I was doing a little off-roading the other day and since then something hasn't been quite right. The truck has just sounded a little off but seems to run just fine. Today I climbed under and found a bolt broke where the muffler attaches to the pipe from the Cat. It has a round head though so I'm not sure how to go about getting it off or if I have to replace the whole muffler. Just looking for a little input from more experienced guys before I go tear the truck apart and wasting money trying to fix it.

 

looks like a broke exhaust stud...

 

i would either beat it out or use a drill and make a hole right there, but that's just me

 

I would drill it out, and use a grade 8 bolt to fix it.

 

+1 to rich

 

+2 to rich,but those bolts can be a pita to drill out as they are super hard! It also looks like your gasket is going so why don't you pull the muffler and tail off and burn them out and spend the $8 for a new gasket and re-install with new hardware,you'll want to take care of this before winter anyway...

 

The portion with the nut still there should come out once the rust is broken. I would think that just putting a wrench on the nut and turning it will come out...nothing there to hold it except for rust.
Now the stud should come out by driving it out with a punch after soaking with PB Blaster or similar.

 

Thank you guys for all the help and suggestions. I will try punching it out and replacing the gasket this week when I have some free time.