getting cat. converter off...
Printed From: West Coast Fieros
Category: Technical Topics Forum
Forum Name: Technical Questions and Discussions
Forum Description: Got a technical question about your fiero? ask it here.
URL: http://www.westcoastfieros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=909
Printed Date: 27 November 2024 at 8:08am
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Topic: getting cat. converter off...
Posted By: kawana
Subject: getting cat. converter off...
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 1:32pm
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k well ive been trying to remove my cat. converter and am not sure what to try next. Its not welded on, it was held on by 2 of those U clamp things, which i cut off. It looks like it is slightly rusted on. I put a good bit of penetrating oil on it, but im not sure how much good that will do. Once those clamp things are used, is it pretty much stuck on there? I dont want to resort to getting a shop to do it, cuz i just know they will charge too much, and probably keep it overnight, and i dont want that. Im open to any ideas here. Any penetrating oil you think would work better? There doesn't appear to be alot of rust, just a little. |
Replies:
Posted By: ZeroC
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 2:38pm
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sawzall . ------------- 
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Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 3:38pm
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ya im trying that, but i gotta wait till tomorrow to buy a new blade, i was hoping someone had an alternative idea that i could try, but i guess ill just have to wait. And theres so little damn room under there, not easy to get a sawzall in there :S Jack is already at its max, and it just barely fits :P |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 11:01pm
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I hope you're using jack stands! Do not, I repeat DO NOT rely on the Fiero's scissor jack! Two weeks ago I was raising my GT a bit to give me better access to the bottom rivets holding the rocker panels on. Just as I got the jack to the top of its travel.... down it came! Whomp! I was off to the side so I was okay, but it made me appreciate just how fragile those Fiero scissor jacks are. |
kawana wrote:
Made a sound like a ratchet on the way down as all the nylon(?) gears/threads in the jack stripped. Took just a split second for the car to hit the ground. 
Posted By: Dr.Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 8:07am
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Take it to Muffler man on Kingsway in BBY. They charge like $50-60 and do in an hour or less what's going to take you days at this rate! (oh yeah - if you're offside with the guy, casually slip him cash - they're usually receptive to that if you're discreet) |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 9:54am
i am yes, my car is also up on ramps, so if the stand give way, its still gunna be raised up by the ramps. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:10pm
| well i got my cat. converter off just now, and what do i find??? ITS EMPTY! Its a fake cat. lol :P Took it off for NOTHING... Funny that i passed aircare so easily now that i think about it :S |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:26pm
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Maybe you might need to check to make sure the contents haven't all been blown into your muffler!
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Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:34pm
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As Patric said, if the converter is burned out, empty shell, chances are they contents were blown into the muffler.
If the car is running fine, its not usually worth it to replace the muffler. However in a perfect world with unlimited money, replacing the muffler would be recommended. As for Air-Care, The 84-87 Fieros if running right, will usually pass air care with just a good tune up. My 85GT would pass without a cat, or EGR system and PCV System breather installed. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:16pm
| hmm, never thought about that.. if it starts acting up, ill get them to check the muffler... |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 4:00pm
| if the seal clamps dont make a perfect seal, what kind of issues may arise? These clamps didn't conform to the pipe as well as i expected, so im wondering if they will be ok for now, till i can get my uncle (who has an impact wrench) to install the horseshoe shaped clamps? |
Posted By: Dr.Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 4:13pm
They will conform to the pipe if there are no small bumps (like blobs of weld, etc). You don't need an impact with them - one of the 'features' of them! Just tighten them down SOLID with a ratchet. Assuming you got the right size (like, not putting a 2 1/4" clamp on a 2 1/2" pipe!) they'll seal up. They ARE better on new pipe I have to admit. If you do get a small leak, you can undo them and pull them off (try that with an old school clamp!) and smear some muffler cement on - then when it's still wet put the clamp back around it and tighten it down. Let it cure up a while, then let the engine idle slowly to harden it all the way up. Worst comes to worst, you'll have a bit of noise for a bit until you fix it all. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 4:19pm
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i think u missunderstood me, i wasn't saying that i thought the seal clamps need an impact wrench, i was referring to the U shaped clamps (oldschool clamps as you say), that need the impact wrench. Where can i get that muffler cement (is that the technical name? Can i just go to napa and ask for "muffler cement"?) I think ill use some of that just so i dont have to worry about it. The mechanic at budget was nice enough to give me a scrap 15" length of exhaust for free, even flared the end :) But man was that a bugger to get in.. wish i had some grease handy at the time, but i got it on lol :P |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 6:27pm
