so of course... one of the bolts on the studs came off no problem after 24hours of PB blaster soak....

the other one.... broke 2 wrenches.... and its stuck and stripped.

Since the studs are welded into the pipe...does anyone have any suggestions for getting this nut off... or do i have to take the truck to the muffler shop and get new pipe from the manifold...might as well replace the cat at the same time.

2nd question..... i have 2.25" pip from my cat to the muffler and past the muffler...has anyone gone to 2.25" pipe between the manifold and the cat. Is there not enough backpressure?

 

Maybe try cutting of the old nut with a Dremel, if you can without wrecking the threads.

 

cut the bung off and weld a new one on. from what i understand most high volume muffler shops dont even bother trying to undo the old one if its like that. they just wack it off and start over. MUch less headach and time.

 

I just used a vise-grips to get mine off and got a new one to put back on. Worked great.

 

the studs are not welded into the bung they are tapped holes. When I have taken mine out one of the nuts comes off, the other nut stays on but the stud unscrews from the bung. Use a set of vice-grips like suggested above, or try a smaller socket or American and tap it on the nut. You can also cut the nut with a nut splitter or dremel(suggested above). Make a vertical cut and use a screwdriver to pry it apart.

 

if you have access to an air hammer get a sharp bit and bite into the side and unscrew, works every time.