Catalytic converter replacement - (2001 Galant ES V6)

I purchased a '01 Galant ES (v6) a couple months back with a known exhaust issue - at first it looked as though it was just a small piece of flex pipe that was leaking however after further inspection I've come to find out the entire catalytic converter assembly needed to be replaced. Fine, understandable - I know the previous owner wasn't trying to rip me off (known them for over ten years now - the car is in excellent shape apart from the exhaust!) and I decided to drive on the bad exhaust for awhile. However over the past weekend the car suddenly got louder and the engine started running pretty rough - it seems the small leak in the catalytic converter is now a large leak. Time for a replacement!

I've done quite a bit of work to various parts of a car before, but never on the exhaust - has anyone had any experience in replacing the catalytic converter on an 8g Galant? Is there any welding required? It looks pretty "bolt on" from what I can see under the car and from pictures of the replacement part, however I've always heard that welding is necessary for any exhaust work.

I'd much rather perform this replacement myself, considering the price of the part alone (~$350 to $400) vs. the price of having a shop do it (so far a few places have qouted between $700 and $900). Here is the replacement I'm looking at so far:

Catco CAT4393 Direct Fit rear catalytic converter: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...%26+Drivetrain

Will this be as good as the stock catalytic converter? Any advice on this particular brand? Any insight would be much appreciated!

if you use a direct fit replacement then you should be fine as far as bolt. up the issues come in at rust on the flanges, nuts, and bolts. your probably going to need a torch or freeze spray to help get the old ones out. make sure you have new gaskets too the old ones will be crap. most of the welding thats done is either using a universal cat or on the flange thats is after the cat. that flange connection has the tendency on most cars (in wet snow areas) to rust up and deteriorate requiring an new flange to replace it.