I had my Cattman y-pipe installed today and I am having some serious problems with it...
Everytime I accelerate from a dead stop, I hear and feel something rattle during the gear change from 1st to 2nd...
When ever I make a turn & press the gas, I hear & feel the rattle again...
Did anyone else have this problem or a similiar one maybe?

I am also angry at the fact that Cattman or CustomMaxima sent me incorrect nuts for the 14mm bolts that are included with the gasket set and they only sent me one bolt instead of three...
I had to use some different bolts and the fitment isn't perfect.. The dam thing leaks!!!!

 

If you can, try to loosen the bolts on the cat and shake the joint. Sometimes, the flex joint needs to be shook up a little. Retighten it and make sure it is tight. Also, make sure that little hanger that is before the flex joint is secure. As it turns out, that hanger isn't doing a thing for me though . Also, make sure that the b-pipe isn't hitting any of the cross members in the back. My stock b-pipe sits an inch or so above the first cross member, so I don't know if this could be your problem

With the package, you should have gotten one long bolt that is for use with the bottom hole on the front exhaust flange. For the other two, holes on the flange, you re-use the stock bolts with the nuts. The bolts fit fine for me.... When I first had the pipe, it made a hissing/buzzing sounds when I hit the throttle. After shaking up the flex joint and driving the car for a bit, it all but went away. It has been like 3 weeks now, and the pipe makes no more noise. I guess it needs to break in a bit....give it some time.

 

What hanger?? Mine doesnt' have any hanger on the pipe???

 

Before the flex joint, there should be a tab with a hole in it. It points straight up and is meant to be bolted on to the hanger that there. The hanger does not seem to be doing anything for me though since it is not supporting much weight.

 

I think that hanger simply servers as a vibration damper for when you suddenly accelerate since the motor tilts/torques and this in turn tilts the y-pipe downward some. When I attached the pipe to this hanger it really cut the noise down. I think UMD covered everything that may be causing the noise you hear. If you have the stock b-pipe then you may want to start by lowering the rear cross memeber after the resonator using some washers. As far as the bolts I just went to Home Depot and spent about a dollar for some galvanized bolts, nuts, and washers. It doesn't matter what bolts you use as long as they are large enough. I think I ended up getting 3/8" by 1 1/2 inch bolts.

 

I took mine right off...will put it back on before winter with longer bolts and the washers as suggested to give space. I think this is your prob...

 

I don't have it on my cattman Y-pipe?????

 

wierd...... you said you had a lot of problems bolting up your pipe also right? Mine took a little pushing, but it fit nice and tight. Everything lined up OK also. Maybe you got a bum pipe...

 

A little push, nah, mine was completely off..my installer didn't even want to put in on because of the fitment problems.

Can you send me a picture of your pipe, I am seriously thinking getting my money back.

Thanks

 

it will be tough since the pipe is on the car....but when I get some pics, I can mail them to you....

 

Uh . . . no hanger? Poor alignment? I'd say something is wrong for sure. I'd suggest you contact Cattman right away.

 

I fixed the leaking problem.... I still have the rattling and vibration.. I think my custom catback setup is hitting the bottom of the car... Brian Catts told me that the Y-pipe might be misaligned so I had it realigned and it did nothing... I'm guessing that the extra power from the y-pipe is causing the other pipes to move around when there is pressure build up (ie. Start up , gear shift or acceleration from dead stop)...
Will an exhaust wrap solve this problem or do I have to redo my catback?

BTW... Here's what Cattman wrote me..

No, there should not be any noises coming from the pipe. It was not aligned properly when installed. There is plenty of room for clearance under there, but attention has to be paid to how it is aligned because it can be moved slightly to the right or left by using the looseness in the bolt holes before tightening things up.

Of course I cannot be there to know for sure, but I suspect that you are working with an installation shop that may not be as competent as you need. I'm sorry to put it this way, but they were absolute irresponsible idiots to send you out with that stuff loose the way they did. One, any competent shop would have that kind of common hardware on hand, or two, since it can all be obtained at any hardware store, they should have gone out to get what was needed before sending you out on the road with a leaky pipe. That's outrageous.

