|
I just want to let everyone know how this turned out.
I ended up needing to replace the front pipes but didn't want to pay almost $1000 from subaruparts.com. I found a set in California. The pictures showed the flanges and the pipe extensions to be sound, so I bought them.
However, I first had to remove the front pipes. The studs and the nuts holding them to the exhaust manifold were rusted and frozen. I tried soaking in PB Blaster for 2 days, I tried heat, I tried using my damaged bolt extractors with my impact driver. Nothing worked. I ended up snapping them off and then spending a day trying more methods of extracting them. Then 2 more days drilling them out and tapping to a slightly larger SAE size (7/16) and used stainless bolts (I couldn't find stainless studs).
I was still left with one of the original questions of how to get the pipes to mate with the new style catalytic converter which mates with the front pipes rigidly (thin gasket and nuts and bolts - no springs, no donuts). When I tried it with the original pipes, there was about an inch or so gap that I couldn't close.
Then I had an epiphany. The rear part of the exhaust system is attached with 5 rubber hangers from the floor of the car - two just behind the rear cat (which are replaced with new ones when you replace the old style cat with the new style - the new hangers are slightly larger), two at the rear of the muffler and one in the middle. I went to the rear ones and freed them up on the hangers and pushed them as far forward as I could using a pry bar. I then went to the middle one and pried it off as far as I could and smeared it with silicone grease and pushed it back into place. After doing this, the gap between the front pipes and the cat vanished and everything went together fine.
Went to inspection to be reinspected. HC came back at 19, down from either 376 or 476 (I don't remember which). Passing is 100. So, I am back in business.
|