Sam Humans
01-25-2015, 07:55 PM
Hi all!
Let me just preface this by saying that I'm stubborn, so as to head-off the "take it to a shop, it's cheap" comments. I want to do this myself, because that's how I learn and get better at fixing my vans!
Anyway, I'm replacing the cat. Got a bolt-in replacement on the ebay for $65, so am doing pretty good so far. Problem is that the rear bolts are rusted on tight and no amount of penetrating grease is going to do a thing. Luckily, the front bolts came out without too much effort, so I was able to get the cat - plus about 4 feet of exhaust from the cat back to the muffler, out from under the van in order to work on it. In the light of day it was clear that it's too far gone for conventional removal. So I got out the grinder and took off the heads of the bolts. Success, the old cat is now removed from the exhaust but for one part: the flange that holds it all together. Hopefully this makes sense, but if not, it's got the nut/threads for the mounting bolts built-in to it, with a small flange at the bottom to hold the cat in place. It's a very secure system, and I'm specifically wondering how integral it is to the integrity of the joint?
So, to be clear, the issue here is that the remnants of the mounting bolts I ground the heads off of are rusted into the threaded-nut portion of the mounting flange. In fact, most of the flange itself is badly rusted - and though I could do something drastic like try and drill out the center of the bolts and chip away at it from inside, I sincerely doubt the threads would be salvageable and would also suspect the metal itself to be compromised and weakened because of rust.
Long story for a short question: Why can't I just buy 2 bolts and washers and strap the cat in there minus the flange? And if the answer is that the flange is integral, where can I get one, or more likely, any ideas for a DIY work-around?
Thanks for any input, drive safe out there!
Let me just preface this by saying that I'm stubborn, so as to head-off the "take it to a shop, it's cheap" comments. I want to do this myself, because that's how I learn and get better at fixing my vans!
Anyway, I'm replacing the cat. Got a bolt-in replacement on the ebay for $65, so am doing pretty good so far. Problem is that the rear bolts are rusted on tight and no amount of penetrating grease is going to do a thing. Luckily, the front bolts came out without too much effort, so I was able to get the cat - plus about 4 feet of exhaust from the cat back to the muffler, out from under the van in order to work on it. In the light of day it was clear that it's too far gone for conventional removal. So I got out the grinder and took off the heads of the bolts. Success, the old cat is now removed from the exhaust but for one part: the flange that holds it all together. Hopefully this makes sense, but if not, it's got the nut/threads for the mounting bolts built-in to it, with a small flange at the bottom to hold the cat in place. It's a very secure system, and I'm specifically wondering how integral it is to the integrity of the joint?
So, to be clear, the issue here is that the remnants of the mounting bolts I ground the heads off of are rusted into the threaded-nut portion of the mounting flange. In fact, most of the flange itself is badly rusted - and though I could do something drastic like try and drill out the center of the bolts and chip away at it from inside, I sincerely doubt the threads would be salvageable and would also suspect the metal itself to be compromised and weakened because of rust.
Long story for a short question: Why can't I just buy 2 bolts and washers and strap the cat in there minus the flange? And if the answer is that the flange is integral, where can I get one, or more likely, any ideas for a DIY work-around?
Thanks for any input, drive safe out there!