hi,

so my car has that weird catalytic converter/exhaust manifold combination. i've been trying to change it but i can't seem to get it out. I tried pulling it forward off of the studs on the head but it hits the condenser fan and won't come fully off....is there something i'm missing here? do i need to take apart my condenser just to change this thing?

talk about awkward design. :-/

i thought about taking the condenser fan off but it will be hard to do without disconnecting the discharge line and condenser line according to the service manual. Is it safe to disconnect these two lines? will toxic stuff leak from them? is there a trick to plugging the lines? does anyone know if it's possible to remove the fan without disconnecting these two lines?

 

Have you tried lowering it out the bottom?

If it won't go that way either, you can remove the fan with the A/C system staying charged.

 

i'm pretty sure the cat/manifold won't go out the bottom because the studs are still connected to the manifold.

so to remove the fan you need to undo the bolts holding it to the condenser, unplug the electrical connection, and pull the fan out the top? i see two a/c lines in the way though. one i think i can pull out of the way but the other which is the discharge line i don't think i can budge without disconnecting it.

 

and if it helps...i don't give a damn about A/C, as long as my window rolls down ;-)

 

the worse that can happen is that the a/c just won't work right?

 

Yes, you can damage the A/C condenser or other parts, preventing it from functioning correctly. I have never had a problem with pulling the manifold off the head, then lowering it to the ground to remove from the vehicle. I swapped my manifold out numerous time on the 99 EX, and helped my brother with his 98 LX (exhaust like yours).

You could always pull the studs out of the block if that helps!

 

hmmm...there must be something off about my car then. maybe the previous owner got in a fender bender that pushed the condenser and fan closer to the cat/manifold.

are the studs ok to take out? i'd imagine some were never meant to be taken out. i ask because if i snapped one off it'd be chaos. i guess i could use some pb blaster.

 

I pulled mine out from the top. All I had to do was pull the AC line back a little.

 

as far as the exhaust pipe goes i just removed the nuts connecting it to the catalytic converter. I guess i could remove the exhaust pipe completely and see if i can drop it through. but i'm pretty sure the studs were the ones holding it up instead of the pipe. it definitely wouldn't come out the top though