OEM Cat Removal Suggestions?
i am in the same situation right now. Last weekend i tried taking the cats off and the top bolt refuses to get loose. i have to take it to my mechanic and see what we can do to get it off. tried 30' extension with a breaker bar, also took of the steering rod to get better access to the top driver side bolt. but no luck. this weekend gonna give it a try again. also installing stillen headers with the berk hfc
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damn! sounds like a nitemare! Which I knew it would be! so because of that, my Infiniti dealer will be doing mine for about $180 for Install! 2Hr labor time to do the job! with a loaner to boot! luck the Only Infiniti dealer here is mod freindly!
Plus I read about some 02 sensors being already stripped into the cat on some G's! and if it is, u gotta buy a new one! so for that Info also, I'll let the Infiniti Techs do the Job, and if they come across any stripped 02 sensors, it will not be my fault, and they would repalace it under warranty! So good luck guy's on getting that B!tch of a bolt off. and yea heard of heating that bolt with a torch to get it off, or cutt it off somehow?? LOL. lucky my G35 sedan has a little more room than the bigger G37 motor. seen one the other day at my work, and i can't even see the top bolt from under the hood, the motor is so close to the strut towers, LOL.
LMK how it goes on the removal! even FI said the best way to get the OEM top bolt off the Cat is to break it off. LOL. you got one side done right!
Plus I read about some 02 sensors being already stripped into the cat on some G's! and if it is, u gotta buy a new one! so for that Info also, I'll let the Infiniti Techs do the Job, and if they come across any stripped 02 sensors, it will not be my fault, and they would repalace it under warranty! So good luck guy's on getting that B!tch of a bolt off. and yea heard of heating that bolt with a torch to get it off, or cutt it off somehow?? LOL. lucky my G35 sedan has a little more room than the bigger G37 motor. seen one the other day at my work, and i can't even see the top bolt from under the hood, the motor is so close to the strut towers, LOL. LMK how it goes on the removal! even FI said the best way to get the OEM top bolt off the Cat is to break it off. LOL. you got one side done right!
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I looked at the mini torch, and decided on the drill bit. I made the last trip to Lowe's before they closed and picked up some stuff to use my 36" socket extension as the extension for the drill bit. The drill bit extension I bought is creating some wobble to the bit itself, and has held me up. I'm going to Lowe's first thing tomorrow morning to pick up a different extension and give it another run. Plan F is cutting the cat off at the highest point so I can drill from behind. This is the last resort, and puts me out even more $$ in the project.
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damn thats messed up Bro! Thats why I decided to let my dealer do it, since I knew i would have had the hardest time getting that one damn blot OFF! I usually do my own mods, but this one will leave to the pro's hopefully! LOL.
So with your FI HFC's you got 4 gaskets totttal? 2 for the Header-Cat, and 2 for the Cat-Y-pipe? Thnx
So with your FI HFC's you got 4 gaskets totttal? 2 for the Header-Cat, and 2 for the Cat-Y-pipe? Thnx
Again, I'm not trying to be an azz about it, but this is why I keep telling everyone not to attempt this themselves. Maybe some of these would-be mechanics will read this thread and realize that $200 is a tiny price to pay to not have to go through the nightmare that will ensue if/when you F it up. That bolt was put in this car and overtightened by Satan himself. I think he also gets a warm tingly feeling whenever one of us botches O2 sensor removal ourselves and has to pay to replace it out of our pockets rather than the shop or dealership doing it. I'll say it once more in case it may help someone make a decision to save themselves some heartache:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO INSTALL HIGH FLOW CATS UNLESS YOU ARE EXTREMELY SKILLED WITH WORKING ON EXHAUST, HAVE ALL THE RIGHT TOOLS, AND YOU DON'T MIND SKINNING YOU KNUCKLES, BUYING O2 SENSORS, AND DRILLING OUT BROKEN BOLTS WITH A 3' EXTENSION.
Good luck!
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO INSTALL HIGH FLOW CATS UNLESS YOU ARE EXTREMELY SKILLED WITH WORKING ON EXHAUST, HAVE ALL THE RIGHT TOOLS, AND YOU DON'T MIND SKINNING YOU KNUCKLES, BUYING O2 SENSORS, AND DRILLING OUT BROKEN BOLTS WITH A 3' EXTENSION.
Good luck!
Just to be clear, I'm not knocking you at all - I applaud your spirit and determination. I encourage every owner to challenge themselves and learn new stuff by putting their own hands on tools and learning how to mod their own cars wherever possible. But as you can testify, this ain't the project for a novice. I considered trying it myself but opted to take it to my mod friendly dealership service department. I feel for ya man. Get in touch with you Snap On or Mac tools guy. Take some KY and try to relax, it'll hurt less.
damnit you guys are demotivating me from installing these lol
i hate paying ppl to do stuff i can do myself. but ima be pissed if i break that bolt. i guess ill just bring it to a shop to do.
i hate paying ppl to do stuff i can do myself. but ima be pissed if i break that bolt. i guess ill just bring it to a shop to do.
If anybody has done this install and had smooth sailing with no problems or serious issues, please post up. I'd love to hear a positive story of one of us being a super stud mechanic and being able to pull it off with ease.
hey stoof, i think you should at least give it a try if you're really confident about it. we're just telling you from our point of view how the hfc install is... maybe it's easy peasy lemon squeezy for you!
