3" Exhaust Install / Stock Bolts wont budge!

[GofaST4life]

alrite guys, ive been under her for about an hour (), and these dang bolts wont move...ive hit em with a hammer to try and losen them up, ive been spraying them with PB Blaster...and nuttin, so now my arm hurts and new shiny new 3" exhaust is still not installed...

any other ideas on how i can break these bolts loose? or should i just keep at it once i get some dinner...

 

[BrokenTsi]

drive it to your local exhaust shop and have them torched off. Pick up some hardware at the hardware to store to bolt it back up, then drive back home and put on your exhaust .

 

[Supa Dexta]

Smash the crap out of them with a hammer (and/or chissle if it has to go that far) But at first try not to deform them too much. Normally a good shock will loosen them enough to start with a rachet.

 

[Avionixx]

Break out the impact weapons! Seriously though, an impact gun will either destroy the threads and render them useless or it may actually get them out unscathed. Even an electric one should do the trick.

 

[GofaST4life]

well, the i dont get along with the exhaust shop here in my town, (long story), i just got out of school and have not yet bought my impact weapons, so theres a no go...hmmm guess it back to smashing and bashing...but now it really time for dinner...

damn those 12 years of rust!

EDIT: i have a 3" catback exhaust, so im trying not to damage the cat flange.

 

[b00sted]

Heat them with a Mapp gas torch and see if they'll budge.

 

[GofaST4life]

Heat them with a Mapp gas torch and see if they'll budge.

i wonder if PB Blaster is flammable...ill check the bottle first...

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Forget all that. Remove the system as one piece. Install new system. Dismantle old system at your discretion.

EDIT: I didn't see that it was only a catback. I'd be concerned that taking it apart at all will be a disaster due to rust.
Just spring the extra $100 for a downpipe from ebay. They work fine. Then get a cat and have someone weld it in before emissions.

Otherwise I still think your best bet is to remove it as one piece and then unbolt the part after the cat. Heat/force might destroy the parts you want to keep if the corrosion is bad enough. Only you will know.

 

[GofaST4life]

Forget all that. Remove the system as one piece. Install new system. Dismantle old system at your discretion.

i dont have my downpipe yet, its just the catback...or i would, but then again, maybe i should, could be easier...good point PieEyedPiper

 

[twoTSis]

Get the ratchet at a good angle and take a rubber mallet to the end of the ratchet. If that doesn't work, round here: in my garage, we have what we call "The Wonder Bar" . It's just a piece of fence tubing that we put on the end of our ratchets or wrenches for extra leverage. Try those two out and let me know.

 

[GofaST4life]

Get the ratchet at a good angle and take a rubber mallet to the end of the ratchet. If that doesn't work, round here: in my garage, we have what we call "The Wonder Bar" . It's just a piece of fence tubing that we put on the end of our ratchets or wrenches for extra leverage. Try those two out and let me know.

i like the idea, but the cars only 10 inches off the ground, i can try to use my breaker bar, but idk if the will be enough room/leverage...

 

[twoTSis]

Can't you jack it up? If not get the ratchet in place and use a block of wood to bang on the ratchet out from under the car.

 

[GofaST4life]

i can get it a bit higher, but i use two jack stands, a cinder block and the jack itself...only problem is my garage floor is uneven (cement cracks from huge tree roots)...i just dont want her to fall...

 

[twoTSis]

I'd take the risk, leave the tires on, if it falls it shouldn't do much. Highly doubt it'd fall anyway.

 

[GofaST4life]

tires are on, i just dont want o be under when it falls...eh, what the hell, ill give it a try...

be back in a little bit then...

 

[the_mork]

If its too bad I use an electric grinder, mines a battery powered dewalt but anything that spins a grinding disc will work, and they are pretty inexpensive if you go to harbor freight or something like that you can sometimes get them for as little as $20 but it will burn out in a year or shorter with heavy use. All you have to do if you have one (use the thin discs) and you can cut off either the nut or the bolt top, whichever is on the side of the flange that you don't care about then once its cut off the exhaust will slide right off of your now very short bolts. Sawzalls will also take care of this but take longer, they can also get into smaller spaces. If you don't want to go that way then use a torch, you can use it with the PB blaster in fact I wholeheartedly recommend it, it will smoke like all hell and maybe even burn a bit on its own but not enough to hurt your car, when the metal expands/contracts the PB has an easier time working its way in so heat it up a couple of times a few minutes apart.

