cat problem

hey ive had a 89 5.0 tbi everything stock, for about 3 months. its been rattling ever since i got it but its gotten a worse, but i didnt think much of it but i was under it today adjusting my e-brake and i started to shake stuff to see if i could find it. any way its actually inside the cat. first question is: is this rattle all that bad? and 2ndly i can't afford a new cat but i dont want this freakin rattle in my car either, i know its illegal, but what would it take to cut that p.o.s. out of it, besides finding a shop to do it? theres a line of some sort running out of it, what exactly is this? and can it be bi-passed? emissions isn't a problem here. i thanks for any info.
-daniel

the cat internals are just breaking away and rattling around inside.. Whats most common is to pull the cat off, completly hollow it out, then just put it back on until you can get a new one, Or take it off and weld in a straight piece of pipe..

By the sounds of it, your cat probably hasnt been working for some time, so you wont notice any drop in performance or efficiency..

The line running out of the cat is for the air pump, Just cut it off

well if u just cut the line off and leave it hanging it could effect the o2 sensor but im not sure...also it will probably bug u just as bad by making a loud ass hissing noise if u just leave the air injection hangin..i cut my cat off and tack welded the air line back in to the pipe

Thats probably a better idea!

I just left both my air lines hangin.. half assed, but I was workin in my driveway
was 2 years ago, havent had any problems since..

i had a cat problem, but then i bought a paintball gun and havent had a problem since...

we hollowed out our cat in my 95 and it greatly improved the performance....i too have the ratttle but i think its from the heat shield i havent had a chance to get it on the lift yet, as for 02 sensor, it doesnt affect mine but i am OBDII so maybe its different

thanx for the help yall. i think ill just gut it and leave that line hooked up... thanx again