carrzkiss

Hello, All.

I am attempting to replace the catalytic convertor on my son's car this evening, and have the bolt and two nuts off the top, but when working with the connector between the converter pipe and the Resonator pipe, the nuts seem to be welded on (OR), is this just a sh*t load of rust build up?
If so, what is the best way to get it loose and off?.
I used a breaker bar on the nuts and bolts on the top, but that does not seem to be working for these.

Thanks for any information.
Wayne

carrzkiss

Tomorrow morning, heading to Harbor Freight and picking up this.
3 In. High-Speed Electric Cut-Off Tool
One of the nuts is already stripped, so, going to cut the darn things off.
I will post back once it is completed.

(Always looking to add new tools to my arsenal.)

firemangeorge

Grind or cut them off. The nuts/bolts are so bad you'll need to replace them anyways.

Oldblue

The nut side is threaded on to a stud , the “bolt” side is pressed into the flange , kind of like a wheel stud, I soak them in PB Blaster, and then if that doesn’t work , cut off the nut side and drift punch the stud out of the flange on the resonator side.

donbrew

The gasket is blown.

Why replace the cat? They don't just up and break. If it is broken something caused it.

carrzkiss

Hey everyone.
So, I got the cat replaced, drove it down the road, sounded great, and then BAM.
The loud noise of a leak came back.
New Gasket,
New Cat pipe assembly.

I got the car back to the house, got it up on stands.
I turned it on, ran my hand around all areas to see if I could feel a leak and NOTHING.
I can feel nothing.
I can hear it, nice and loud.
But I cannot feel any air leaking anywhere around the areas where I connected bolts too.

Any idea's on this one?

Oldblue

Take it back down and inspect, it could be the wrong style gasket, at the exhaust manifold

donbrew

Since we don't know why you replaced it in the first place, how can we guess?

Oldblue

I had this similar problem it turned out the new catalytic converter came with the wrong gaskets.

carrzkiss

So, this was the issue so that everyone will be caught up.

There was a bad exhaust leak, and my son took it in to have it checked.
They told him the flex pipe was rusted and would need to be replaced, and after he got back to my place, I put it on ramps and took a look at it, and it was, in fact, rusted, and there was a hole in it.
(The garage gave him an estimated price to replace the catalytic converter and flex pipe assembly, at around $700.00+
After finding out this cost, I told him no damn way, that I would do it myself.)

So, you have two choices in this case, as I've found out while researching purchasing the items to be replaced.

#1: Purchase the flex pipe, remove the catalytic converter, un-weld the flex pipe, and then attach the new flex pipe. (Which I do not have access to or have ever done (The welding part).)
#2: Purchase the catalytic convertor and flex pipe assembly, and replace it in one shot.
Purchased on eBay with a 1-year warranty, it is cheaper than option #1, costs $116.00, including shipping.

Now, the issue turned out to be with the new pipe suddenly getting an exhaust leak.
There turned out to be two nut plugs for oxygen sensors.
I knew about the one in the center, which is on the backside of the catalytic converter. However, there was also one between the catalytic and the flex pipe, which I completely overlooked.
As I drove it down the road, it blew the nut off. Luckily, the nut landed on the A-Frame, and that is where I found it.
However, this was not until after I removed the catalytic converter, took it to Advance Auto, and got the right size gasket for it.
(The one that came with it was not the proper one, and I had to modify it for it to go on, which would have worked, had the nut not came off, causing me to remove everything again.)

To sum it up.
The car left here with my son a little while ago and is now back to the sound all the cars make.
Me doing it for him only cost him for parts, around $122.00 (Including the extra gasket.)
I purchased two more tools, costing me around $60.00, for this job and many others to come.
He is happy, and that makes me happy.
Tomorrow he is replacing all the air filters, as his car smells of exhaust.

So, at the end of this day, everyone is happy and ready for a good night's rest.
Take care everyone.

Wayne