It figures that a super easy exhaust install would be held up by one stupid nut.
Everything came lose fine so far besides one of the nuts attaching the Y-pipe to the stock cat. It's totally rounded and I can't even get it lose with a good pair of vice grips.
Does anybody have any good suggestions?
I don't have a torch.
I can pick up a sawzall or a grinder with cut off wheel...I'm wondering which might work better....
I'm replacing the Y-pipe and it looks like the bolt part is welded onto that so it doesn't matter if I cut it. Just don't want to damage the cat flange since I'm not replacing that right now.

Thanks in advance!

 

It is a stud that has little teeth that lock the bolt into the groove on the cat. Id say go buy a removing tool from Sears, theyll come in handy!

 

Also, apply some Liquid Wrench or a similar penetrating oil. Another trick that could help is to replace the y-pipe nut which you did get off and tighten it back down, that can help take some tension off the one that is stuck.

Gary

 

What's the removal tool like?
I used some of that PB stuff and let it sit for a while. And I did tighten the other bolt when I started to reef on the other.
thanks for the input!

 

Here's a link to Craftsman showing one of the kits:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

If the link does not work, just do a search for "nut remover" at the Craftsman website.

Gary

 

Thanks for the link. That would be way better than cutting it off.
Do these actually work well? I'm kind of skeptical since it's very rounded now...i mean like "round".
thanks

 

It's worth a try, talk to the guys at Sears too. Spray it real good with the liquid wrench first and let that stuff soak in for a while, that stuff really helps.

 

Ok, thanks. I will do that tonight. You're right, it's worth a shot before I get in there with saws and go crazy. I don't like doing stuff the hamfist way if I can avoid it.

 

Your welcome, let us know how it goes and if you can, start spraying it now and through out the day with liquid wrench. What's great about liquid wrench is that it is not flammable so if you do put a torch to it you don't have to worry about that.

Gary

 

Yeah, I'd have to really run out of options before buying a torch...haha but that's good to know.
I'll grab some of that stuff on the way home. Probably get the car up and douse the bolt and go for a motorcycle ride while I wait.

Almost every project I run into a difficult bolt but this one by far is the toughest I've ever had.

 

You could just buy a $25.00 propane torch and get enough heat to help break that nut loose. Yeah their always seems to be one bolt, nut screw or what ever that likes to be difficult huh, usually it will be the last one on a project that seems to be going really smooth too.

Gary

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I was able to get that stuck nut off(sounds wrong) with the bolt out that was recommended and copious amounts of liquid wrench. I think it was a combination of the two that did the trick.
I had easy outs but didn't know there were cool sockets to get nuts out. I can see these coming in handy many times.
I'm so glad I didn't have to cut anything...especially since now I have to put the stock exhaust back on because the exhaust I installed is way too loud.

Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

That's good news, glad it worked out for you. What exhaust did you get that was too loud for you? Maybe we could help you find something else that suits your needs.

Gary

 

one thing i learned a long time ago, is that torque is stored. the more you reef on a bolt or nut, the looser it gets. theoretically, any bolt or nut can be undone with your fingers, but it may take 200 years to do it, lol.
my point being, if something doesn't come off easily, STOP before you round the edges. the best trick i have found is to put 80% of your power on the nut over about a 10 second period of time, then a quick 100% tug. works almost everytime without rounding anything.
oh ya, the liquid wrench works wonders too if left overnight, lol.

 

I got the new TurboXS exhaust...I guess I should have heard it on an actual car before buying it. I was just excited because it had good gains per dyno runs and it was a single back instead of a dual.
The power improvement is nice but i can't handle the loudness in the cabin.
I guess something with good performance gains and a deeper and little bit louder than stock sound. And looks pretty stock as far as tips.
After lots of searching on here I didn't really see anything that suits my needs though....

over-that's a good suggestion, I'll have to try that next time. I always do that...it slips once and my dumb butt keeps making it slip. This time I had another nut that started to slip. As soon as it did I pulled out that bolt remover socket and it came right out.

 

If I were to replace all the bolts what kind/length would I need? I would go with something stainless steel.

 

Sounds like you would be pretty happy with the Nismo or Magnaflow.

Gary

 

Grade 5, about 1-1/2" long and get some lock & flat washers too. If you have a local Fastenal check them out or, the local hardware store should be fine. Bring one of your old bolts to check for proper bolt diameter.

Gary

 

maybe I'll research the magnaflow more. It sounded like the gains on the Nismo weren't all that impressive.
I might just stick with stock. It's hard to spend $1k on something that just makes noise.

 

Have you considered just getting some high flow cats? Stock cats are probably the most restrictive part of the stock exhaust system.

Gary