is there any way to tell if your cats are gutted without actually removing the whole exhaust? I think mine have been by the smell but the exhaust is welded from headers to tailpipes and i don't have the money to cut it open then weld it back together

 

Nope. Hafta look inside to see, unless you can run a LOOOOOOONG snake up through the exhaust & see if there is any obstruction. No obstruction = gutted cat IF you can be certain the snake is all the way up there & not just caught on a seam weld or in the muffler itself.

 

could always tap on it with a small hammer, if it sounds solid, its intact, if it sound hollow, well, you know

 

even just knock on it, then trry someone elses car. if its gutted im sure youll notice a difference

 

they have a tin can echo sound when they are Hollow

 

Yeah the sound is usually a dead giveaway most times. Mine would make popping noises when you revved it up with a gutted cat. I shoved a straight piece of pipe through the middle and had it welded. Made the popping noise go away, and it sounded much less "ghetto", but it's still a lot louder than a cat that's intact.