The donut gasket between the cat and exhaust pipe was gone, so I picked up a new one along with the spring bolt set. Figured it might take a half hour to replace. Wrong. Both bolts snapped right off the bat. Yes I soaked and heated beforehand, but rust had necked down the bolts to half their diameter. The lower one has better access so I cut the remains off flush with the flange on the front and cut off the welded on nut on the back. Then drilled out the center with larger and larger bits, then hammered off the nut. That took all afternoon.
Next day I tackled the other one. Cut the bolt remains flush with the flange again. No access to the back side, so I had to drill and drill through probably an inch of steel to break through. Since there is no access to the rear for a nut like on the other one, I tapped the existing hole for the new spring bolt. Another couple hours. Test fitted it and it's perfect now. Should I put anti-seize on the threads? Do the springs act as locking washers to prevent the bolts from loosening? I didn't tighten the tapped hole too much to avoid stripping the threads.
Next day I tackled the other one. Cut the bolt remains flush with the flange again. No access to the back side, so I had to drill and drill through probably an inch of steel to break through. Since there is no access to the rear for a nut like on the other one, I tapped the existing hole for the new spring bolt. Another couple hours. Test fitted it and it's perfect now. Should I put anti-seize on the threads? Do the springs act as locking washers to prevent the bolts from loosening? I didn't tighten the tapped hole too much to avoid stripping the threads.