 

[TjPhillips36]

If you don't have impact tools, I would spray it with PB blaster, then find someone with a torch to heat it up, once heated take a ratchet with a breaker bar (Jack Handle, or anything else to apply more torque) and it should come out. If not you will have to chisel the top off and drill the bolt out.

 

[rich3389]

I had to grind off my bolts on the cat.

 

[twoTSis]

tires are on, i just dont want o be under when it falls...eh, what the hell, ill give it a try...

be back in a little bit then...

I don't know about being under it if you think it will fall, use the block of wood like I said.

 

[architechnik]

I say drop the whole thing. Just remove the O2 housing to downpipe nuts and then take off each of the mounting points. You can then slide the whole thing out the back. You'll need to twist it just a bit while pulling it out, but it's really easy.

After you have it off, you'll have a little more room. You may need to find something to bolt it up against to keep it from rotating while trying to remove it.

If you've used a lot of PB blaster, I don't suggest using a torch. A grinder will be fine, as the PB works really well as a grinding lube (keeps it from catching on burrs).

There is also the option of FREEZING it. There are a few rust freeze products that you can use by just spraying the rust, then whacking it with a hammer. The rust breaks right off, along with the bolt if it's rusted all the way through.

Rust Check Rust Freeze

 

[ricktb]

I had a problem taking my stock O2 sensor off, like totally ceased in the bung. So I cut it in half to put a normal socket on, and then I got on it with a propane torch for like 45 minutes straight. The whole area was super hot but not like red hot. Then I sprayed a shitload of penetrating oil and the area (makes a LOT of smoke, don't breathe). I still couldn't budge it with a normal socket. So I gave up, came back later after it had cooled. I wound my torque wrench up to like 200 pounds, jacked my car up to get some leverage with the long handle, and gave it a jerk and -pop- the thing cracked loose.

So in conclusion your best chance will be...

-heating and cooling the area
-hit it with a hammer
-penetrating oil (perhaps many times over a couple days)
-leverage!

last resort.. a grinder, a drill bit, maybe a tap, and new bolts

 

[rich3389]

I say drop the whole thing. Just remove the O2 housing to downpipe nuts and then take off each of the mounting points. You can then slide the whole thing out the back. You'll need to twist it just a bit while pulling it out, but it's really easy.

After you have it off, you'll have a little more room. You may need to find something to bolt it up against to keep it from rotating while trying to remove it.

If you've used a lot of PB blaster, I don't suggest using a torch. A grinder will be fine, as the PB works really well as a grinding lube (keeps it from catching on burrs).

There is also the option of FREEZING it. There are a few rust freeze products that you can use by just spraying the rust, then whacking it with a hammer. The rust breaks right off, along with the bolt if it's rusted all the way through.

Rust Check Rust Freeze

He is FWD so the exhaust goes over the rear axle, it wont just slide out.

 

[DSMunknown]

Forget all that. Remove the system as one piece. Install new system. Dismantle old system at your discretion.

EDIT: I didn't see that it was only a catback. I'd be concerned that taking it apart at all will be a disaster due to rust.
Just spring the extra $100 for a downpipe from ebay. They work fine. Then get a cat and have someone weld it in before emissions.

Otherwise I still think your best bet is to remove it as one piece and then unbolt the part after the cat. Heat/force might destroy the parts you want to keep if the corrosion is bad enough. Only you will know.

I agree with CB. When I was installing my RRE DP and Thermal cat-back system, I could not remove any of the OEM bolts on the exhaust flanges (except, of course the DP-to-O2 housing bolts). They just could not be removed while under the car. I tried everything from PB Blaster to breaker bars to Propane torches to WD-40 to hammers to crazy eyes to nut extractors. Nothing helped.

I decided to take the sawzall to the axle-back part of the system (right after the final flange on the GST) and pull off the muffler. Then I released the DP from the O2 housing and dropped the rest.

You'll be happy with yourself (and us) after getting the larger DP.

 

[architechnik]

He is FWD so the exhaust goes over the rear axle, it wont just slide out.

Ooops.
Well, why did he get a FWD? That just doesn't make any sense.

Would it be easier to remove the muffler and pull it over toward the front then?

 

[DSMunknown]

Would it be easier to remove the muffler and pull it over toward the front then?

No. Removing the axle-back exhaust (including the muffler) is not easy on the 2G GST. You must drop the rear part of the suspension to get at the last exhaust flange (and its bolts) to remove the muffler properly. For those of us who are more performance-minded, just cutting the pipe is much easier. Besides, there is no room for a ratchet or a wrench to get at those (rusted) bolts.

A waste of time and brain engery to consider dropping the suspension to get the exhaust off.