well i tried today to put on my warpseed pipe and got no where. I jacked up the car, hit the bolts with wd-40. With all my might i could not break one bolt from the manifold. Then on the cat the bolts rounded off in the socket. i decide to remove the cat heat shield and while im doing that 3 bolts break. So i finally gave up and brought it to monroe muffler where i knew a guy. We both took a look he tried to break them and could not get them without putting a dangerious amount of pressure that would probably break the studs or flanges (whatever they are called). So he said my best option is just to find a shop that will hit them with a tourch and will try an remove them without them breaking. So it did not go as planned. has anyone had this happen to them and if so what did you do?

thanks
eric

 

I had problems with my cat studs being rusted to the nut. The 6 nuts on the headers came right off. It took me about 2 hours to cut off the studs with a dremel, then I drilled them out and put on new bolts.

It sucks when you run into these types of problems. Good luck.
Ted

 

stubborn bolts always slow down the process.

 

Yeah, the same thing happened to me. I had to go to the exhaust shop to get them torched. Damn cat bolts.

 

I bought a High flow cat and said *** the OEM one because it did the same thing to me.

 

my cat bolts broke too.

 

I highly reccomend using some form of sealant. The highest temp one I have been able to find is only 650 F sealant. It's better than nothing and I've seen the muffler shops use it.

As far as fitting goes a Y pipe in general is pretty easy. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Removal
1. Use WD40 - let it sit for a while
2. get extensions of different lengths and universal joint if you have one.
3. use impact sockets (I found this one out the hard way)
4. recommend monkey wrench for front O2 sensor
5. Tape up sensors when you take them out.
6. Spray more WD40 onto the nut threads (helps when putting them back on)
7. Have a propane gas torch handy to heat and help loosen stubborn cat nuts

Fitting
1. slide cat flange on first
2. push up on the Y pipe to engage front flange and put one nut on to hold it up.
3. Wobble the mid section to get it onto the manifold studs
4. put the other nuts on (loosely)
5. Tighten each section progressively (don't tighten one nut all the way down) you may have the pipe slightly out of position and if you tighten down the pipe will remain in the wrong position and either rub on something or blow on one of the flanges.

45 minute job if you're slow and careful.

 

I had a lot of problems with the bolts on the cat but I had the other 6 off withing 15 minutes of starting. I had to torch the ones off of the cat. It was a huge pain in the ***. Take Care

 

I went to my local performance shop and go the job done. Sorry guy's had to spend the $70. I live in BK, NY and don't have the room or equipment to work on certain parts of my car.

 

goto a muffler shop and have them blow-torch that sucker off - i read on a couple of previous forums where strength doesnt matter when it comes to these things......the torch should be able to handle it

 

Man that sucks,

I feel for you. When I got my Y pipe, I made an attempt to install it myself, the stubbornness of that bolts discouraged all hell out of me. I could justpicture myself so frustrated that I'd probably break the whole damn exhaust off and thow it down the driveway AAAAARGH!

I gave up and took it to the mechanic and said "Here, you do it." He's getting quite used to seeing me coming along to finish a job I et too frustrated to handle

DW

 

Good tips...you should have written up a how-to w/ some pictures.

 

Use liquid wrench or something to soak all the nuts, WD-40 isn't all that great. Soak the hell out of all of them and let it sit a while. The nuts on the cat are 13mm not 14 like the other ones, I had to hammer the 13mm socket onto the bolt because of all the rust. Heat the cat nuts up for a couple minutes before you try take them off. BTW Liquid wrench is flamable . Get a breaker bar for your sockets, I couldn't budge mine with the regular rachet handle but with the breaker bar I was able to get them started. A couple of the nuts on the hanger for the stock y pipe broke off on me, but I don't need it for the aftermarket Y so it's not a big deal. I spent $10 on an oxegen sensor wrench, just because I did not want to take a chance rounding them off.

 

Ok, I'm going to get flamed but this is something we used to do when I was in the service and I've done it since. This is not recommended for smokers or when the car is hot. Take diesel fuel in a squirt bottle, squirt it on. it will disovle the oxidation on the metal, it will eat its way through the threads. We did this for rusty pieces on out Hummers.

 

Carb cleaner works well to loosen rusted nuts and bolts if you apply it several times and let it sit overnight. That, plus heating with a propane torch several times BEFORE trying to break loosen the nuts, helps a bunch. The expansion and contraction caused by the heat gets the carb cleaner in to the rust. A braker bar and a pipe tapped with a hammer is a cheap substitute for an impact wrench. Last but not least, it you apply anti-seize compound when you put things back together, the job will go way easier the next time.

 

One more quick tip, use six point sockets not the 12 point.

 

cool

 

thanks for the responce, good to know i am not the only one who has trouble doing it myself. i would love to be able to try again and remove it myself however i just do not have the tools and i can't risk breaking anything because i hear it is a messy job to replace anything on the manifold. does anyone know how much it should cost to get it put on, prices are high where i am labor is 70+ an hour. i was also wondering, will it effect me if my cat is running with no heat shield? i broke 3 bolts off there and it would be a pain to drill them out and put it back on.

thanks
eric

 

My mechanic charges the same $70/hour. It took him 2 hours. So $140 or so.

As for the heat sheild, I don't think it's protecting the cat, it's protecting you from the cat's heat. Without that shield, very hot temps would start rising thru your center console. I haven't run without one, so I can't tell you how bad it may be.

DW

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's paid over $100 to get the Y-pipe installed. I have no regrets. Multiple other ventures have proven that the rusty bolts on my car are VERY problematic. They are either fused or have a tendency to break.

As for the heatshield, many of us have left these off owing to our short throw shifter right above the cat. No problems whatsoever. The shifter can get slightly warm but nothing more. A lot of the heat gets vented while the car is in motion...

 

Just changed out my stock cat today. Soaked the bolts in WD40 for 15 minutes before I even started. Needless to say, I had to break out the trusty circular saw for 3 of the 4 bolts. Since I have a 2K2, I beleived rust would be at a minimum...it was. So now I think Nissan does something out of the ordinary (lock tight..Huge over-torque) to keep those bolts ON.

My .02....

-Left

 

I myself am befuddled by the numerous posts recommending WD-40 to
soak the flange nuts. PB Penetrating Catalyst is the ONLY way to go. You can get it at AutoZone or Checker/Shucks/Kragen and so on.
I put my impact wrench to work and they popped right off. Prior to
using the PB I wasn't able to get them to budge despite having let WD-40 soak on em for over 6 hours.

I would not recommend trying this job without at least having the
option of using an impact wrench. Your far too likely to break a stud or bolt without one. 2.5 hours to finish once the nuts are off.

Cheers,

Joaquin