VW Golf Cart wrote:
>
> What would be the result of not having a Catalytic Converter?
>
> More exhaust odor? Less Fuel economy?
>
> Mine was gutted from previous owner and I haven't had the money to replace.
> What would be a good/cheap solution to replacing it without having to spend
> huge amounts of $$ at the dealership. A universal Cat? Used cat from
> similar car?

In '97 the US had OBD II already, so the US '97 Jetta should have two
oxygen sensors, one upstream of the cat and one downstream of the cat.
If the cat is gone, this will be detected by the ECU and it will throw
an error code. I guess you are in the UK (?) and it seems you don't have
two oxygen sensors, as you didn't mention any error codes. Your car
won't get damaged by driving it without the catalytic converter, but you
will pollute more and you will not be able to pass the MOT test (or
whatever it is called in your part of the word).

You can get after-market catalytic converters. I had my original one
replaced with an after market unit several years ago, and it works fine.
The car has passed smog test at least once, possibly twice (can't
remember), after I got the new one put in. The one I got was only a few
hundred dollars, far from OEM pricing!

Oh, and remember that if you are a liberal, you now won't have any say
in any environmental issue until you get a new catalytic converter
installed.