Chevy & GMC Vans

ok so i managed to remove (i wonder is that's appropriate) all the nuts but the Y-yipes flanges are not budging i have not tried heat yet since i only have my little map gas torches and space i tight (just like doing anything else on these engines) no space for me to get my pry bar in my punches aren't long enough to get all the way down to the flanges from inside the van i'm pretty tempted to take the torch to it and probably will in a hour but i need more idea's here

PB Blaster..... smells nasty. Works great.

i actually used something called move it on the nuts worked great on everything else i've used it on, and smells really nasty when it burns off never thought of spraying that all over the flange and gasket/o-ring though

Spray it, let is soak for 5-15 minutes and then a big rubber mallet...

big rubber mallet is out of the question no space i'll go pound on it some more

edit: you know what i was thinking after i sprayed the flanges " is this stuff flammable?" thankfully it's not so if this fails i can still torch it without out any extra risk of fire

Pull the wheels off and go at it through the fender well.

... that thought did cross my mind while i was fighting with the driver side just now passenger side came off and pipe is moving around fairly easily but driver side flange won't budge if i had an air hammer i'm sure could have had it off. i'll try pulling the wheel after i eat but from what i remember from doing plugs there is a frame rail (i think) blocking most of the manifold

edit:i can see the flange through the wheel well but have to fight past brake lines to touch it still no go running out of time, patience and most importantly light i wonder if i can drive it to my mechanic with the y-pipe dangling from one flange (i swear its welded on this is nut) lol

Edit 2: well that's it i give up for the day it's going to be a really long trip to work tomorrow. Does anyone know how many hours of labour a mechanic charges to change Y-pipe?

You can't make contact with the pipe at all? I wouldn't try to hammer it down and off, just make contact with it to make the rust break loose...

I can't make good contact with the flange everything i have is either to long or to short so i can't put any force into the hits i soaked it again with the moovit hopefully it'll help by the time i come back from work tomorrow. i even tried my slide hammer with the 2 jaw puller attachment but having to hook it back on the flange after a couple weak hits is irritating.

on a side note i think i'm getting addicted to air tools i know what i'm buying next
http://www.toolfetch.com/Category/Air_T ... D31979.htm
http://www.princessauto.com/air/air-too ... hammer-kit

anyways back on topic anymore hints/tips or pointers are more then welcome

Check out www.irtools.ca. The princess auto air tools arent worth a shit, been there done that. Ingersol rand is good stuff and not that much more money.

only tools i've managed to break so far are mastercraft and unitool i have a lot of power fist stuff and none has failed me yet (that might be the key word though)

ugh.. i hate doing anything with the exhaust. it's always rusted to crap and stuck together like there's no tomorrow. i generally wuss out and pay an exhaust shop to use the torches to get off whatever needs removing. then, with aftermarket 'oe type' re-install, occasionally you need to bump up pieces just by a hair in size. for the money, it's not worth the time/stress

example: mom's 90 new yorker. a month ago one of the welds started to separate on the resonator. i got some exhaust wrap (with the epoxy in it) along with some muffler cement. was under the car for 30min patching and viola. quiet. lasted 2 weeks and started leaking again further around the weld. gave me time to order in the res at work and brought it with me my next day off. replacing it would have taken me about 3hrs on one of those 31 degree hot humid days. getting the clamps off would be easy, separating the pipes from each other would not. took it to a shop and had the part cut off and re-installed for $50 cash, was done in 30min while i sat and read hot rod magazine in the waiting room with AC

Crash your awnser was corret take it to a shop I ran out of patience and I am now at my mechanic

Cobra wrote:Crash your awnser was corret take it to a shop I ran out of patience and I am now at my mechanic

I once tried to replace my cat converter. Saw'd off the old cat with a dremel tool. Replaced that ($70) plus several flexi exhaust pieces ($40) plus several clamps (another $40) plus 3 pkgs of muffler tape ($15).

A few months later, I went to a local, family owned, muffler/glass place to have them "clean up" all my pieced together rigging. They REPLACED the cat, got rid of all the rigged pieces and clamps, bent and welded in new exhaust pipe where appropriate, installed new hangers etc. In effect brought it up to OEM (and legal) specs. Total cost at the shop $140. Done in about 45 minutes.

Point of my experience - they did a better job for less money than I needed just to buy the parts.


Lump

After a few tries, I generally will not do exhaust work on our vehicles any more.