Today i decided to jack the car up and inspect the exhaust system in preparation for new 3". To my disappointment i could not find any connections from the cat and back. Surely the whole system can't be welded together in the original vRS? There must be some connections somewhere that I cant find, or?

 

How is the original system supposed to come off?

@Frezie It's not impossible that you still have the original system. I still have the original mid and back sections of mine, on a car a year older that lives outside, by the coast. So yes, it may need cutting apart to get it off.

Seems really stupid so produce such a lovely car with a exhaust system that cant be disassembled. Very well, thanks for the reply, cutting apart the system is next then

@Frezie - Well, the first time I came across that idea it was on the Ford Cortina mk3, so it's been around since at least 1970.

Yep, if it's the original system it's a one piece cat back. Mine had to be cut in various places to take it off!

Pretty much standard to find the original system as a single piece. My old XR4x4 system was one piece, that lasted from 1991 until 2006! It's quicker and easier to assemble when building the car, as the whole thing can be lifted up and mounted, without having to worry about getting it properly aligned. Trouble is, when it comes to replacement, it then needs to be cut in a particular place and joined.