I'll start with the little one.

my "amber" front running lights... which also double as my blinkers... keep blowing out... i've replaced 6 of them in the past month... and they just went out again. i mean they are only a few bucks, but im sick of having to replace them every week and a half. whats up?

also... my cats went bad. go figure that? a week and a half after the warranties up... i don't want to spend the money on orp's right now... if anything.. i'll get longtubes in the future. we don't have emissions here in oklahoma so i am thinking about just gutting them... are there any bad side effects to gutting my cats? i already have an ses light showing for them... so i can deal with that... or just buy two rear o2 sims

AND... my exhaust.... right around where the y-pipe meets the 3 inch hooker I pipe (i guess because of the added size/slightly lower hang of the aftermarket exhaust) rests, somewhat on the flat, 6 inch wide unibody connecter and occaisionally makes a NASTY rubbing/scraping sound as the engine torque causes flex. i know this connector does all but nothing and they make aftermarket ones to replace it (again, not looking to spend the cash on that at the moment). can i just take that little flat connector piece out? i know just by the way it flexes when im torqueing like 2 of the 4 bolts that hold it in that it doesn't do crap for stiffening the chasis.

and theres another... but its better suited for the drivetrain forum.

thanks for any help fellas

Jared

 

only drawback for the cats being gutted would be increased sound. i say go for it.

you can buy the sims if you want, unless you plan to tune the car after the headers. if so i would just wait and deal with the SES light.

can't help you on the blinker

as for the exhaust. i would just try to bend the exhaust up a little more. or put a make shift hanger in there to keep it off the brace.

although i've had my brace off for over a year now...no problems.

 

good ol teke...


always on point =]

thanks dude



i was thinking about the blinker bulbs... when i took the originals out the first time they blew... they had this like gel smeared over the metal connectors. i tried to transfer as much of it as possible by finger to the new bulbs... but got all but none on them. is my lack of this "mystery jelly" possibly causing the problem?

 

I've been replacing mine for some time now too. I know that I've lost the rubber seal that goes around the socket where the light bulb twists into. Mine tend to blow easier after a hard rain but also just plain break on me a lot. You may want to check to see if you have those rubber rings on yours. My friend just bought a Camaro and is having the same problem, but I haven't checked his for a seal yet.

 

that gel is dielectric grease. i think i spelled it right but it helps seal water out, that could be part of your problem

 

You're getting moisture in there and blowing the buld. I just put some silicone gasket maker around where the rubber gasket goes and no more blown bulbs.

Unless you have 80000 miles or the car is 8 years old the cats are still under warranty. Its federally mandated.
The prob with gutting a cat is the added turbulence and decrease in exhaust velocity. At least put a pipe in it's place or inside it. Its funny how many people spend extra cash to get a mandrel bent catback because it "flows better" but then they have no qualms with gutting a cat. I guess this is the same mentality of people who mod their engine and suspension only to run cheap tires.

The trans tunnel brace can be taken out.

 

really? 80k miles huh? thats cool i'll look into that


yeah i know the empty chamber causes turbulance.... but

which is better... the chamber, with a full cat? or an empty chamber of a gutted cat?