S Cranaw

Friday I am taking on my exhaust set up. Y-pipe(Budget), cat(RT), and full cat exhaust(Greddy SP2). Today I jacked up the car to see how bad the bolts are to get at for the Y-pipe cuz I heard they were hard to get too... and yes they are. Two seem easy enough but the third (on each connection) seems like I need God himself to help me get to them. I went out and got all new tools... not that I every really had good ones, after I saw this (122 piece Craftsman mechanics set with an extra extention and a pivot point bit for the wratchet) Will this set up (pivot and extention) work? I also have alot of rust since im in RI and I got a Bolt Out Damaged Bolt/nut Remover set. Hope this all works out for me and any in put is appreciated for how you overcame your exhaust set up problems. Thanks

-Steve

THT

iTrader: (8)

You'll need a universal joint and a 10" extension for your ratchet. Also, soak the bolts with WD40 (or equivalent) overnight before going at them; life will be a lot easier.

~THT

ZeroSource00

iTrader: (5)

I got mine off with various extensions of 3,6, and some other bigger size (12?) and mine all twisted right off just fine after 158k miles.

Andrew

PeTeRtheEaTeR

u joint with a 10" extension should work well. that's all u need to reach the hard ones.

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

i pointed my magic finger at the bolt and said "please come off." and it felt off....









j/k i got it off by using pivot and extentions like everyone else...

Kta920

iTrader: (1)

good luck man.I live in MA,and when I tried doin' my exhaust,it took me 4 days of cutting and torching to get off the cat bolts.They were rusted so bad that not even the torch would get 'em off.I eventually gave up and will be doing it again this weekend.GOOD LUCK! and if you need any help and dont know anyone else that can help,I'm not too far,I can always come down and help.

THT

iTrader: (8)

That won't be a problem for him; he's doing what I'm doing, replacing the entire exhaust system from the headers down.

~THT

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

yup, pivot and extensions

Good one, man.

S Cranaw

Thanks for the help guys. I got out of work early at 9 pm and got to work getting my car on the ramps and on blocks and soaked down every possible bolt I could find. We'll wait and see tomorrow... I cant wait. And it should be easier since im doing everything and may not have to a take all bolts off.... Ill just have a nice Exhaust tree in my back yard (hopefully it will bloom each year )
I gotta try that commanding the bolts off trick too.

Also one more question how long did it take you guys to do your mods? and how long you think Im looking at

Thanks again

-Steve

Prophecy1

IF you cant get them off most places will install it for 40-60 bucks.

But nothing competes with the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Proph

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

Cough, Airtools, Cough. Seriously. I learned the hard way. I spent three hours fxcking with the header flange bolts and finally got them off but I quit on the cats after an hour. I took it to a local exhaust shop(accross the street) with the y unbolted from the headers and loud as all fxck. They ripped me a new one on the cat bolts. $50! Thats right. I soon after decided to invest in airtools. Airtools are invaluable throughout life for so many reasons(bike tires, cars, nailguns, etc...) Also, if you plan on doing more work like suspension or exhaust or UDP. I can now do suspension in two hours where it used to take 7. From now on, my vote is that everones first mod should be airtools.

S Cranaw

How much did you pay for a good set of air tools/compressor? (Prob. not going to run out and get em right away, just curious)

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

You might want to return the RT cat. It's known to be a POS and doesn't give any gains whatsoever. If you keep it have some extra cash around since you'll need another one in a few months. Unless the original cat has hols in it, just stick with that one.

S Cranaw

Why is the RT cat a POS? Did you personaly have problems with it? I've seen some other cars that were dynoed (civic...yah I know a civic) in a reputable tuner mag that had a 7whp gain the same as a test pipe. I wanna be legal so I went with the gains and the legalness (wonder if thats a word) I have the warranty with RT so if it does go Ill get my money back. Just wanna know why you dont like RT?

Taken2DaMax

iTrader: (5)

IMO i think that the RT is just for looks. It doesn't do much as all. The RT says it's more free flowing than the OEM cat but have you looked through the OEM cat? It's as free flowing as anything else on the market, you can practically see through the hugh free flowing hole.

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

I have the RT and it is the worst $200 I could have spent(Actually a B-day present). I wish I would have just gone with the race pipe for the truely freeflowing effect and then I could have spent the rest on front rotors and pads or SS lines. Arg! I agree that you should return it and spend the money elsewhere. If you do keep it be sure to remove the heat shielding. Unless your lucky it will begin to rattle within the first month of use. It is very simple to pry it off with a flat-head.

As for the airtools; the compressor was free because it was a friends but a suffieciently sized unit will run you right around $300. I got a Porter Cable impact wrench and it ran me $85. It is important to get a unit with adjustability. Mine has 4 settings and it works perfectly for all jobs. Also, a small air socket wrench can be had for $25. It isn't important to get this with adjustability seeing as it only torques up to 55Ibs. The Porter Torques up to 400 which is more than enough to crack even the most rusted bolt on a Max. A large truck might be a different story but the highest tq'ed bolt on the max that I know of is less than 200Ib/Ft. Add in $50 for the hoses, misc. fittings and impact sockets and you have a complete amatuer air garage for $500.