What a bummer. I spent hours trying to get the upper bolts out of the drivers side cat and finally gave up. No matter what I did I couldn't break them loose. I used some of the spray stuff to loosen up bolts which usually works well but didn't help. Not enough room to tap a wrench with a hammer. No room for a breaker bar. I went from the top on the hardest one and couldn't get it to budge. I have less than 2k miles on the car so I thought they would come loose easily. This is the first time I have failed to install a mod in 25 years. Sigh...

 

I had the same issue but we managed to get a thinner breaker bar in there and break it loose, the other side I did from the inside of the engine compartment.

 

Its all about the right tools. I got most of my nuts from up top with a impact gun.

 

I paid a shop $85 to install them. Best money I ever spent.

 

Wait tell you go and do an "Header install. Your arms will never be the same.
IM thinking they had Gorillas put these cars together.

 

I spent a number of years restoring old cars, (mostly BMW's) and one certaity is that exhaust bolts frequently do not come off when you want them to. As G352NV said, it's all about the right tools.

If you can get a socket on a bolt, and the bolt is not yet rounded off, you simply need to find the right combination of extensions and/or leverage. Sometimes, adding extensions will get you to a spot where you can use your biggest breaker bar. If that fails, try slipping a long pipe over the end of the breaker bar (just be careful...you can easily exceed the strength of the breaker bar or a non-impact socket). You shou be able to get to the braking point of even a very strong bolt. An impact wrence is a great help, but you need a pretty big compressor to exceed the torque of a 1/2in breaker bar. I have the biggest 120 volt compressor that Sears sells, and it's only good for maybe 140 ft lbs.

When that fails, cut the thing off and move on. There are several means of doing that:
a] Use a nut splitter. This is a contraption that fits over a nut and a pointed splitter on a threaded rod with a nut on the end cracks the bolt in half.
b] Use a impact chissel to split the bolt in half.

(with care, a&b can preserve the threads of the bolt, someting you may need to do if its a manifold or head stud that you really don't want to replace.)

c] Use a pneumatic rotary cut off tool to cut though the nut and bolt. (Pretty fast when you can get one in there.)

d] Don't have a compressor? Try a Dremel with a diamond wheel. A bit slower than the air tool, but still works. and with the flexible shaft, you can get almost anywhere.

e] Use a hacksaw to cut the bolt. Save you curses for this one, as cutting a hardend bolt with a hacksaw can he a tough thing.

f] When all else fails, sleep on the problem and start fresh the next day with a lower frustration level!

 

i've done the header install myself....easily one of the top 5 hardest things i have ever done in my life

 

To agree with everyone, it's about the right tools. A little prep helps too. When I was researching which cats to get, I came across all sorts of good tips, so when I installed them, I was prepared. I put my car in the air the night before and sprayed all the bolts with Liquid Wrench. The stuff only works if you let it soak far a long time. 2 applications and 24 hours would be nice, but you gotta live, right? I had read that the top 2 bolts on both sides could be done from the engine compartment with the right extensions. I made sure I bought a few long ones for the job. Ended up using an 18", a 12", and like 4 of the little ones that come with every set you've ever bought. A nice new 6 point 14mm deep-well Craftsman socket on the end. The little extensions towards the socket end worked like a limited universal, as it's not a straight shot, especially on the driver's side. Make sure to tap the whole thing down with a mallet to make sure the socket is completely on and straight. I used a 12" ratchet with a little grunt. The long extensions twist too much to hit it. I didn't use a breaker bar because as mentioned, you can easily exceed the rating of everything. I had about 5k miles on it at the time. The bolts were tight, but very doable. When the first bolt broke loose, I thougt it was the socket breaking because the extension recoil is a weird sensation. Had it been a "Made in Taiwan" socket, or worse, a 12 point 9/16", I think it would have been a different story. The new ones come with nuts and bolts. I would suggest a 14mm "Stubby" wrench to hold the nut when you're tightening the new ones. You have to either set it in place from under the car, then tighten from above, or have a friend hold while you do so. It's a pretty cramped area to try and get a wrench. Mine came with dimpled nuts, so you need to wrench it the full length on the exposed thread.

Having done it, I would say that paying $85 to have it done would be worth every penny. Of course, since I settled for the Kinetix (Wish I got the Crawford's) the install required a second interation on the driver's side to pound a dent in the foot pan part of the underbody for clearance. This was not the widely discussed heat-shield problem which apparently applies to both Kinetix and Crawford.

 

Ive done the cats install about 4 times on this car and it was pretty easy except for the fact that I did it with Rhino ramps. Just get several of the longer extensions, a joint/elbow that goes right after the socket, and at least a 3 foot heavy duty breaker bar, should come right off with some muscle. Good luck!

 

Ok, I'm going to try it again next week on my next day off. I think I was using a 9/16" deepwell not a 14mm. I'll try soaking the bolts the night before and see if that works.

The cats only came with 10 new bolts but no nuts. Is that normal for Crawford cats? And did you remove anything underneath the car besides the exhaust bracket?