Removing cat pipe... help?
 

No matter how easy the job, there's always one bolt...

I'm removing the cat-pipe on my FD. There's no rust, and every bolt was easily broken loose except one.
There are 2 bolts connecting the cat-pipe to the cat-back, and the one on the US passenger's side is the problem
Due to the lips on the flanges, I've had to use sockets for the rest(the lip covers too much of the nut for a wrench to grip). However, this nut has a grounding strap attached to it, and the strap comes off directly in between the pipe and the nut leaving zero room for a socket in that area. I can't seem to be able to bend the strap out of the way, as this end portion of the strap is solid

Any ideas?

Unbolt the strap from the body and get more room?

It's not really the strap itself in the way, it's the head of the strap that is immobile and in the way

Can you get a hacksaw blade in there and cut the stap off close enough to get a socket on the bolt/nut? You can alwasy just get another ground strap. Another thought is to use a line wrench.

I guess I can either hacksaw the strap or grind up a socket... hhhrmmmm

Do you have a set of line-wrenchs? Some call them Flare-nut wrenchs. They're essentially a five sided open-end wrench designed to go over a metal line...like a brake line. But it should allow you to get on the bolt on five sides...avoiding the side with the ground strap, but not slipping or rounding off the nut like a traditional open-end wrench.

I don't have one, but I don't think it would get past the lip on the catback anyway

Used a grinder to grind the edge of the socket to a sharp edge... success
Stupid that it was necessary, but oh well