mattRS

alright, i was trying to take off the cat so i could *ahem*FIX*ahem* it, and i couldnt get the damn thing off. it was stuck where the cat meets the y-pipe. any suggestions? i have bene thinking about taking a propane torch to it b/c i think its just kinda stuck b/c of 13 year sof expanding and contracting, but someone told me i need to get an acetylene torch, which means i have to go to a shop. will a propane torch work, or is it something else?

87 B4Z

i had the same problem, take a air hammer to and it will pound that thing right off.

mattRS

what if you don't have access to an air hammer? bea the hell out of it with a rubber mallet?

breathment

i did that once when trying to get my muffler off. i now have a two piece rubber mallet.... can u rotate the cat? or does it not move at all. if it doesn't move at all, you might try getting some liquid wrench or some good penetrating lube. but if it rotates and wont come off because the pipe is crimped, heat is pretty much ur only option. besides the rubber mallet\hammer which might disfigure it, but might make it easier to... "fix"

87 B4Z

take a dremel with a cut off wheel and cut horizontal lines all the way around the pipe where the clamp crimped the pipe and bend it back. spray some PB Blaster and heat it up with a torch. it is a lot of work, when i "fixed" my cat it took me and and a friend 2 hours, a lot of cigarettes, and a lot of cusing to get that SOB off.

when i got my headers i bought a air hammer and it took it off real quick.

mattRS

i can rotate, but with a LOT of work, and im not exactly a weak guy. ok, to help all of us, i don't have access to air tools that often, so a dremel is pretty much out of the picture, as well, thanks though 87. its RIGHT at where the clamp on the inlet was that i am having probs. i got some PB penetrator, but that didn't seem to work very well either. oh, and whats that tube coming out of the cat? i cut that then just covered it with heater hose when i put it back together. thats what a guy at a local shop said to do.

breathment

that tube is the AIR tube, pumps o2 into the exhaust to help with all the unburnt stuff and make the cat more effecient.

maybe u can get a hack saw or rent a pipe cutter

CDN_87IROC

My Dremel is electric. You might want to look into a simular one.

DiecastZ28

Just use a SawsAll. It worked great when i cut my exhaust off.

mattRS

im doin whatever i can NOT to cut it, b/c cutting it means eventually i will have to weld it back on, and i dont have access to a welder

Xenodrgn

I don't mean to insult you, but you did take off the cat-hanger bolt... right?

I got my whole exhaust down with a standard rachet set, but the only thing that gave me trouble was that mounting bolt for the cat... never did get it off, and hand to mount it all back up again...

I could turn the cat, but I couldn't slide it out because of the hanger...

mattRS

yeah, i got everything off. no insult taken, its the easiest thing that you miss sometimes. the cat was just hanging by itself. it just will not come out of the y-pipe. would heating it for a couple minutes would a propane torch heat it up enough to yank it off, you think? and should i gut it or should i go get someone to just make a pipe the length of the cat..i would rather the first, b/c its cheaper!! and if i do the second, what should i do about the AIR tube coming out....leave it be? i dont want the hassle of removing my AIR stuff unless i know exactly what im doing.