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YOUR RESEARCHHow much time to replace cats?
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Disconnect wires at the snap connectors above &
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I disconnected the wires at the snap connectors above & after the old cats came out, applied heat to the area surrounding the sensor.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Just got replacement cats in the mail from pelican...local muffler shop tells me they need four hours to replace the cats!
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Suggestion
I could remove and replace a pair of cats in an hour.
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Suggestion
No big problem; if I ever decide to go back to the original ones, I'll just replace with bolts.
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Just got replacement cats in the mail from pelican...local muffler shop tells me they need four hours to replace the cats! These new cats look like exact replacements for the originals. Can't believe it would take four hours! Anyone have experience replacing cats? Do the mufflers or bumper need to be removed? Looks to me like it would be an easy swap, but what do i know? 2002 996 c2 cab
I could remove and replace a pair of cats in an hour. The hardest part if you were keeping your old cats would be trying to remove the six nuts that hold the cats to the manifolds - but since you have all-new cats with new studs, you can just break off the six studs.
You do not need to remove the bumper cover. You do not need to remove the mufflers. 2 nuts on each coupler hold the cats to the mufflers, there are two clamps that brace the cats to the bracket on the motor cradle, and the six nuts that hold the cats to the manifolds.
2 hours, on a lift, is pushing it.
4 hours is robbery. Hopefully that's just an estimate - but it's a high estimate. Maybe it includes an hour or two to track down the six stainless nuts you'll need (if your new cats do not include them)...
The time will vary depending on how much corrosion your car has. 3-4 hours is not entirely out of line as these shops probably been burned in the past cursing trying to get various frozen bolts off, hence erroring on the safe side for them.
If you have hand tools, why don't you try doing it yourself?
^^...if you have a lot of corrosion and if they're trying to be careful not to break any, it MAY take a few hours. With new cats you'll be using new hardware anyways so it really doesn't matter and you can break the studs off.
It's straight forward. Back onto a ramp and take your time. It's straight forward. I USUALLY takes about an hour on ramps.
+996
I have done that 4 times already and it didn't even take me 2 hours the very first time I took them off. 6 bolts (3 on each side) manifold ends and 6 (3 on each side) for the sleeves should not take more then an hour especially for a shop with a lift.
Just had both my cats replaced at fabspeed with their x-pipe 200 cell cats. 2.5 hours total and that included new quad tips. Imagine OEM under 2 hours.
If it looks like an easy swap, do it. Otherwise, pay the fee or find someone else that fits your budget!
Regarding the process, there are a lot of ways to do it as you can see above. I remove the mufflers as it's far easier to install the cats without banging and destroying the O2 sensors. Plus the clamping sleeves often will not slide far enough to clear the pipe junction to put the cat into position. It's much simpler to instal the cats then place the mufflers into position than it is to try to wiggle the cats in between. I also remove the airbox to carefully unclip the O2 sensor wires from the metal clips.
Bob, just chiming in with general agreement with all the above. Swapped mine out for stainless steel 200 cell cats about a month ago. Broke all 6 flange studs. No big problem; if I ever decide to go back to the original ones, I'll just replace with bolts. The only headwind encountered was removing the O2 sensors. I disconnected the wires at the snap connectors above & after the old cats came out, applied heat to the area surrounding the sensor. Then they came right out. One reason you may have been quoted a steep price is that it's a "muffler shop," perhaps with little or no experience with the 996. It looks more challenging that it really is.
I appreciate all the inputs! If I were about 10 years younger and didn't have a new replacement hip, or if I had a lift, I would try to do this myself.
Anyway, the new cats from Pelican do not have studs, just holes. Any idea what size stainless bolts I should get?
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