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punching a cat

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Old 08-05-2010, 07:59 AM
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Not trying to **** of you feline lovers. Long story short, I was running butt rich on my LSX swap and fuel got dumped into my cheapy metal cat. Then it caught on fire and the cheap cat melted somewhat in the middle. I'd like to punch it out but tried with a hammer and a big prybar and it's a PITA. Didn't make much headway in an hour.

Anyone punch out a metal cat before? Tool of choice? Hammer drill? Big drill bit? I don't want to spend money on a bunch of crap that will be a big FAIL.

I don't think a sawsall has a long enough blade to get to the core.

Frank
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Old 08-05-2010, 08:51 AM
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big pipe and big hammer and the **** should just work its wayout.
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Old 08-05-2010, 09:09 AM
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Usually a hammer and pipe works.
if it melted to the point of being very dense/solid then a large drill bit should take care of that.
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Old 08-05-2010, 09:13 AM
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The hammer/pipe deal doesn't seem to be working too well for this metal cat which has the standard wound core. If I can't find something that doesn't seem like it'll take 5 hours of labor, I'll just buy the friggin' "fake cat" from siliconeintakes.com.

The core only partially melted in the middle. I've cleared that out but that was only about an inch thick where there's still another 5-6 inches of wound core.
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Old 08-05-2010, 10:37 AM
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fill it with gasoline etc and light it on fire u might be able to get the rest of it worked loose etc.
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Old 08-05-2010, 10:40 AM
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Any "fix" that involves fire is always the best route.

The few times that I've hollowed one out, I've used a prybar and these things called "muscles".
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Old 08-05-2010, 10:53 AM
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That's how I did it.
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Old 08-05-2010, 11:24 AM
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Take one of your air hammer bits and weld a steel rod on it.
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Old 08-05-2010, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Bryce


That's how I did it.

to a metal core? a ceramic is easy...

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Old 08-05-2010, 11:59 AM
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It wasn't exactly easy.

I wouldn't do it again, either.

Fmowry, a thought just crossed my mind. Do you have access to a hydraulic press? That might help...
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Old 08-05-2010, 12:10 PM
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Once you punch it out, run a piece of pipe within it to keep the air from becoming turbulent.
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Old 08-05-2010, 12:56 PM
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if its a street car, why not just fix the problem and replace the cat. ive always found the cons to outweigh the pros when it comes to running with no cat.. unless its a track car.

nothing sucks more than being in an underground parking lot with no cat, fun.
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Old 08-09-2010, 12:22 PM
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Originally Posted by old_s13
if its a street car, why not just fix the problem and replace the cat. ive always found the cons to outweigh the pros when it comes to running with no cat.. unless its a track car.

nothing sucks more than being in an underground parking lot with no cat, fun.
Because I've dropped enough coin on it? I've run catless before and the cons didn't outweigh the pros to me.
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Old 08-09-2010, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by old_s13
if its a street car, why not just fix the problem and replace the cat. ive always found the cons to outweigh the pros when it comes to running with no cat.. unless its a track car.

nothing sucks more than being in an underground parking lot with no cat, fun.
I think you accidently added a "turbo" when typing in the forum's web address.
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Old 08-09-2010, 01:17 PM
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I punched out the core on my old miata's cat. I used a 30 lb. 5' wrecking bar. Did the job quite easily actually.
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Old 08-09-2010, 01:43 PM
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dumpster cat approves:
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Old 08-09-2010, 01:49 PM
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A friend or vise to hold the cat in place... A piece of re-bar and a 10-lb sledge hammer. If you can't handle the 10'er use a 5'er. If you can't handle that, hit the gym.
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Old 08-09-2010, 02:48 PM
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1/2 inch diameter rebar and a hand sledge solved my problems.
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Old 08-09-2010, 03:46 PM
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When mine bit the dust, we drilled holes in the core with a long drill bit. Then used a crow bar and hammer to punch it out. Without the holes drilled, it tried to plug everything up.
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Old 08-09-2010, 07:20 PM
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Don't breathe the contents of your cat. It is very bad for you.
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