It's welded, a simple dremel/angle grinder with a cutoff wheel will go right through it. $30 @ walmart for a black and decker grinder will get it off. However if you have the muffler welded on at a shop (cleaner) then do both at once, as it'll be cheaper for labor, etc.

If your pipe is like the 92-99 ones, then that's Stainless steel, your pipe will be fine, just a little surface rust.

I got mine "used". Basically it was put on, driven around that day, and taken off.

Luckily, I do in fact have a dremel and I have modified quite few non-car related with the cut off discs. I'm pretty cheap - but I'll call around for some quotes first. If I were to do it myself I would do it like this I guess -

1. Dremel off the pipes at the muffler connections
2. Get some 2.5" to 2.25" reducers and connect the muffler to the pipes.
3. Get some 2.25" clamps and secure them over the connections.

I'm going to take a look under the car today to see if I can get a good idea on what it looks like down there and if my pipes are still in good condition.

The cutoff wheel will do you just about no good on the exhaust. You need a grinder. Even my grinder would take a few minutes to get through the exhaust. If you are reducing the pipe.. I suggest you get it welded, because all that play isn't going to be good. If you weren't reducing it, then it would probably be cool. Here's what I would do.

-Drop exhaust [two hangers, four rubber band type things holding them to the frame].
-Cut off muffler and cat
-Put on new cat [cut exhaust to size, to fit perfectly]. [using muffler clamps]
-Put on new muffler [using muffler clamps] and cut to size..
-Re-hang exhaust and check fittings and play.
-Drive around and get quotes to just weld the cat and muffler on. Even though I wouldn't do this step, I would still recommend it. I would also recommend doing both muffler and cat at the same time, just because they go hand-in-hand. Plus you will see more of a performance gain..

Oh yeah, and that used muffler.. that'll do fine. I may really like used stuff.. but some things you just don't buy used.. like underwear. Don't buy one that has rust, major dents, or that doesn't have a box.. usually if it has a box that means it isn't 50 years old.. people only keep boxes for so long [well.. the majority of them].


-justin

That sounds like a good plan OSG. I called a Canadian muffler specialty shop for a quote and I learned some interesting information. Here it is legal to straight pipe the catalyst if the car is pre 1995. Is this something I could do to the Bonneville with no side effects like back pressure?

Anyway, with the cat. straight piped and the Flowmaster 80 installed he said it would cost me about $120CDN (If I brought the flowmaster in). He said for a little more they could fabricate the sort of false dual exhaust pipe for me.

So - is it ok for me to remove the cat? And also, should it sound just as good without the cat as it would with one?

thanks - you guys have been great as always!

I'm going to suggest against removing the cat. Unless you have a serious 1320 car, you need one. The sound probably would differ.. but I doubt you'd notice it.

If the 'fabricated' exhaust is just a pipe that doesn't allow any exhaust gases out, I wouldn't do it. Otherwise, I guess it's fine.. but in the winter, you will have more exhaust out of one pipe, than the other.. and I don't know about you, but that looks retarded everytime I see that.. but hey, it's your car. It's all about looks, you aren't going to gain any performance from dual versus single, unless you changed the exhaust routed, and had a 'true' dual for each cylinder bank..


-justin

Alright, I think I'll buy this. And the fabricated one will let exhaust out, although the winter thing is a good point.[/url]

Come to think of it...should I get:

CARK94005 - 2-1/4" In/Out, 94000 SeriesMagnaflow Catalytic Converter
CARK94015 2-1/4" In/Out W/Air, 94000 Series Magnaflow Catalytic Converter

Yep, that'll do fine. There is a site.. www.justmagnaflow.com they have the goods man.. apparently the best prices. Just shop around a little.

I don't know if you can.. but you may be able to clear up the un-even exhaust distribution by putting in an X-Pipe.. but at that point, you may be beating a dead horse because it isn't going to increase power.. but I don't know for sure. I know the X-Pipe clears up the un-even distribution on RWD cars that have a 'true' dual exhaust.. but since the X-Pipe would be pretty far back, I don't know how effective it would be. Something another member may be able to answer.


-justin

I thought this might be of interest to you.

http://www.rockauto.com/ref/Walker/Detail.html?1329.gif


-justin

Hmm some interesting facts there "NOTE: O.E. system (incuding convereter) is completely welded". Mine are welded all the way do that mean that's a original system i got??
:?

/Poke

Thats a nice diagram...and Poke, if it's welded it could be the stock system and it's entirly possible that it's aftermarket. It could have been welded thent too.

That guy on ebay won't ship to Canada, so I will probably get it from justmagnaflow. They don't allow online ordering for Canada, so I need to long-distance call them to order.

Shipping to Canada can be a pain at times...

edit: Does anyone know if Eastern Highflow cats are alright? They are cheaper then the Magnaflow, and the only difference I can see is that they are only rated for:

Max Engine: 4.0L
Test Weight: 4,250 lbs