Re: RE: Flowmaster to Stock Exhaust/v8 Longevity

From: jon@dakota-truck.net
Date: Mon Aug 26 2002 - 19:02:28 EDT


"PBWeb" <pbweb@mindspring.com> wrote:

: Well, the main reason I wanted to go back to a stock system (or at least
: an aftermarket one with a muffler at least) was because the truck sounds
: like I'm driving a 16 wheeler through the neighborhood. I'm all for a
: good sounding exhaust system...but I just don't want to announce my
: arrival and departure to everyone every day...I drive fast enough - I
: don't need any more attention from the police department, either! :)
: The exhaust is all pipe..and looks excellent...but boy is it loud...

  Ahhh... Ok, I understand now - sorry, I misunderstood your original
message - I thought it had a Flowmaster muffler, I didn't realize it
had no muffler at all! Yes, I imagine the truck is pretty loud. :-)

  It should be fairly easy to throw a muffler in there. Really,
you just need to cut the pipe in the right places and clamp
a muffler in place. (Or weld it in place, etc.) Although it is
hard to say for sure because I haven't seen the truck personally,
there are "stock replacement" mufflers available from outfits
like Flowmaster which are designed to use the stock exhaust
hangers, something like that might be able to be bolted
right in, but it will depend on the pipe size, etc.

  Something like a Dynomax Race Magnum could probably just be
spliced in-line without needing additional hangars because its
so small and light. But, its not too much quieter than an open
pipe, so it might still be louder than what you want. Maybe
someone else here can comment on that.

: Thanks for the replies on the v8 engine stuff...any other suggestions on
: how I might get around the sound issue would be appreciated. I haven't
: altered any exhaust systems before, so I'm not sure if I can throw a
: universal muffler inline somehow... I called Midas just for kicks, and
: they refused to give me any info since there is no cat on the system, I
: believe...all I got was a lecture on $10,000 environmental fines for not
: having the cat and how they wouldn't touch it and how it would be a lot
: of money to go back to a quieter system and I might want to look around
: for another truck. Pretty overboard, but I wasn't quite expecting that
: strong of a response...

  
  What a bunch of wieners! :-P As Bill already suggested, there are
cheap, high flow cats available if it turns into a situation where
you absolutely need to install one. If you don't think you have the
time/tools/knowledge to do the work yourself, you should be able to find
a place to do it for you relatively inexpensively. I would definitely
steer clear of the franchises like Midas and Monroe; you have already
experienced why firsthand. :-) Try to find an independent shop,
it doesn't even have to be an "exhaust only" place, many private
garages do exhaust work. You may want to ask around, and/or
cruise through town scanning the parking lots for garages which
have "nice" cars in the employee and customer areas. (i.e.
muscle cars, performance oriented machines, etc.)

  Before I had the tools to do so, I paid a local garage to cut
out my cat and fabricate an "offroad pipe" which allows me to
install and remove the cat easily. And this is in the People's
Republic of New York, out there in "no inspection required"
Michigan, you shouldn't have any trouble at all finding a shop
to work on your exhaust, cat or no cat.

  Good luck, and if you need any further help or advice, feel
free to ask!

-- 

-Jon-

.---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -----. | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | '70 Barracuda, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly | `----------------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'



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