I am in the process of removing my catalytic converter. Every bolt that attaches the heat shields to the cat just turns and turns. I am not taking off all the shields, just the one to access the bolts that hold the cat to the heat exchangers.

Is there a way to prevent this from happening in the future? It appears that the clips that the bolts use to anchor the shields to the cat are not very long lasting.

Thanks,
Duck

 

The bolts around my heat shields still turn fine. A little nickel anti-seize (NAPA, no affiliation) seems to do the trick. Also avoiding excessive tightening.

 

Springer, I have used the copper anti seize dope on axle nuts and such, is the nickel better for hot stuff like the exhaust, or does it matter?

 

You could try replacing all the fasteners with stainless steel items and coat the lot in copper grease. I think you might be horrified if you ask Porsche how much the little clips are!!
A friend of mine replaced all his for new genuine items and the bill came to just over £60 ( $120 ) and that was just the ones around the cat!!

 

Don't know. I use LubroMoly copper paste. I like the NAPA nickel paste better because it is easier to use (not as thick), but I think both work fine. I'll post if I can find any performance difference literature.

 

I replaced all mine with stainless and lots of copper anti-seize. Seemed to work well.

Marc