It isn't a question of IF you can do exhaust work. It's a matter of how much you like to abuse yourself.

Must:

I hate exhaust work and I use one Meinecke shop (with parts supplied by the my shop).

For reference, my brother had his catalytic converter and header pipe replaced for something like $400, at the Volvo dealer. The parts were aftermarket, but the job was good and it's been quiet for four years.

You've seen the parts cost; I think the cost is at least double what I'd expect, for a $125 catalytic converter, and a $75 header pipe installed. In fact, it might be more like 3x as much as you should pay.

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chris herbst, near chicago

For a fraction of that you could replace the whole system in about an hour yourself.

I did my wife's gas burner in about 45 minuits , half of that time spent running inside to warm my hands up (mid winter).

I should have just done the exhaust on my '84diesel last week, but I let my wife talk me into not overworking myself, and wound up spending half a day waiting around in the heat, and having to go back twice for them to get it right. It would have been faster and cheaper (and easier on my blood pressure ) to do it myself.
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-------Robert, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel , '80 245 diesel

For a universal fir cat ( recommended and a lot cheaper) call kevin at Muffler King on Garland Rd. You can tell me I referred you and no I don't work for them nor gets commissions. I have been dealing with them since '88 and they do a great job at reasonable prices. The # is 214-328-4669. If you want to do it yourself email me and I refer you to a Houston supplier of direct fit CAT.. Good luck and keep us informed.

All you need is a metric socket set and a can of PBBlaster for rusted bolts/nuts. For $950, you`d be able to put in a stainless steel complete exhaust system plus a new o2 sensor if you wanted to. Check vendor prices linked to this site. Good luck.

JS `86 245 209k Central CT

It seems rather steep for some exhaust work....anyhow, are you 101% sure that the cat converter's falling apart? The heat shield's known to rust and fall aprt causing the same rattle you mentioned (did it on mine until it fell off), but the cat's still doing it's job. As for the front pipe, I too have a few holes which I patched up using the exahust repair putty and Campbell's soup can. It's a temporary fix till I replace it during the summer. I will attempt to replace it without a flame torch, although al lot of people highly recommend it! I do have a dremel tool, which could come handy. The front pipe's $75-80 or so.

Cheers,
SM
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90 BMW 325is, 98 BMW 528i, 90 Volvo 240DL