Greg wrote:
>
> Thanks for the responses so far. If I can't hammer the socket over the
> nut and were to instead cut off the rusted nut and bolt with a dremel
> tool, would I be able to replace the bolt coming from the cat or is it
> spot-welded to the cat?

It's probably a stud welded to the cat. The best way to do this, given my
experience doing exhaust work, is to heat the nut up. Most mechanics would
use a small tip on their oxy-acetylene torch. However, you might be able to
get by with a MAPP gas torch (just make sure that it's one that puts out a
nice conical flame, I've seen some which produce a very diffuse flame which
isn't what you want most of the time). Heat up the outside of the nut until
it's red and then turn it with a socket. Use an impact type socket or you
can risk taking the temper out of a chrome socket and then it could easily
break the next time you use it.

> The nut appears to be 13mm, but the rust is preventing the socket from
> fitting over it.

With regards to the nut size, Honda usually doesn't use 13 mm sized
fasteners. It was probably a 14 mm at one point. I suggest using a special
"twist" socket that works great for stripped or rusted nuts/bolts. You can
find some examples at http://tinyurl.com/hrp8a and
http://tinyurl.com/kg9td. They are worth their weight in gold when it comes
to removing rusted or stripped nuts.

Eric

 

I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who gave their
advice. As I mentioned before, the problem I was having was removing
the rusted nuts off the bolts that connect the catalytic converter and
the b pipe on my wife's 1995 Honda Accord EX. Here is how I got them
off:

1) liberal dose of PB blaster. 2) put on a small nut-cracker that I got
from Autozone for 8 or 9 bucks. I torqued the nut-cracker until the
chisel penetrated about 3/4 the way into the nut so I wouldn't hurt the
bolt. I think this process deformed the nut just enough for the PB
blaster to work its way into the threads. 3) finally, I put my ratchet
on there and the nuts broke on the second or third hit with a hammer. I
know hitting the ratchet handle with a hammer is likely to ruin the
ratchet, but I didn't have a breaker bar and the ratchet still works.

An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
standard sockets without an exact match. Perhaps they purposely do this
so the 14mm socket will "always" fit over the nut even if it is rusted.
I guess this is a good design, especially if you are using an impact
gun.

Anyway, the job is done, and I saved myself about $100 by doing it
myself. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who gave their
advice. As I mentioned before, the problem I was having was removing
the rusted nuts off the bolts that connect the catalytic converter and
the b pipe on my wife's 1995 Honda Accord EX. Here is how I got them
off:

1) liberal dose of PB blaster. 2) put on a small nut-cracker that I got
from Autozone for 8 or 9 bucks. I torqued the nut-cracker until the
chisel penetrated about 3/4 the way into the nut so I wouldn't hurt the
bolt. I think this process deformed the nut just enough for the PB
blaster to work its way into the threads. 3) finally, I put my ratchet
on there and the nuts broke on the second or third hit with a hammer. I
know hitting the ratchet handle with a hammer is likely to ruin the
ratchet, but I didn't have a breaker bar and the ratchet still works.

An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
standard sockets without an exact match. Perhaps they purposely do this
so the 14mm socket will "always" fit over the nut even if it is rusted.
I guess this is a good design, especially if you are using an impact
gun.

Anyway, the job is done, and I saved myself about $100 by doing it
myself. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who gave their
advice. As I mentioned before, the problem I was having was removing
the rusted nuts off the bolts that connect the catalytic converter and
the b pipe on my wife's 1995 Honda Accord EX. Here is how I got them
off:

1) liberal dose of PB blaster. 2) put on a small nut-cracker that I got
from Autozone for 8 or 9 bucks. I torqued the nut-cracker until the
chisel penetrated about 3/4 the way into the nut so I wouldn't hurt the
bolt. I think this process deformed the nut just enough for the PB
blaster to work its way into the threads. 3) finally, I put my ratchet
on there and the nuts broke on the second or third hit with a hammer. I
know hitting the ratchet handle with a hammer is likely to ruin the
ratchet, but I didn't have a breaker bar and the ratchet still works.

An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
standard sockets without an exact match. Perhaps they purposely do this
so the 14mm socket will "always" fit over the nut even if it is rusted.
I guess this is a good design, especially if you are using an impact
gun.