| lol i just took my car for a spin... its quite a bit louder than before, sounds great though :P Any idea what i could do to make it a little more "tame", should i get complaints from the neighbours :P |
Posted By: Dr.Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 6:34pm
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Depends where the annoying tones are in the band. If they're up high (think annoying honda fart can sounds) - you can add resonator tips to kill 'em. This is most likely where the annoying sounds are. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 7:05pm
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i wouldn't say its annoying, i think it sounds really nice, its just a little too loud. Can you think of any resonator tips that would look nice? Edit: The extra loudness wouldn't have anything to do with a less than perfect seal, like i mentioned, would it? |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 8:16pm
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Send a PM to fire451 and ask him what the part number of the Monza tips is. Or for that matter as I think Dr. Fiero has Monza tips. They give the Fiero a real exotic sound. About $120 for a set I think. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 10:01pm
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ok, will do. edit: says he hasn't visited here since June 8th, but i sent him a PM anyways, we'll see if the Dr. knows. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 10:24pm
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The Monza tips get rid of the raspy crackle tons and leave you with a nice smooth Vroom Vroom sound. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 3:31pm
| someone over at .nl says that the tips will only help at idle, but wont tone it down when it get some RPM's. Im looking to quiet it down at WOT. Would that be more the muffler? |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 6:48pm
| well im thinking its not as bad as i thought, i gave my mom a test ride and she gave it the thumbs up :P Dropped her off on the side of the road, and went flying by, she says "it sounds like a race car, i like it" lol :P And shes a pretty conservative woman, so im thinking ill be ok. Maybe it just sounds louder inside the car than outside. I think ill just get some resonating tips to cut out the raspiness and call it a day, atleast until i get complaints :) |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 7:44pm
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Well if a Mother can accept it, then its got to be good. LOL. This coming from a guy who's wife and mother both drive Fieros as daily drivers. I think you'll be alright.
As for cat converter, I just got a letter in the mail today from ICBC, looks like its time for me to go and fight Air-Scare. I cheated last year, and used the policy loophole to skip a year of aircare, which only works every other year, and this year I have no choice but to get my 88 ready for it. Time for a brand new cat, stock chip and set the car up to run as clean as possible. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 8:24pm
| lol good luck :D Could a less than perfect seal around the cat. delete pipe cause excessive noise in the cabin? Ill try some of that muffler cement stuff and seal it up real good, see if that helps. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 1:05am
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It sure wouldn't help. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 1:09am
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Tell me more, Dave. I'd love to be able to forgo taking my GT through AirCare this month. What's the loophole?
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Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 6:23am
It helps to have a friendly insurance agent, but in reality they can't stop you from doing it. When you Aircare a car it does simply expire the moment you get renew your insurance. Its valid for I think 350 days. So you go in 30 days before your insurance is due to expire cancel your policy hand in your plates, then ask for a new policy. Your car will still have a valid Aircare so they give you a new 1 year policy and you are on your way. Also if you have 2 cars and you insure then on and off, you can actually pull off the scam when moving from one car to the other so long as insure the 2nd car just before the Aircare expires on it, which waves Aircare for a year. The cost of canceling and renewing is about 30 bucks, which is the same cost as Aircare, but saves you the cost of doing all the expenses of prepping your car for Aircare. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Patrick
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 10:53pm
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Thanks Dave. Interesting that a couple of months ago I asked my insurance agent about doing the very thing you've suggested. They stated to me at the time that I'd have to AirCare the car I wanted to transfer the insurance/plates to. Hmmm.... I may have to ask again, this time with more authority. |
Posted By: kawana
Date Posted: 11 October 2008 at 4:33pm
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Well it looks like the extra loudness i was hearing was because of the new pipe i installed. I got a better look at it today, and it looks like one side wasn't on properly and i could move it back and forth, i slopped a crapload of muffler cement on it and around the clamps (enough so it oozed out when i tightened it), and its waaay quieter inside the car now, the exhaust tone sounds great now. I still think im gunna get some resonating tips to cut out the raspy sound though, overall i really like how it sounds compared to before. Anyone tried Hedmans hot tips? I can get a set for $16 each from amazon.com so i think i might give them a try. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 11 October 2008 at 9:47pm
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OK so now you now what I thought it sounded like. I had no idea the pipe was off/loose. When its not leaking, no cat is not that bad for sound, but ya add the resonators tips and it will sound better. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |