Is there a trick for getting at these things? My 2005 has 176,000 miles on it and am getting the infamous P0420/0430 codes. I figure it's due for them after cleaning the MAF didn't do anything. If it is the cats, I'll probably just stick spacers on them. But first things first, how do I get up there? I did some searching, and it looks like the 2004 and older models are way more accessible, and I didn't see much on anything after 2005. I apologize if there was an obvious thread on this.

 

AllDataPro instructions show that you must remove the rear O2, disconnect the front O2, and then remove the exhaust pipe.
Then when going back together you have a few measurements to take so spring tension will be correct.

Id think it would be easier to use a cherry picker and lower the engine assembly a few inches. But I do this for a living.

 

Thank you. I sat under there staring for a solid 20 minutes trying to figure out if I was missing a way to do it without pulling everything apart. Looks like I'm not crazy.

 

Good news... you aren’t crazy. Lol

they didn’t leave much room. I’m sure there is a way to shortcut the replacement.. but to be honest, what I consider a shortcut... isn’t what a “weekend mechanic” considers a shortcut.

 

Figured I would update this. My original intent was to replace all the O2 sensors due to the dreaded codes lighting up within fifteen minutes of me clearing them. I know my cat's are probably gone at my mileage (closing in on 180k), but figured I should at least give it a try. Since I wasn't willing to go through the effort of getting the upstream ones done, I popped the downstream sensors off. Visually, they didn't look anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. Ran out and bought some 20 dollar o2 sensor spacers and slapped them on with the original o2 sensors. Cleared the codes, and took it for a 50 mile drive. All good and codes haven't returned.