2000TransAm24
Registered
Hello everyone! Just thought I'd share a little mod I did to my gen 3. I wanted to do a dual full exhaust but the options right now don't exist. So I decided to decat the factory mufflers. I wanted to accomplish this without cutting/welding etc. This was a learn by doing and I didn't take pictures of my progress just before and after. I think this will be appealing to those who can't afford exhaust at the moment or the California crowd. This requires some patience, and alot of elbow grease. The curvature of the inlet pipe makes it difficult but not impossible to remove all the material.
Tools needed
Drill
Rubber mallet or hammer
very long straight blade screwdriver 20 inch
long drill extensions
pen magnet
long needle nose pliers 16 inch
crow bar
1 3/8 and 1 1/8 hole saw. These don't need to be exact, in fact If I did it over again I would use no bigger than 1 inch for the cats
I basically started with the long drill extension with 1 1/8 hole saw and drilled shallow holes working around the perimeter of the cats. Then I used the deep 1 3/8 hole saw to drill down the middle. Try to hole saw the cat completely in half. Be very careful because it will catch and spin the muffler right out of your hands. I did this all without securing the muffler to anything but it would help if you did. Once I was satisfied with the number of holes drilled I hammered the screwdriver between the catalytic material and the wall, then pried and twisted to break it loose. I used the needle nose to grab what I could but it is very tricky. Luckily once I did this enough large chunks of catalyst fell into the muffler. Once I got all the big chunks out there were some catalyst still remaining stuck to the wall. This is where the crow bar comes in handy because of its curved end. Just gently insert and feel where the cat begins, be careful there is a lip right before the cat that you don't want to hammer on. Some pieces were big enough to pen magnet out whole and some pieces I had to use the screwdriver like a chisel to break them in half to remove. A couple of pieces were really tight but I was able to grip them with the pliers and pull them out. There were just a few tiny pieces of catalyst left stuck to the wall that I didn't worry about. Once that is done I used the 1 1/8 bit on the outlet side of the muffler to allow some more airflow. You can use the 1 3/8 if you wish but I went smaller to see how loud it will be first. Then I just used the pen magnet inserted all the way down the inlet side of the muffler while shaking it to get all the smaller pieces to stick to the magnet. That process had to be done many times. I haven't put these back on yet to see the difference in sound but so far I'm satisfied with the result. The first muffler took forever and I used a slightly different method. The second muffler went much faster. The picture of the mangled catalyst was my first attempt. I also plan on using compressed air to blow any remaining loose pieces out before reinstalling.
Tools needed
Drill
Rubber mallet or hammer
very long straight blade screwdriver 20 inch
long drill extensions
pen magnet
long needle nose pliers 16 inch
crow bar
1 3/8 and 1 1/8 hole saw. These don't need to be exact, in fact If I did it over again I would use no bigger than 1 inch for the cats
I basically started with the long drill extension with 1 1/8 hole saw and drilled shallow holes working around the perimeter of the cats. Then I used the deep 1 3/8 hole saw to drill down the middle. Try to hole saw the cat completely in half. Be very careful because it will catch and spin the muffler right out of your hands. I did this all without securing the muffler to anything but it would help if you did. Once I was satisfied with the number of holes drilled I hammered the screwdriver between the catalytic material and the wall, then pried and twisted to break it loose. I used the needle nose to grab what I could but it is very tricky. Luckily once I did this enough large chunks of catalyst fell into the muffler. Once I got all the big chunks out there were some catalyst still remaining stuck to the wall. This is where the crow bar comes in handy because of its curved end. Just gently insert and feel where the cat begins, be careful there is a lip right before the cat that you don't want to hammer on. Some pieces were big enough to pen magnet out whole and some pieces I had to use the screwdriver like a chisel to break them in half to remove. A couple of pieces were really tight but I was able to grip them with the pliers and pull them out. There were just a few tiny pieces of catalyst left stuck to the wall that I didn't worry about. Once that is done I used the 1 1/8 bit on the outlet side of the muffler to allow some more airflow. You can use the 1 3/8 if you wish but I went smaller to see how loud it will be first. Then I just used the pen magnet inserted all the way down the inlet side of the muffler while shaking it to get all the smaller pieces to stick to the magnet. That process had to be done many times. I haven't put these back on yet to see the difference in sound but so far I'm satisfied with the result. The first muffler took forever and I used a slightly different method. The second muffler went much faster. The picture of the mangled catalyst was my first attempt. I also plan on using compressed air to blow any remaining loose pieces out before reinstalling.
