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[ClarCE]

Hi all,

I have at least one rattling cat, and a couple of holes elsewhere.

Is this a job I can do with relative ease?  Having never changed an exhaust myself I just don't know, so any advice appreciated.. The bit that looks scary is where the cat part bolts on to the exhaust manifold - getting to it looks fun (or it could be that its on a downpipe and I shouldn't worry, not sure..)

Cheers guys,

Chris.

[Timbuk]

Hi all,

I have at least one rattling cat, and a couple of holes elsewhere.

Is this a job I can do with relative ease?  Having never changed an exhaust myself I just don't know, so any advice appreciated.. The bit that looks scary is where the cat part bolts on to the exhaust manifold - getting to it looks fun (or it could be that its on a downpipe and I shouldn't worry, not sure..)

Cheers guys,

Chris.

Changed both of my centre boxes last year with relative ease, had a new rear box fitted yesterday (not by myself ) and they had a load of trouble lining it up Both my Cats are Fooked so i will watch this thread closely

[x25xe]

My car failed the MOT this week on a holed exhaust.  Vaux wanted £500 to replace!  Needless to say, I am going to have a crack at doing this myself.  I have sent of my AS membership request (in order to get TC status).  When this comes through I will be purchasing the bit required and then starting the work.  I imagine a couple of weeks

I will more than likely post up a how to on this.

[Admin]

Moment of Admin abusing power...

I will have a pair of perfectly good cats available in the next couple of days (starting stripping car this weekend).

£80 the pair.

[ClarCE]

Moment of Admin abusing power...

I will have a pair of perfectly good cats available in the next couple of days (starting stripping car this weekend).

£80 the pair.

Let me know how difficult they are to get off, might give me an idea of how difficult they are to get back on...  

[jonathanh]

I've got no experience changing the cats but the centre boxes and back box are easy - took me a couple of hours to get the old kit off and the new on.  If you are not replacing the cats is to be very careful removing the 4 cat to mid section bolts.  Lots of plusgas, heat, whatever it takes on them but be careful.  All you need is the rear end up on ramps/axle stands and you've got enough access

As to the cat rattling - it could just be the heatshield around the cat rather than the cat failing, so given the cost of a new cat, unless it was not working/MOT failure, I wouldn't replace it for a rattle.

[jonny2112]

My car failed the MOT this week on a holed exhaust.  Vaux wanted £500 to replace!  Needless to say, I am going to have a crack at doing this myself.  I have sent of my AS membership request (in order to get TC status).  When this comes through I will be purchasing the bit required and then starting the work.  I imagine a couple of weeks

I will more than likely post up a how to on this.

I just paid £256 for both centre pipes, the rear silencer, and four new bolts, all on TC otherwise its about £410 plus vat. I'm going to give a mechanic £30 to fit it, as I thought that wasn't bad. Debating getting him to do the wishbones too as I'm a bit wary about them.
Ps dont forget to get new clamps as well because you will need them  :-/  

[JamesV6CDX]

Moment of Admin abusing power...

I will have a pair of perfectly good cats available in the next couple of days (starting stripping car this weekend).

£80 the pair.

You beat me to it you bugger

However... Although I have spare good cats.. I think I might be best of keeping them as spares, never know when anything might happen with the Elite at a financially tough time.. and it's lovely to have spares on such occasions!!

[JamesV6CDX]

Chris, it's a peice of cake mate. I just took off my downpipes on the Elite to take the heads off.

All you need, is a LONG extension bar, a good size ratchet or breaker bar, and a 14mm (sometimes 15mm on newer cars) socket. You can get up there EASY on the passenger side, with the car just raised a tad on an axle stand.

The drivers side, the procedure is the same. Access is a little tighter, but it's still dead easy. Just make sure that for the nut furthest to the drivers side of the car, run the extension bar to the LEFT / passenger side of the oxygen sensor.. else the socket won't sit on the nuts properly..

Recommend using new nuts on refitting, and you need new sealing rings to the manifold. I have a couple of spare ones if you need them, free to you sir. They're FAI ones (I bought genuine GM for my rebuild, but I don't think it's important for these seals)

You seem confident... the more you tackle the jobs, the more confident you'll get....

[JamesV6CDX]

Once removing the nuts, there is a 13mm securing nut under the car for each cat, which you'll need to undo.

[JasonH]

I've had my exhaust off a few times lately.

1) I'd definitely recommend doing back box and centre boxes as a set. It can be very hard to separate the back box because the twin pipes feeding it mean you can't spin it round.

2) The 4 bolts attaching the centre boxes to the cat are generally the hard part. Lots of penetrating oil / heat. Grind the tip that protrudes through off so you don't have to pull the corroded tip through as you undo the bolt.

3) If they do shear just drill the whole thing out and use an M8 bolt with nut rather than tap the hole you've drilled.

4) If you have to drill out consider removing the cat. It's not that hard. A couple of nuts at the manifold end and a 13mm holding it to a bracket. On the manifold nuts again use plus gas and heat if necessary. Replace these nuts if you take them off and they are tatty. The new ones cost about £1.50 each but are copper with a anti-seize helicoil insert built in.

[ClarCE]

Chris, it's a peice of cake mate. I just took off my downpipes on the Elite to take the heads off.

All you need, is a LONG extension bar, a good size ratchet or breaker bar, and a 14mm (sometimes 15mm on newer cars) socket. You can get up there EASY on the passenger side, with the car just raised a tad on an axle stand.

The drivers side, the procedure is the same. Access is a little tighter, but it's still dead easy. Just make sure that for the nut furthest to the drivers side of the car, run the extension bar to the LEFT / passenger side of the oxygen sensor.. else the socket won't sit on the nuts properly..

Recommend using new nuts on refitting, and you need new sealing rings to the manifold. I have a couple of spare ones if you need them, free to you sir. They're FAI ones (I bought genuine GM for my rebuild, but I don't think it's important for these seals)

You seem confident... the more you tackle the jobs, the more confident you'll get....

Just what I was looking for James, you're a diamond - my land rovers sold!! woohoo!! Thursday i should think he'll pick it up (fingers crossed) then its Omega bits shopping time