OK got my Warpspeed Y pipe in the mail yesterday. Put my 1995 Max on ramps and began to attack the project. Now I am a fairly strong man and for the life of me I can't get the two bolts attaching the stock Y to the Cat to come off. I bribed my mechanical neighbor with a beer (He has a 1960 pristine Vette) to give me advice...he told me to apply "Naval jelly" (supposed to dissolve rust) and let sit for a few hours. I applied the goup this am but what do I do if it doesn't work? The rest of the bolts I easily got loosened by hand. Any ideas B4 I am forced to take my baby to a muffler shop?

 

Maybe try some WD-40? The shop where I got my y-pipe installed, sprayed some kind of lubricant onto the bolts. It made it easier to take them off. Although, they used a impact wrench for that. I don't think they used WD-40, but it should something similiar to that.

 

I'm assuming you don't have an acetylene torch or arc welder or anything like that. If you do, you can heat the bolts until they're cherry red, then touch a candle to the bolts and let some wax melt off onto the threads, as the bolts cool, the wax will wick up into the threads allowing easier removal. Don't bother trying this with propane - it's not hot enough.
Aside from that, get some liquid wrench, apply it, and let it sit for a few days, then try again. Your other option is to go rent a compressor and impact wrench and try using that after letting some liquid wrench sit for a day or so.
It is possible that the bolts can become so rusted on that the force necessary to remove them is actually greater than the tensile strength of the bolts themselves (this is rare though).
After that, muffler shop it is.

 

Thanks for the advice. I tried that Naval jelly this am and will try Liquid wrench tonight (if the naval jelly doesn't work). And I will try an impact wrench. Aint got an arc welder...so hi ho hi ho it will be off to the muffle shop I go....

Thanks again.

 

FYI..the bolts on the stock seems to be PRESSED in the cat...well at least on 3rd gen it was. what u can do is take the cat w/ the stock pipe off (unbolt at the exhaust) and work on it on the bench..a lot easier.
good luck.

 

I'm doing the install tomorrow.

I'm going to cover the bolts in WD-40 or liquid wrench and try with an impact wrench. If that doesn't work, my friend will take his torch too it. My friend has all the coolest tools. He's getting a lift sometime this summer.

 

I thought about that Dan. I may try that. If I can get that done, I could lawys bring the pipe to a muffler shop just to remove those two bolts. Probably cost me $5-10 a bolt to remove. Oh well. But I also talked to a guy at work who said his neighbor does this stuff of the side and would only charge about $20-30 for the whole install. For that price I'll drink beer and watch him work!

 

I used spray (liquid wrench) and had air tools and it almost didn't come off, good luck. The bolt heads may twist off so you might want some replacements handy.

 

I ended up using a bunch of WD40 and a 3-foot breaker bar to get mine off. Standing on the end of the bar, I just barely got the nuts off.

 

Don't use WD40, it is a lubricant not a penetrating oil. Use Liquid Wrench and follow the directions on the can and I will GUARANTEE that they will come off.

 

Ok so if they don't come off, can you come over and make good on your Guarantee?

 

How did you do that. Seams pretty tough to get the car up on its side LOL.

The toughest bolts on mine were the rear cat flange ones. Did those with two box/open end wrenches bc I couldn't get my impact even with extension and universal on them. Do you guys know the two wrench trick?

 

I had it up on jackstands, and since I had taken of the nuts to the exhaust manifolds and removed the hangers, I could drop the pipe down some. Then I put some firewood under it for support, and had that bar sticking out the side of the car.

You get creative when you can't afford real tools.

 

You bet! With a name like Breaux, seems like you would belong down here instead of in Philly anyway!

 

Off to the muffler shop since these bolts are now one wit the cat. Impact wrench wouldn't take them off. Too bad b/c I got all other bolts and 02 sensors loosened. Oh well. Maybe time to buy an arc welder...

 

Yeh dude I had to freakin cut mine. They are nearly impossible to remove.

/aac

 

I called the tuner shop today and asked them about the install of my y-pipe. They used Liquid Wrench, not WD-40, my bad. After they sprayed that on, they used an impact wrench to take the nuts off. They came off quite easily.

 

The old arc welder did the trick, but it still wasn't easy to get those bolts off. Then the darn O2 sensor was being stubborn. Oh well. Paid my neighbor $40 for the install ( he is the Service manager of a Honda dealership) tok us about an hour even with the stuck bolts. The WSP pipe fit like a glove...