You WANT the sensors in there. If there is no cat, then do the non-fouler trick on the rear sensor. (DIY in faq section)

 

If anyone has a tip on how to use this simple tool I could use any pointer that would actually make it do anything. I bought one of these today and after rotating it back and forth and progressively tightening the adjuster it basically didn't cut at all and had just made a shiny line through the rust.

So far this tool doesn't work at all (for me), and I don't see much room for operator error.

 

crank down on the adjuster more each pass you make

 

Tried that already - it won't adjust any further unless I tried turning with vise grips and that would just break the handle (if it didn't shatter the cutting wheels first). I also already tried liberally oiling the cutting wheels with high quality tapping oil. No luck.

It may not be the tool as much as the freakishly hard exhaust tubing. I just spent five minutes on it with a Sawzall and it made about a 1/16th inch notch and that was it. There were small spots at the edge of the cut where the metal had melted slightly before the Sawzall stopped making any more progress.

 

I just punted and ordered the Snap-on chain tool that is supposed to be good for everything including stainless. Don't know if that will do it or not and I really wanted to get this Borla exhaust on this weekend and not wait. Guess I'll stop by the homeowner store tomorrow AM and see if there is a specific metal-cutting blade for the Sawzall.

 

Wow. I was able to cut out my muffler in about 5 minutes using a bi-metal blade on my sawzall.

 

The real irony is I've got a plasma cutter sitting right here but I don't have the guts or stupidity (not sure which is most applicable) to use it two inches from the gas tank. Same for the cut-off tools. There just something about showers of sparks next to the gas tank that doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

well I agree with that, and they have blades for metal. the shorter the better. at least you have a nice mark to go by LOL

 

I agree.

Also, in my experience of working on vehicles, if it should only take five minutes, allow at LEAST an hour to accomplish the task. It seems like absolutely NOTHING goes like it should.

And if you have a buddy helping, double the time again.

 

So here's what I finally learned.

The Harbor Freight cutter tool with the 4 fixed cutting wheels did not engage the OEM pipe properly which was not perfectly round. And maybe the cutting wheels were incapable of cutting also (I sure didn't see them doing any cutting), but at the very least a tool with a fixed diameter wasn't engaging all cutting wheels so part of the pipe wasn't getting any cutting action no matter how much you tighten the tensioner.

That tool might come in handy for cutting cheese logs. Exhaust, not so much.

The chain tool I borrowed from Autozone (new in box) was able to cut about 3/4 of the pipe but because the pipe was out of round the wheels that had already cut through to their pivots kept the other wheels from cutting because the pivots were bottomed out and grinding against the pipe so any added tension just kept the chain tool from turning any further to complete the cut.

Lenox "thick metal" bi-metal blade in the Sawzall did the trick but it was tricky to maneuver without bashing everything up.

As others have posted, Sawzall wins. Nice new stainless exhaust now.

Also notable is I also tried to separate the muffler using an exhaust pipe separator tool from HF. No matter how much I tightened it to grip on the pipe (and yes I finally tried an impact) it just slid on the pipe and did no actual pipe pulling.