So i was going to be installing my HFC that i purchased from someone on here. I got my car all jacked up and and all the tools ready to go. From reading up on doing this install, obviously the two hard bolts are the ones you have to get at from the engine bay (one on the drivers side, one on the passenger side). So i decided that I would get these first (as i have also seen recomended). I PB blasted all the bolts, let it sit for awhile, then started on the passenger bolt. It started turning, and then, boom, it spun freely. Did I strip it... NO. I SNAPPED THE HEAD OFF THE BOLT!. After many expetives I decided to try the drivers side. SAME THING HAPPENED!. So again, many terrible things were said, and then I decided to call a shop, and not even attempt to do anything else. I called them and they said they actually cant install the usedhfc because it is illegal and they could get fined (which i have researched and found to be true). So i told them to just take the OEM cat off, I'll drive it home and put the hfc in. So I'm sitting here at work just looking this up, and it seems that... breaking the heads off is not a bad thing??? I couldnt really tell how those bolts were on, but would the cat have come off if I got those other 4 bolts off? I would hate to find out I brought it there for no reason, and that i could have done it myself. Could i have???

 

It's fine to snap the studs. Most people end up snapping the stud. It is much better to snap the stud than stripping the nut. Keep going I your own.

 

I just called the shop (the car was already there), they already took the OEM cats off. I'm so pissed I didnt try and finish. I thought the second I snapped the heads off i was SOL. Its just crazy that I actually did the ideal thing without realizing it. I'm so angry with myself.... Oh well... Another lesson in the bag. Any idea what size (thread, pitch, diameter, ect.) the cat to manifold and the cat to y pipe bolts are so i can go buy new ones?

 

Crazy how it happens. I jumped up and down with joy when I snapped the head off the demon bolt doing my FI test pipes. Spent an hour and a half on the first 9 bolts, and 6 1/2 hours on the 10th :P

 

Thats insane. It just read so much about how you can be F***ed on those bolts and figured I was done after they snapped. Then i come on here and saw someones post where he has a picture of the head snapped off with a smiley face, and I was like... Wait a second. Then I started looking in the FSM and all over the forum and it seemed like it would slide out once you snapped it. I'm kicking myself, luckly the shop isnt charging too much. The guy said like an hour, so somewhere around $100. Now I have to go back home and put the new HFC on.

 

I recently replaced my OEM Cats and Exhaust with FI RHFC and CBE. When we tried to remove the Cats we ended up using a torch to heat the nuts/bolts. After heating the bolts/nuts came off without breaking any of them. My car is an 08 coupe with 75000 miles.

 

I torched mine like crazy, didn't help much at all. I think it has alot to do with your location as well, I'm from the northeast so I'm sure the winters didn't help.

 

Well worth it,,and now it done ,, I have a 13 and God were those bolt hard ...and we only have 1200 miles ,,,,

 

I had one side that had one bolt that was ridiculously tight and snapped. After getting that one off I was not looking forward to the other side. Funnily enough, the second one actually came off really easily.

 

Those 2 bolts are a pita, that's for sure. But what a difference the hfc's make!

 

So i picked the car up yesterday from the shop. Like i said in the original post, they DID NOT install the HFCs because they were used and could get fined. So i wasn't using test pipes... I was using a TRUE cat-delete for the ride home LOL. It was only about a mile. but holy S***... If you want your car to sound like a monster truck, just take the cats off. That thing was sooooooo loud. I think every car i drove by was staring at me. It sounded good actually until you hit like 2500rpm, then it was just terrible. Anyways... I'll probablly be puting the HFCs on today (weather permitting). I'm still a little pissed at myself for not trying to finish the rest of the job. I couldnt stop thinking yesterday about how crazy it is that it took some people HOURS to get those bolt heads snapped, and it took my maybe 30 seconds for both, AND it was accidental.