dashan

1996 LS400, 220,000 miles
It is the front joint of the Cat Converter.
There are 3 14 mm nuts, two facing the floor, one on the back of the joint.
I have removed the two nuts that facing the floor as shown in the pic.
The one that hide behind the joint, anyone have experience in removing it?
Thanks

LScowboyLS

soak all of the nuts in PB Blaster for 24 hours, keep spraying and whacking them with a heavy wrench about every hour, to induce vibration

as far as getting to the hardest to reach nut, that is why they have those crazy pivoting ratchets and curved wrenches and other goodies on the tool trucks!

working on cars is like a mental puzzle, you have to come up with the unique way to get at the nut or fastener, walking around the inside of the tool truck (Snap-on, Mac, Matco, Cornwell, etc.) will give you ideas, when you see the arsenal of weapons they offer you in your quest, it makes your mind kick in and calculate how you could use what they have to go after the harder to reach fasteners!

once you figure out the ideal tool, check and see if they have it for cheap at harbor freight tools

dashan

Exactly. I am asking what kind of tool that other members have used to get that nut. That would help me save time and fund for not buying un-needed tool.

dashan

Well，the trick is
Get the rear joint first, remove the two nuts of the rear joint, and the post-cat pipe will drop, then you can get that third nut of the front joint from behind of the cat converter..

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

SEE.... all you needed was a wake up call..... thanks cowboy.. walking around a tool truck will do that for you!!

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Ok, what I see that is needed for this is: Lift, acetylene torch and the Snap-On truck handy. Tool trucks are dangerous on the wallet because one can find all kinds of useful tools. The bad part is that the home wrencher may use them once every 5-7 years or longer intervals depending on part being worked on.

dashan

I used Made-in China, Walmart tools.

LScowboyLS

I go to the tool trucks for ideas, but mostly shop at harbor freight, amazon & ebay

PS - Harbor Freight has an awesome deal on a well regarded 3 ton floor jack @ $69, today & tomorrow only!

dashan

One nut on the front joint freezes, resulting in exhaust stud coming out.
Bought Dorman - Help Exhaust Stud Kit - M10-1.25 x 40mm exhaust stud #03105. Don't know whether it fits.