HOW TO REMOVE A STOCK TERMINATOR CAT-BACK
Each side of the stock cat-back is held on by the following:
- 2 14mm bolts at the H-pipe flange
- 2 metal hangers and rubber isolators on the tailpipes
- 1 metal hanger and rubber isolator on the exhaust tip
To remove each side of the cat-back, you just have to remove two bolts and push/pull a few metal hangers out of some rubber isolators/hangers. It's really that simple. There's absolutely nothing to cut!
Tools Required
Time Required
If this is your first exhaust removal job, expect it to take 30-60 minutes if you're working by yourself.
Removal Steps:
Each side of the stock cat-back is held on by the following:
- 2 14mm bolts at the H-pipe flange
- 2 metal hangers and rubber isolators on the tailpipes
- 1 metal hanger and rubber isolator on the exhaust tip
To remove each side of the cat-back, you just have to remove two bolts and push/pull a few metal hangers out of some rubber isolators/hangers. It's really that simple. There's absolutely nothing to cut!
Tools Required
- 14mm deep socket for removing bolts that hold stock exhaust to H-pipe flange
- Lubricant (such as dishwashing soap, soapy water in a spray bottle, WD-40, etc)
- Small pry bar (optional) for prying rubber isolators off of metal hangers
- Rhino ramps
Time Required
If this is your first exhaust removal job, expect it to take 30-60 minutes if you're working by yourself.
Removal Steps:
- Carefully back the car up onto a pair of Rhino ramps. The ramps will give you plenty of room to remove/install any cat-back. Make sure someone guides you onto the ramps when you're backing up. People have backed completely over these ramps and damaged their car when they tried to do it alone!
Once the rear wheels are up on the ramps, set the parking brake and block the front wheels.
- If your car isn't a garage queen, it may have some rust on the H-pipe studs which might make the bolts difficult to remove. Soak the studs/bolts with some penetrating oil (like PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, etc.) and let them sit for a few minutes. If things are really rusty, you might want to soak them and let them sit for a longer period of time.
- Using a 14mm deep socket, remove the 14mm bolts from the H-pipe studs. Leave the pipes hanging on the studs for now, and keep the bolts handy because you reuse them later.
- Apply lubricant to the exposed ends of the metal exhaust hangers on the tailpipes/tips. This will make it a LOT easier to slide the hangers out in the next few steps!
- For the first set of hangers behind the mufflers, I used a pry bar against the exhaust pipe and popped the rubber isolator off of each hanger. You could use your hands to do this, you'll just have to wrestle with the hangers a little longer to get them off.
- For the next set of hangers that are further back on the tailpipes, use the pry bar (or your hands) to push the rubber isolators off the hanger. There's nothing to wedge the pry bar against, so you can't really get leverage anywhere to pry them off.
At this point, the exhaust will only be held up by the hangers on the tips and the studs on the H-ppipe.
- Remove the front pipes from the H-pipe studs and rest the pipes on the ground.
- Slide the whole exhaust assembly towards the front of the car. The tailpipe hanger will easily slide out of the rubber isolator because these hangers don't have those big, fat heads on them.
Last edited:
