exhaust pipe question

[dderolph]

I am engaged in a nightmare known as do-it-yourself oil pan gasket replacment in a '88 Honda Accord. I had to drop the exhaust system to get the oil pan off.

The exhaust system needs some parts replaced. I'm wondering whether I can get the 3 bolts - the ones at the rear end of the catalytic converter - out so that I can replace the section of exhaust pipe between the catalytic converter and the muffler. A photo is attached. I doubt I'll have any luck trying to remove the nuts on the bolts. So, if I used an angle grinder to grind off the nut and bolt at the nut end, could I then knock out the bolts and replace them with new ones?

Or, are those bolts, i.e. the bolt heads, part of the piece that holds them?

[ricebike]

when i had to replace that section of exhaust with a cat-back, i cut them off and just use a new bolt, lock washer, nut and a new gasket

[dderolph]

I wish it were that simple but I don't believe it is. As far as I know, the bolts will simply come out if I cut them, assuming I could cut them in a way which would completely remove the nuts, which is not realistic. If could do such a cut, I'd still need to drill the bolts out since they are embedded in the catalytic converter end of the plate that holds them.

[ricebike]

i used a small dremel with a couple of cutting wheels to remove the head of those bolts... it took a while with me using some choice words, but i got the job done.

if you have a torch or bring it to an exhaust shop, the process will be much faster.