The bolts that fasten the cat. conv. to the front muffler pipe have rusted and broken off, so the two pieces have seperated.
My problem is that I cannot get the broken bolts/studs out of the cat. They are either screwed in, or have splines and are pressed in...I cannot tell which due to the light rust in the area where there would be threads or splines. But no amount of twisting with Vise Grips or hammering seems to work to get them out.
Any suggestions ? Other than replacing the bolts and gasket, all of the pieces are in fine shape. In fact, I am very surprised that this happened at all, considering how good the rest of the exhaust (and entire car) is... If I can just answer the question of "screwed in" or "pressed in", that would help. These are pretty big and tough to have to drill out...I want to avoid that if possible. Also, a new cat is $575 list, but I found one for about $460 mail order. Ouch.
OHH.... 98 SE V6 and all stock except for that nasty smell in the passenger seat...
