Was in the process of removing the cat on my 93 Miata and found the rear facing bolts (the ones I started with) difficult to remove. I was not at all surprised and proceeded to very carefully heat the nut and bolt with a map torch. After about 15-20 seconds of heat I gave the bolt a twist. It snapped like balsa wood leaving the nut and broken portion of the bolt secured firmly in my ratchet. So I have two questions...
- Have any of you discovered a tried & true method for encouraging the bolts to give up their grip (WD40, more/less heat, etc...)?
- Presuming I am able to eventually remove the remaining bolts without further metallurgical distress how should I go about removing the broken bolt in such a way that does not destroy the flange on the muffler side of the exhaust pipe?
Appreciate any help. Please email to snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com if sending email.
Thanks
Damien