Cat converter bolts?

Confirmed, that's odd. But not necessarily rare as i've found numerous
instances "improvised fasteners".
Someone drops a nut/bolt, then can't find it and goes to the toolbox or garage
to find one that's close enough. Indeed a sloppy way to do it.

You don't have to replace it with one from the stealership though. If you have
an ACE hardware (a good one), replace them with stainless bolts. They will
be much easier to remove if you ever have to do it again. Take in an old one
to match the threads. (either M10X1.5 or M12x1.5)

I'd cut the head off and then soak the left-over part of the bolt in PB-Blaster
overnight before trying a torch and vice-grips to extract the rest of the bolt.

Yeah, thanks… really meant - can anyone confirm that's the way they were built originally? I really don't think anyone has touched this in 29 years… Texas didn't have smog regs until recent enough that, had it been replaced to meet them, then the hardware would look a lot better.

I think Xeonon is working on more Fiche stuff. regardless, I'd seriously consider a down pipe and cat (or not) replacement with the look of that thing. worst case you'll be drilling out the one you'll need to cut off, and using nuts and bolts anyway…

Finally got them off…

Spent more time than I should have trying to get that last bolt off… used a variety of methods… put heat on it, put PB on it… tried different wrenches, everything kept slipping off… yeah, this didn't work either.



I am stubborn, and didn't really want to take a cutting wheel to the bolt head. I ended up finding a tool that did the job… these things are awesome if you need to work with a rounded bolt head.





Had to hammer it to get a bite in the bolt head, but once it did, I was able to apply enough torque to back it out. Word of advice if you do buy one - the set at AZ was about 50% more expensive than at Lowe's. I'm taking it back to get a refund, just on the principle. Didn't realize that until I had already used the tool, but it's none the worse for wear…

Found that the cat was probably not abnormally restricting exhaust… This is how it looked if you shined the light from one end and lined up right down the catalyst matrix… hard to capture well with a camera.



Decided to make sure that nothing would restrict this in the future…





Didn't like how uneven the grid was after drilling and hammering it out with a flat bar, so I decided to get all smart and use a piece of PVC to drive out a circular cross-section…




Well, obviously ^that^ isn't circular… but it isn't going to restrict flow either.

For the record, bolt size is 10-1.25 x 25. Got some replacements, but need to chase the threads with a tap before I try to reinstall it. None of the hardware stores carry that thread pitch, so I'm going to check with a specialty fastener shop tomorrow. I'm sure they will have it, just not going to want to pay their price I imagine. Only other option is to just replace the cat completely. But after all that work gutting it, don't believe I want to do that. A couple new gaskets, clean up the threads and hang it back under there until I can afford to do the whole exhaust sometime later. Muffler is about to rot out, so I may push it up on my list…

All of this is completely irrelevent to the problem I've had with the engine not running right… eventually I'm going to figure that out.

whats the name of that socket you used?

Here they are…

This is the set I bought…

Irwin 5-piece Bolt-Grip Base Set

The box is designed to hold a second set of 5 sockets that are sold separately as an "expansion set"

https://www.belmetric.com/bh10x125x2…th=506_509_405

You may want to take down the pictures of you gutting that cat. It may be legal in Texas, but you can still get in Federal trouble.

From http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/factshts/catcvrts.pdf

This is not a "How To" thread…

This was referring to the tap, not the bolts…

Yep, got those at Lowe's… about the same price.

Yeah, thanks for your concern. I should probably not have been so eager to share, but let this disclaimer be clear:

DO NOT DO THIS… DO NOT DO THIS… DO NOT DO THIS… DO NOT DO THIS… DO NOT DO THIS…

THIS IS NOT A "HOW TO" … THIS IS NOT A "HOW TO" … THIS IS NOT A "HOW TO" … THIS IS NOT A "HOW TO" …

You should have taken the cat to the scrap yard and pocketed at least $50. You could have then turned around and bought the CM Performance test pipe to replace the cat.

http://www.frozenboost.com/dsm-inter…911d380d0aaa07

Got this for my 2+2 1988 NA…great quality and price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONVERTER-TE…63e38f&vxp=mtr
And fitment with the stock exhaust.

Never heard of that… is that an EPA-mandated scrap value, or based on the contents? I have no clue, just assumed the matrix was some sort of ceramic. My outlay is less than $20 and I'm saving the rest for some meaningful repairs…

Love the disclaimer for the "non catalytic converter" at the bottom: " … It may result in a significant gain in horsepower and may prevent your car from passing emissions."

thanks much