I found a hole where the last catalytic converter meets the two header pipes. the flange thre. the bolts are rusted off so its going to involve cutting.
what are some options. the exhaust place down the street says maybe 80 to 100 bucks to put in the gasket and could increase with how much of a pain itll be.
are there any do it yourself ideas you guys have?

 

I hate to say it but that sounds like a pretty involved problem. I would just have him do it since he does it for a living and hopefully will do it right.

 

yea i trust he will do it right just might be expensive to do. the flange looks pretty beat up. i was almost thinking to just straight pipe it or get a magnaflow universal and fabricate that in to work for me but i didnt know how good the quality was on those?

 

If it's the flange gasket leaking , cut the bolts,replace the gasket , and use grade 2 bolts and nuts.
For washers,lock washers will work only short term.Due to hot cold cycles they will lose their tension.
Use flat washers then stake the bolts and nuts together.
For those that don't know, to stake them means to take a center punch and hammer a divot where the nut and bolt meet in the thread of the bolt.
Using grade 2 hardware will make life easier if/when any exhaust work has to be done in the future.

 

it was almost like the bolts were welded on. there is no nut to them just like studs, i dont kno i never seen anything like it. how would you cut them off?

 

i took these but there bad quality

 

Post a pic of what you're dealing with then I/we can guide you better.


Edit
You read my mind and posted the same time.

Grind the heads off and punch them out with a hammer and round punch.
DO NOT use a sawzall to cut the bolt between the flanges.

 

If it's the flange that has 3 bolts/studs you are having a problem with, I had the same problem... I cross-threaded 2 of those 3 studs. They are studs very similar to the ones on your hubs. I took the section out that had the flange and studs, heated the flange with a torch & took a BFH to the end of the stud you put the nut on. They popped out very easily, and then there were just three holes. I couldn't find replacement studs (exhaust shop was closed,) so I just used some bolts. You can even use some longer ones which makes mating the two flanges a lot easier.

 

yea its almost like there is not bolt that the flange is welded together or rusted together. like theres no place or room to put any tool, no socket or wrench.

 

The studs have little splines and are pressed into the holes in that flange. Some heat and a BFH and they will come out. I can see if I still have them laying on my bench so you can see what they are... Grinding of the heads will work to if you can't get that part of the exhaust off of the truck to work on.

 

that was what i was going to do and then drill new holes for new bolts. ill see if i can cut the bolt heads off and punch it throu like you said.

the leak that i have-would that decrease power or mpg? out of curiosity

 

This is what you are fighting with...

 

Exactly. How do they expect u to get that out

 

You used a reverse drill bit to get them out?

 

Grind off the side opposite the round head and punch them out from the side you ground off.
Grind it down just slightly into the surface of the flange.

 

I heated the flange around the stud up with an oxyacetylene torch and then hit the end where the nut goes on with a hammer. They came out pretty easy that way... That's probably what the exhaust shop would do.

^ What OTRtech said will work to. I just already had the pipe out of the truck.