Ok, I picked up a pacesetter exhaust from howell, I ran into a problem with one of the bolts on the catalytic convertor ( tried torching it to help get it off, oiled it, wd-40ed it, you name it ).. so the bolt just wouldnt come off so we (thinking stupidly) just cut the bolt and didnt realize that it still wasnt going to push out by cuting it( the exhaust came off but the other half of the bolt was still there.) So now I have the exhaust off from the catalytic convertor back and one bolt is out, and the other is stil in just enough so the gasket and pipe rest on the bolt that is broken in half( one side is screwed in extremely tight to the point that it was stripping if it got any tighter.) Now the question I was wondering is first, becuase of the thick gasket that is in there with the pacesetter exhaust... am I loosing any airflow...? I have checked it 25 times or more since last night and I couldnt really feal any air leaking with my hand when someone was revving it up??? The other thing was... Is this bolt going to break being the only one..? Are there any other ideas you guys have as to how i can keep it there, or ideas on how to get that bolt out that is now cut in half so i can put a new one in... Sorry about the slightly off topic post but i searched and just found things related to getting the exhaust off but nothing really mentioned if it is safe to just use one bolt?? Thats what im really getting at, and if its not safe you guys have any ideas that dont require me to take off the catalytic convertor???


Thanks for the help- Brian

One bolt might be fine now but in the long run you want 2
I would just get a bit drill bit and drill the old bolt out of the hole
It shouldnt be that hard
drill right through the center of the bolt with a drill bit a little smaller than the bolt, you wont wreck the hole on the cat if your carefull.

You might get/have an exhaust leak later or when any sideways pressure is put on that joint you might start leaking
drill that bolt out

alright thanks, ya I never even thought of that... when we cut the bolt however it took forever.. I would need a damn high powered drill to drill those bolts out...

There's an attachment for air/impact wrenches called a stud extractor or bolt extractor. It cuts into the top of the stud and screws it out. Go to a local muffler shop and ask em to pull it.

You could also use a hacksaw/dremel to cut a notch into the stud and use a flathead or metal bar to crank on it. You'll probably just break it more this way tho.

just get a nice drill bit (high speed carbon steel/cobalt tipped blah blah blah) and drill that biatch out