Anyway, the job is done, and I saved myself about $100 by doing it
myself. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

Nice update.

I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

I would be surprised if the OEM nut heads were non-metric.

My exhaust system has been worked over so many times (by
places like Midas) and then by myself, that most of it is no
longer OEM. I have had to disassemble the joint between
muffler and cat converter for other jobs a few times now.
Getting the bolts and nuts free is easier every time. I do
keep a tube of anti-seize handy, recognizing that
technically, the torque should be higher when using the
stuff.

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote
>I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who
>gave their
> advice.

 

Nice update.

I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

I would be surprised if the OEM nut heads were non-metric.

My exhaust system has been worked over so many times (by
places like Midas) and then by myself, that most of it is no
longer OEM. I have had to disassemble the joint between
muffler and cat converter for other jobs a few times now.
Getting the bolts and nuts free is easier every time. I do
keep a tube of anti-seize handy, recognizing that
technically, the torque should be higher when using the
stuff.

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote
>I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who
>gave their
> advice.

 

Nice update.

I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

I would be surprised if the OEM nut heads were non-metric.

My exhaust system has been worked over so many times (by
places like Midas) and then by myself, that most of it is no
longer OEM. I have had to disassemble the joint between
muffler and cat converter for other jobs a few times now.
Getting the bolts and nuts free is easier every time. I do
keep a tube of anti-seize handy, recognizing that
technically, the torque should be higher when using the
stuff.

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote
>I was able to complete ths job today, so thanks to all who
>gave their
> advice.

 

Elle wrote:
> I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
> be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
> this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
> poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
> guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

Yeah, the Autozone nut buster ("OEM" brand) worked insomuch that I was
able to get the nut off. But it defintely did NOT "bust the nut"--at
best it dented it. The chisel also kept spinning around instead of
staying in a vertical position, which was very annoying. Fortunately
enough for me what it did manage to to do seemed to be enough for the
PB blaster to work, at least that is my theory.

 

Elle wrote:
> I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
> be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
> this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
> poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
> guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

Yeah, the Autozone nut buster ("OEM" brand) worked insomuch that I was
able to get the nut off. But it defintely did NOT "bust the nut"--at
best it dented it. The chisel also kept spinning around instead of
staying in a vertical position, which was very annoying. Fortunately
enough for me what it did manage to to do seemed to be enough for the
PB blaster to work, at least that is my theory.

 

Elle wrote:
> I tried one of the Autozone nut busters (with the chisel, to
> be torqued into place) on a lower control arm castle nut
> this past summer and got nowhere. Maybe my technique is
> poor, though. The Autozone clerk warned me that it was not
> guaranteed to work, and I could even bring it back.

Yeah, the Autozone nut buster ("OEM" brand) worked insomuch that I was
able to get the nut off. But it defintely did NOT "bust the nut"--at
best it dented it. The chisel also kept spinning around instead of
staying in a vertical position, which was very annoying. Fortunately
enough for me what it did manage to to do seemed to be enough for the
PB blaster to work, at least that is my theory.

 

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote in
news:1159050111.346489.53460@d34g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com:

>
> An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
> They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
> new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
> standard sockets without an exact match.


Perhaps your sockets were not truly 13 or 14mm.
I have a couple of different socket sets,different brands,and the "same"
size sockets fit tighter or looser than the other,on the same nut.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote in
news:1159050111.346489.53460@d34g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com:

>
> An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
> They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
> new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
> standard sockets without an exact match.


Perhaps your sockets were not truly 13 or 14mm.
I have a couple of different socket sets,different brands,and the "same"
size sockets fit tighter or looser than the other,on the same nut.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

"Greg" <centaur99@gmail.com> wrote in
news:1159050111.346489.53460@d34g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com:

>
> An interesting side note, it seems that the nuts are not 13mm or 14mm.
> They seem to be somewhere in between, as the 13mm didn't fit over the
> new replacement nuts, and the 14mm had some slop in it. I also tried
> standard sockets without an exact match.


Perhaps your sockets were not truly 13 or 14mm.
I have a couple of different socket sets,different brands,and the "same"
size sockets fit tighter or looser than the other,on the same nut.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net