Quote Originally Posted by Pontiac1976 View Post
I replaced the front pipe in June because the flex pipe rusted out but the rest of the front pipe is good I keep it for now. ....
Not understanding what you mean there by "rest of the front pipe". Are you talking about the mid pipe, which has the resonator, located in between the front pipe and the muffler, and connected by flanges to both of those parts?
I'm also interested in your experience replacing the front pipe. I actually bought the muffler, mid pipe, and front pipe, intending to replace all 3 at the same time to avoid multiple jobs joining to old flanges. But after getting a closer look at the connection from the front pipe to the cat, I couldn't how I was going to be able to maneuver the 3 new bolts into the cat flange. The outer shell of the factory cat is quite a bit bigger and fatter than the aftermarket cats I see on the parts sites, and the area between the cat body and flange seems so small, I couldn't imagine how new bolts were getting through the tiny openings. Plus the cat flange area is so rusted, I was expecting other problems related to that as well.
So how did this go for you - any problems with the cat flange area? I kept the mid and front pipes, because it won't be too long before they'll need to get replaced also, maybe along with a new cat as well if I can't figure how to deal with those bolts