Problem Gutting Cat!
 

So I just passed for two years on my inspection after 3 attempts. I am going to gut out my cat but I cant get the bolts off. They seem to be too tight. I asked my dad and he said to try heating them up. Would that work or try something else. Any Ideas?

what year's the car #1 . 2nd, gutting cats really doesnt do much, its one of those things thats simiilar to a $350 Granatelli MAF. Either you believe in the force or you dont. High Flow cat's, gutting cat's, I knew an ass who poked holes in his z24 cavalier with a phillips head cause it made the exhaust sound "tight" (this was in 97)Btw that same guy is now on the Teaneck, NJ town Council.

Its an 85 T/A .

so , are you trying to gut the cat to get a performance gain somewhere, or some sound w/o a catback//headers? Im confused?

yes plan on headers in the next few weeks and I have borla catback right now. I just want to gut it for "tone"

Aaah . Im anal so I would just go with a high flow cat. Try some PB blaster. Autozone carries, so does NAPA.. spray it on twice a day for a week. Proceed the butchery from there. If their rusted you can... oh damn, my drunk ass forgot what I was about to type :)

if theyre rusted theyll probably all break, mine did lol. fortunately i was putting long tubes and true duals on so them breaking was actually the faster way of getting them off

I agree with what everyone said above, the performance gain will be minimal, and you are most likely going to break the bolts.

You going to headers, into a stock (restricted) Y-pipe, then into a high flow exhaust. See the problem? You would be better off spending a few dollars on a highflow Y-pipe.

If you don't have the headers yet, I'd suggest looking at the Edelbrock TES system, shortie headers and Y-pipe and they provide plenty of flow of a motor that isn't heavily modified and the quality is outstanding for the price!

When I was deathly afraid of busting the manifold studs in the GTP (when I was putting the downpipe on) I heated the bolts with an oxy/acet torch, then put PB blaster on them for a few days, and then finally heated them again before using an impact gun to remove the nuts. Worked like a charm. Just remember to put anti-sieze on the threads when you put everything back together.

If it is very rusted I wouldn't attempt it with anything other than an impact gun at the very least.

I agree, thats what i had on my 350 the first time when i had it and they couldnt of fit any better or went on any easier!!

Be prepared to break them. It's not really worth doing if you're going with headers in the near future. Wait til you get the headers and a decent y-pipe. Might as well leave it alone for now, anything you break will just eat into the money that could be going towards the headers/y-pipe.

i would wait as well. but PB Blaster is awesome. a torch will help expand the metal to break it free. not sure how its set up but you could cut the threads and hammer the bolts out. i have a gutted cat from my 95 lt1. i think its the same style. its yours if you want to pick it up. i have the 4 bolts as well. needs to be welded to the y pipe