So the other day I bought some Berk Test Pipes from Ebadai98 and after they got to me I went to have them installed. Little did we know, the bolts on the stock cats would be such a pain in the butthole to get off. The following video is our attempt after 2 hours of trying to get em off. I think we finally resorted to brute-force...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBlnx6R1OYQ

Anyways, we finally got the bolts off and then the o2 sensors decided to be difficult to remove so we only got one off that night. The next day we wound up taking a blowtorch to the other cat to get the other o2 sensor out. I think it's broken so I'm buying a new one.

Anyways there's this awful rattling noise now so I'm depressed about that. Also, until I swap out the o2 sensor the CEL stays on and the car runs really rich. There's also a piston misfire that happens when I accelerate occasionally...

Overall I'm not impressed with the Test Pipes, but I'll probably like them after I get the new exhaust.

 

use air tools.....

 

 

Haha, we did but it never budged...

 

TPs are a pain in the *****.

 

My were brutal too. Used air tools and they did squat. Eventually just forced them out with a breaker bar and 2 guys pulling on it at the same time. lol.

As for the rattling. Did you take the heat shields off?

 

Haha yeah we got out the breaker bar and it helped move it a little. They're definitely in there really well.

What do you mean by heat shield?

 

You should spray them with PB blaster. Makes the job easier.

 

Im still having a ***** of a time removing mine... tried pb blaster over and over. now im moving on to aerokroil.

 

PB Blaster soak for a couple hours + regular gym membership = success.

You need some serious force for those bitches. I did mine in my garage with some serious T-rex arms but it's doable. putting the test pipes in was much easier than getting the cats out, but again mine aren't resonated. I had plenty of room to get them installed.

 

I was afraid of this happening to me.

Luckily...
My friends and I installed my test pipes today.
Took us 1 hour.
No problems what so ever
The most stressful part of the day was trying to get my semi-slammed car on stands. Holla.

 

DO NOT DO THIS! You will end up damaging all 4 o2 sensors. The bolts must be removed by hand unfortunately

 

There are aluminum heat shields above where the stock cats go. They are held up by 3 screw/bolts. They rattle when you swap the cats for test pipes. They can be easily removed while the test pipes are still in. You just have to work around the pipes. Youll need a small ratchet is all.

Air tools didnt do anything to the 02 sensors on mine. Heck the air tools didnt do anything at all. lol.

 

use a breaker bar extension (any pipe that fits over the breaker bar) and it makes it a lot easier, I use one all the time when working on my tank in the desert, now thats a B****! Longer breaker bar = Greater mechanical advantage

 

So if I remove the heat shield will it mess anything up? I mean by definition it shields something from heat, what is it shielding?

 

^ +1

Breaker bar + Long Extension + PB Blaster = Success

Also a swivel adapter and some crows foot wrenches

 

The stock cats throw off a lot more heat than the test pipes do. The converters are very well shielded because of this. Although, as you correctly infer, the shields are there to keep heat out of the passenger compartment. The noise is far more irritating than a little extra heat though.

 

haha, exactly has never failed me, unless of course you shear off thehead of the bolt (which shouldnt happen)

 

You dont even need PB Blaster. Just use a long breaker bar with extension as mentioned. You would be amazed how much more torque you get from just 6 inches more on the breaker bar.

 

we used a friends retard strength to get the O2 sensors out.