Quick muffler removal question

Currently in the process of removing my mufflers for a (partial) bypass mod. Unfortunately I'm running into tons of bolts/nuts that are rusted and its making it a lot harder than it should be. My question is related to the cat side clamp. From what I can tell, its a sleeve with two clamps on it. The muffler side bolt is rounded off, but I was able to remove the cat side bolt. Is this enough to slide the entire assembly off the cat side and remove, or do I need to get both bolts out? EDIT: After heating it, spraying it with blaster, and hitting it with a hammer I finally gave up and used a dremel to cut the other bolt. After that, it slid right off very easily. So, to definitively answer the question - BOTH bolts much be loosened to easily remove it. Thanks in advance! Charlie

I would advise to remove everything from the muffler if you are sending it out.

You'll just have to work it back and forth to see but it should come off.

Nothing quick about muffler removal - unless you've done it fairly recently and used plenty of high-temp (copper) anti-seize...I think you'd be better off cutting the nut off than trying to work the clamp off (a whistle grinder or Dremel with a cutoff wheel will make quick work of it). Use stainless steel carriage bolts when you put it back together - along with the aforementioned anti-seize. Good luck

Maybe its a sign....mine had mufflers bypassed when i got it. It sounded super race car cool, but that got old after a week or 2. I started to realize i couldnt talk to my passenger while touching shoulders

You need to move the sleeve just past the joint. PB Blaster is very good, but I wouldn't spend too much time with the cat bolts if they're rounded. Cut them off like dporto says. You don't need to match them exactly, just get something close in stainless steel. I got mine at Ace Hardware. There is a BIG difference between bypass pipes and the Fister-type mod. I love my Fisters and I have a cab.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm cutting where needed to get things out. Unfortunately my mufflers have a split that Fister said disqualifies them as cores. So my plan is to put them on my bench, clean them up, and attempt to repair them myself with my TIG welder. If it works, I'm going to try to do the bypass myself as well. If not, I'm either going to pay the core charge and get them from Fister, or get a set of Fabspeed super cups. Cheers Charlie

Learning to weld is on my bucket list. Good luck with your project!

Or find a good local custom muffler shop and you can probably get it all done for half the price of Fister.

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Looks pretty easy. What size pipe is the bypass?

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By-pass pipes need CC inserts in them to be able to live with them on a daily, the 3 disk inserts knock about 10db off the volume and is just right if you like aggressive, and if you have an x-pipe with 200 cell cats its very streetable with an exotic sound.

I recently ( 2 weeks ago ) put fabspeed supercups on my car, also has fabspeed headers and 200 cell cat xpipe, I'm thinking i might want it louder !!??!!, the supercups sound good but maybe not loud enough for my taste ( but with considerable cabin drone inside ) I'm thinking of making my own muffler delete pipes that attach to the x pipe and seeing what that sounds like.

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​​​​​​​Should be 2 1/4" o.d

When I changed plugs on my 99 cab, I removed the mufflers to make to job easier for me. However the clamp bolts on the mufflers, even after an overnight soak with P E Blaster, would not move. I used a large torque wrench and simply snapped them off. Then I replaced them all with same size from local hardware store after plastering them with anti seize compound.

I had a similar experience to others here, PB Blaster, snapped bolts, Dremel with cutoff to remove clamps, 3lb hammer and punch to remove broken studs on cats. I was able to remove the mufflers with one side of both clamps stuck to the cats. I removed the clamps later, once off the car, using a ball peen hammer and a brass punch. It's all apart and ready to reassemble with new clamps, gaskets and bolts with antiseize (once mufflers arrive - thank you RL classifieds!). Hurdigurdiman - I've read that using a torque wrench to break bolts can mess up calibration. I have a simple Craftsman breaker bar that was relatively cheap and comes in handy for jobs where I need more torque. I even have a "torque multiplier" (heavy duty steel pipe) that I can slide over the breaker bar when I need a ton of torque (breaking loose axle nuts, etc.). charlieaf92 - if you TIG weld, the Gundo/Fister mod should be a piece of cake. I do more hobby Mig welding (I can TIG weld, but sold my TIG welder because I wasn't using it enough), and that doesn't look like a very challenging project. I was going to do it my self (and still may) but found a good RL classified on some Gemballa mufflers that I am going to try out.

Sorry I should have clarified in the original post - I'm only doing a partial bypass (edited above), essentially the Fister mod. I did some digging and from what I can tell most people end up with a 1.5" - 1.75" pipe for the bypass. I'm going to give 2" a shot, assuming I get that far with these mufflers. Also, I'm by no means a welder. I have a TIG welder because I took up the hobby of welding marble roller coasters years ago. So I'm pretty good at really fine precise spot welds, but haven't done much in terms of 'real' welding aside from repairing a mower deck and a few other small projects. Fingers crossed. This is the last thing I welded. It was a Christmas gift for my brother a few years ago and he made a nice YouTube video showing it off: You Tube

If you can get the clamp off the opposite side, you should be able to twist and wiggle the cats out, and free the muffler.

Very cool! If you can weld that, you can weld a muffler bypass, for sure. I'm of the opinion that if you do your preparation and fitting well, the welding is the easiest part of the job (given your obvious skill level). Nice tight joints, minimal gaps, and clean metal will make a huge difference. Time spent getting the fitup good will pay off when you get to the welding part. Then put it in a good position, so you don't have to be a contortionist, tack it in a couple of places, then finish the weld.

If you don't think you can weld it call this guy.. You Tube ... he doesn't live to far from me !!! lol