjust for the 4:10 gears and the 160 degree thermostat, so I know from looking at that what type of ODB plug I have.

Sounds like one of these might be a good investment then?

OBD Diagnostics, Inc. - OBD2 All-In-One Scan Tool w/ USB

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

That's it for a 94. If you have a 95, you would need the 16-pin version. And, by the way, the program doesn't need Windows 10. Anything from Vista up is ok. XP even if you use an older version of the program.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Finally got a chance today to make my cable up. Purchased these two items from Amazon, as it was a much cheaper option than the $59 cable I posted earlier;




http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psvvvyc2zr.jpg

My car is still at the shop - I had them do a compression test while the Y pipe was out and everything came back even. So in addition to the Y pipe and PS pump, she's getting plugs and wires - just stock AC Delco replacements. Should be a nice bill by the time everything is done :cry:

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

The $8 USB converter cable you ordered may not work very well. The cheap Chinese knockoffs have been targeted by FTDI by making their drivers not work with those parts. You will be able to use the cable with an older driver set but newer versions of Windows are very nasty about insisting on downloading the newest drivers without asking you. Worse case is that you will have to periodically roll back the drivers when that happens. The only warning is when the cable stops working.

Older safe drivers: http://www.mediafire.com/file/8gf55s...Setup.exe/file

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Thanks for the heads up. I have a couple of older Dell XP laptops gathering dust and my plan was to commission one of them specifically for the Camaro. Will the cable play nicer with an XP machine? If not, is there a USB cable you can recommend that will?

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

No, the app works better on a Win 7 or later. It will run on an XP pc but you may have to use an older 1.xx version of Scan9495. Those are in the archives folder. The only advantage of an XP is that it is easier to set the pc to NOT download driver updates. But then the same is true of Win 7. Personally, I would update the older pc to Win 7 if possible.

I haven't done a lot to see how it works on XP in many revisions. But a member on the FirebirdNation forum had a XP pc and was running 2.xx on SP2 even though I thought it would only work with SP3. You might ask Sea Dog at:
https://www.firebirdnation.com/forums/

https://digitalproductkey.com/window...waAudZEALw_wcB

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Thanks again - I have access to some older laptops with Win 7 Pro as well (I work in IT). I'll spark one up, disable updates and see how it goes I guess.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

See the comments I added later to my post above.

Re: Replace Y Pipe and Converter
 

Ah yes - missed that. Thanks!