[axle heat shield]- I can't get the middle bolt off the shield.. any tricks?
 

I have been trying for over an hour to get the middle bolt off the heat shield to the axle. The reason I need to get the shield bolt off.. is to gain access to the 3 cat bolts, so I can remove my exhaust. Is there a special tool I can use? thanks.

anyone know a good way to get the cat bolts off?
 

I'm kinda stuck, since I need to remove the heat shield to get to the cat bolts.. any ideas are greatly appreciated, thanks.

Do you have hex (or is it torqs) sockets?
 

I forget which it is. Either way, you'll need those. Then you can use a long extension and a socket wrench. Either wedge yourself up in the wheel well or take the tire off, then you can see and directly get to it.

You'll need...
 

Those crazy bent wrenches will help here. So will a u-joint socket adaptor. You'll want many different length socket extensions. You only need to get a wrench on the lower nut. The top bolt is welded in (or at least tight enough not to counter hold) so don't worry about the top. Just hit the bottom. Spray the hell out of each with penatrant. Because of the tight space, you'll only be able to turn each about 5 degrees each time. That's why the cat bolts suck. Just think, it's a good forearm workout.

thanks, I was using a 6mm hex key, I think I need the sockets.

thanks for the help. I need to buy a swivel joint.. not sure which one though.
 

i picked up some extensions today, 24", 10", 8", and a 3". Hopefully I have enough sizes. I assume you just use a 'swivel' adapter to get the sockets on the cat bolts properly.

yeah...use the socket style on an ratchet extension....
 

its a PITA

I can't believe I even tried the hex key.. I was using it w/ a breaker bar and hammer.
 

I should get the bolt off with the 6mm hex socket + an extension, using a breaker bar. The other part I don't have is the 'swivel' adapter for the cat bolts, which I will get tommorow. I picked up a 24", 10", and 8" extensions today, is there anything else I would need? Thanks for the help man.

Re: I can't believe I even tried the hex key.. I was using it w/ a breaker bar and hammer.
 

In case you don't know the trick...

You'll see that you are forced to use wrenches to get the cat bolt off, in very tight spaces. A good trick for this in to interlock an additional wrench. You may already know this trick, but it is not obvious if you don't. Put the correct wrench on the bolt. To get the torque you need, take another wrench and interlock the opposing side into the end of that wrench (play with it, you'll figure out how). This will help immensely to get those damn cat bolts out.

great idea, i recently learned this technique watching a manifold removal.
 

I didn't think I would have to with the sockets, but you bring up a great point.. lack of space to move. I will definately try this tommorow when taking the bolts off, thanks buddy.