| year and half ago. It's long winded but you might find a bit of info in it that is useful. Removing Precats with transmission still in. After months of procrastinating I finally got off my duff and dived into installing some SpecialtyZ DP and TP. I think the consensus of opinion here is that installing DP is more easily done with the transmission out so I read the FAQ and some other write ups about removing it. But after getting the main cats and X pipe out, I decided to take the precats out with the tranny still in. I “searched” some more and scanned about 50 posts looking for tools and strategies to use to get the precats out with the transmission in place. The info I gleaned on tools to use, regardless if the tranny is in or not, was brief and limited to a nut or bolt here and there. So I thought I’d throw together a description of the tools I used to remove every one of the eight nuts and bolts that hold the precats on to the stock turbos. I’m not suggesting that these are the only tools that will remove the precats, and, again, I was dealing with the tranny still in the car. These are just tools that might come in handy if you get stuck during this task--one that’s kind of puzzling the first time around--along with a comment on how I used them. The sockets and wrenches I used were all 13mm except I did use a ½” gear wrench at one point because it happened to be shorter in length than my 13mm. So, it’s important to note that 13mm is the virtual equivalent of ½”. 
To get bolts 1 and 2 off of the PS precat you’ve got to remove the battery, and the wires to it will probably be in the way, also. The AC lines make for a small swing angle and limited accessibility, too. I used a long handle flex head ratchet and a deep socket to remove these two bolts, but a long handle ratchet would probably work just as well. A gear wrench worked great on nuts 3 and 4. I had to remove all the bolts on the inner (transmission side) heat shield to get to nut 4, but this may not be necessary if a wrench with an angled end is used instead. 
To remove bolt 1 of the DS precat I took the rear precat heat shield off. With the shield out bolt 1 can be accessed from underneath the car using a long handle flex head wrench and a deep socket. With the tranny in, the flex head feature is required here. Maintaining proper socket bolt head alignment is a bit tricky although jamming something between the firewall and the back of the ratchet’s head will probably keep the socket firmly on the bolt head when more torque is needed. With the tranny still in the car, I had to remove the brake master cylinder to get bolt 2 out. Once the BMC is gone, a gear or box end wrench may be adequate, but I had to resort to a breaker bar with a standard length 12 point socket to get the bolt loose. Interference with the brake booster was avoided with the socket/bar angle adjusted to just under 90 degrees. With nuts 3 and 4 you are hemmed in by the side of engine compartment. A gear wrench worked great on nut 3, and a box end wrench may be fine as well, but with either design long handles may be a problem due to space constraints. Wrench length is critical for nut 4 because the entire swing of the tool (straight ones anyway) must be between the precat and the engine compartment side. A stubby box end worked for me here, and will probably also suffice for nut 3, depending on the torque required. If a stubbly wrench can’t generate enough force for nut 4, a crescent shaped box end will provide a longer wrench (more leverage) and might extend below the engine compartment and have enough swing for the job. .
Chance favors the informed
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