Sorry if I seem too harsh, but I REALLY get fed up with the number of incompetent performance shops out there that have no business touching a car with a wrench. Their incompetence ends up reflecting badly on my parts. I just talked to a Camry owner whose shop cut his pipe in half because they said it couldn't be installed otherwise. This was a result of being too stupid to try putting the rear downpipe on first when putting the front on first didn't work. Instead they got the cutting torch and literally ruined his pipe.

What they told you about the bolts is simply wrong. The parts list in the hardware package clearly indicates that there is only supposed to be one bolt. I include the one because two of the three bolts on the car can be reused. As long as there weren't some wrong parts mixed in when I bought them, the nuts and the bolt (as well as the stock bolts) are all 10mm/1.25 pitch threads. And I checked for that pretty carefully. So, I think its most unlikely that all the parts I included were the wrong thread pitch, and I know that pitch works on other cars.

Your problem now is that you need to have the pipe completely re-installed. You've got to find another shop to do the installation the right way (are these the yahoos who told you that it didn't have enough sensor holes?), I don't care if these guys said they'd put it on for free -- run, don't walk, away from that shop. If you have the parts list that was with the hardware, it specifies exactly what you need and its all available at any hardware store. You need to buy new ring gaskets too, though you can reuse the rear one you just put on. If you'd like to order the whole installation kit, that's fine -- call 800.795.1513 to order the #YR-C installation kit. I'd send you one, but given the circumstances, I really don't think that the kit I sent is at fault given that I checked those parts carefully due to my concern that different thread pitches were mixed in the hardware drawers. I'd accept that one part was the wrong thread before I'd believe that the 3 nuts were all wrong -- that's extremely unlikely.

I'm going camping in a few hours and won't be able to take care of that -- would give this more attention otherwise, but I have no choice. Will be back next Friday.

Brian C. Catts
Cattman Performance

So I guess I was wrong on the part with the 2 missing bolts but the nuts he sent me didn't fit...

If anyone has had a similiar problem with me and fixed it, all advice is welcome and appreciated...

 

The y-pipe is awesome.. It's doing wonders for me on the highway and local roads... I can definately feel the gains especially now since I fixed the leaking problem...
I only wish the rattling was gone...

 

WTF, is this Y-pipe Cali emission? Because it looks totally different than mine(federal emission), but I am sure mine doesn't have hanger on it for sure!!! and the location of the flex pipe is also different. Could I have gotten the old pipe, since it barely fitted it on my car???

 

I did, he said that since the Pipe has been installed there is no refund or exchange??

Damnn

 

Well, your best bet is to sell it on ebay or something and get a new one!!

 

Does yours have beens in a can/hissing noise?

Thanx

 

Did Cattman change the design of the y-pipe for the 5th gen in the last little bit? RBA ... your y-pipe doesn't look like what I've seen ....

 

RBA: your pipe looks just like mine. I have cali spec emissions also. The fed spec emission version looks different. The front piece on the fed spec version extends up. Given Brian's comments, I think if you were to unscrew the bolts at the main cat and make sure the pipe is aligned straight, it will help with the rattle. The joint at the cat seems to be the most troublesome in a lot of cases. Messing around with it may help...

 

Bees in a can?? I don't think I do but then again, I wouldn't knnow what it sounded because of the rattling I get.. I thought that was the bees in can....


The fed spec y-pipe looks more like an F-pipe than a Y...
OHboiya.. Is your car a fed emissions? I don't understand why the design would change..

I tried messing around with the Cat already... It didn't work... I think I have the same problem as Phatboy mentioned with that black thingy supporting the pipes...
I'm gonna try messing around with that later.. I'll let you guys know what happens...

 

the easiest thing to do would be to just remove that all together. If the sounds goes away, then that is your problem. It's pretty easy to remove....four bolts and thats it. You can get some spacers or washers to hook it back up later so it doesnt hit again. good luck!

