Did the exhaust this morning. Some highlights from removal:
- Just cut the thing off after the cat with a reciprocating saw. I remember doing this back in 2008 and it makes dropping the exhaust very simple on this truck. There is only one hanger (a dual unit) aft of the cat, and a single hanger aft of the axle.
- I really struggled with the intermediate pipe to cat flange bolts. In total, I used the following tools to get it off: impact, reciprocating saw, angle grinder with cutoff wheel, angle grinder with grinding wheel, and a punch.
- Not bad to clean off the old donut gasket from the cat flange
Highlights from install:
- I can confirm that the springs on the cat flange bolts do in fact hold the joint together and allow flex
- The muffler, a Dynomax Super Turbo, is the typical oval cross section, while the stock exhaust was more round. Because of this, I had to angle it to avoid hitting the exhaust (ironically the very issue that lead me to replace the rusting old exhaust)
- Either the muffler or the tailpipe should have been about 2 inches longer. The first time I clamped the tailpipe to the muffler outlet, I actually didn't get it in far enough and it just fell out while I did final adjustments. This required me to get out my exhaust pipe expander to re-open the muffler outlet so I could try to insert the tailpipe further into the muffler. Doing this I apparently broke a couple fingers on the expander but managed to get the job done.
- The tip, Dynomax says, is some kind of stainless, which is sweet. But just the tip.
The instructions did say it is for all engines and all wheelbases. For the short 108" wheelbase, you cut a length off of the tailpipe. For the long 125" wheelbase you just get the longer intermediate pipe.
It sounds pretty good actually. Well I mean for what it is. It's nice to hear when the torque converter locks up in 4th. If I am not mistaken, there is actually a small power boost. I'd imagine that with 100hp, any increase is noticeable.
There is a small drone at around 1500rpm but that is not a common operating RPM so it's not really an issue.
Hopefully this one lasts another 7 years.