Land Rover Repair: 98 Disco Cat Converter, o2 sensors, muffler shop

Question
Hi John,

The emission Regs in New Zealand Are fairly no existant,I have spoken to the ladys Ex,Who had the work done 2 years ago.One of the 2 converters was cut out because it was blocked and replaced with plain pipe as opposed to $5000.00 New Zealand to replace at the time.As I'm only paying 9000.00 for the truck replacing the converter at that money, well just not an option
will having only one converter adversely effect the running and performance emmisions aside

thanks for your time John

Steve
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Followup To

Question -
Hi John

Im in the market for a 2nd hand Discovery and the one that has caught my eye seems great, but I will have to travel some distance to view.Ive done as much over the phone as i can,one thing stands out,the owner told me there was a problem with the Catalitic Converter and the cheapest way to fix the problem was to disconnect it. The owner gave me the impression she didnt know much about it apart from she mentioned a dash light.She says the vehicle runs fine so what is she on about? Can you disconnect a Cat. Con.
Regards Steve

Answer -
It's a violation of federal law to disconnect a catalytic converter, and as a result you won't find too many shops that would do it.

Running without a converter will cause the check engine light to be on all the time.

If your state has emission testing at state inspection, a truck without a converter won't pass.

Replacement of the converter and o2 sensors is a $1500-2500 project, depending upon how and where it's done.  Some people will tell you to weld in generic converters at a muffler shop but it's been my experience that solution does not last very long on the 1997-newer Rovers with enhanced emission control.

Answer
If you live in a country that does not require a catalyst, then yes, your car should run fine without it.

However, the reason catalysts fail is usually ignition misfire or rich running. The truck you are considering may well have those troubles, which would of course continue even with cats removed.

So you may have a running issue to address, and the failure to do so previouslt may be the reason the cats are ruined.