 

ok, here's ur problem RBa....
underneath our cars, there are two metal braces placed underneath the Y-pipe and near the resonator.
the problem is, if the Y-pipe is slightly longer than the original, the flex pipe will bend and cause the whole y-pipe to bend down slightly. now this causes the y-pipe to contact the metal brace underneath the pipe, thus making that noise everytime you torque the pipe(by gasing or shifting)...
solution? simple! remove the metal brace underneath your car and all should be fine!!!

 

Rba - if you can post a couple of pictures of your y-pipe installed. Especially from the flex pipe down. I had several probs with mine and worked them all out - if you have less than about a half inch clearance between any part of the exhuast piping/y-pipe and the two cross members you will have problems.

 

No, I am not talking about the two pipes sticking up V.S only of them sticks up. I know that fact that the location of the flex pipe(yours looks too far toward the end of the pipe) my is located towards the middle.
And the way your pipe curves look different than mine (fed spec) Y-pipe???

And the hanger obviously is not there, anyone with Fed emission has hanger on their Y-pipe???

Thanks

 

hmmm..... so it seems that there is a slight difference between the fed spec pipes and cali spec pipes. I thought it was just the front piping, but I guess there may be more to it

 

I took Hoon's advice.. They are off!! It eliminated most of the rattle but I still hear it alittle bit... What has to come off next? The heat shields maybe?

Is it safe to drive around without the braces?

Can this be done?
I'm thinking of going to the custom exhaust shop to have them install extra hangers all around so the dam pipes will be more secure and tight...
I understand that I don't want it too tight now,.. so how would I go about this the safe way??? And how much would this run me? I am so poor these days....

 

Just curious if this is as simple as the intake?

How long should it take?

& what should I use 2 jack up the car?

ramps?

those 2 tonnie hydraulic jacks?

 

RBa - if you're concerned about having the braces removed - just get some washers and longer bolts and do this http://images.cardomain.com/installs...107_6_full.jpg . Also make sure you have the pipe attached securely to this hanger http://images.cardomain.com/installs.../139107_14.jpg . I wouldn't worry about removing the smaller rear brace/cross member - there's a huge hanger and heavy duty rubber brace right above it so you should be OK. The other sounds you hear a little bit will eventually subside some as the flex pipe breaks in - just make sure you have all bolts/nuts tightened very well all-around. I really don't think there's any need to have additional hangers welded if you've taken all these steps.

 

Hey Sleeper... Thanks for the advice.. How do I do what you did in that pic?.. I see a few hoses and sensors that aren't on my car...

Ohboya... Don't waste your time trying to install it yourself unless you have an impact wrench or you're an extremely strong person.. Some of those bolts are tightened at about 140lbs torque pressure... And you wont be able to do the install without someone assisting you...
I spent 3 days trying to remove the 2 screws that connect the rear of the stock y-pipe to the cat.. Eventually I ended up taking it to a shop..

 

Those are just the two rear O2 sensors (originally behind the pre-cats) now relocated behind the main cat as part of the Cali/Fed conversion I did on my Max a couple of weeks ago. I am really happy with the results but it was a LOT of work!

I had some trouble removing the two screws on the main cat as well - all you need is a very long socket wrench (or find some way to attach an extension to the handle part of your wrench to provide enough leverage/torque), I also made sure to spray them with WD-40 and let it soak for a few minutes. I just happened to have a torque wrench with a handle that's almost two ft long and this made taking the screws off pretty easy. There's no way I would have been able to take them off with a standard lenght socket wrench.

 

ramps, or jack stands whould work fine. You can do it yourself, but plan on spending some time under there. I got all the bolts off except one on the front flange. It turns out that the bolt was completely screwed up and the shop I had to take it to couldn't get it off with an impact wrench either. So they torched the thing off. Unless you run into things like that, the job is doable. Just be prepared for the unexpected...