Guff

Thought I would do a write-up of my exhaust project since it went well and saved me a chunk of money. I wanted a Borla cat-back system but they are sooooo expensive. I approached my local shop to find out what it would cost to have them build the system for me if I supply the muffler and tips. It was about $350. I dug a little and found pre-bent pipes that I could order with free shipping. This made it seem like I could do it myself and I found I was going to save about $250 on the system if did the install.

This is for my 2010 FX2 SCREW 5.4, but I imagine a similar setup will work on newer/older trucks as well.

The Parts:

• 1 - Borla ProXS 2.5 in / Dual 2.5 out, slotted (400485). $137
• 2 - Go Rhino Black Stainless 2.5 in/ 4.0 out tips (2) (GRT25414B). $80
• 2 - Walker Quick-Fit pre-bent tail pipes (68010 & 67056). $47
• 1 - Walker 2.5 OD Intermediate Pipe (43648). $11 *Note: I don't think you need this unless you have a long bed, you can probably use a piece you cut from the tailpipes.
• 3 - Walker Accu-seal Exhaust Clamps (36434). $15
• 4 - Nickson U-bolt Exhaust Clamps (517212). $9
• 4 - Walker Universal Heavy-duty Exhaust Hangers (36508). $16

Grand Total: $315.

I ordered the muffler and tips from Summit Racing. The rest of the parts came from Advance Auto Parts website with a 20% discount they had going (Currently its only 15%). If you go with a MagnaFlow muffler and different tips you could order those from Advance as well and save even more. You might also be able to go with pipes from AP Exhaust pipes (128011 & 128012) if you find them cheaper.

Some exhaust parts catalogs I found:
AP Exhaust - Pro Installer Catalog
AP Exhaust Performance Catalog
Walker Quick-Fit Pipes

Pics are in my albums. I'll post detail on the install later. For now I'll just say it took some time to get everything right, but it wasn't difficult and turned out great. I couldn't be happier. Sounds amazing.

NukeWelder

Tig weld it all or mig? I thought about fabbing up a stainless exhaust. Kinda nice when your a welder for a living. Any drone with that muffler? Did u leave the resonator.

chadderkdawg

I'd love to hear and audio clip of that

TimelessR1

Awesome!! Thanks for the write up of parts!

I have a Banks custom exhaust on mine, but the east coast salt is wrecking havoc on it, so i have a feeling i'm going to need to replace it soon after 7 years of NJ abuse!

Guff

Thanks guys, I plan to post a full step-by-step write-up in this thread when I get a chance so stay tuned. I did not weld it, I figured if the factory muffler was clamped on then my DIY job could be too. The clamps I used for the tubing connections are much better than the older u-bolt style clamps. I only used the u-bolt style clamps to attach the hangers. I'll try to post a sound clip too.

antony1103

Very nice. I have a similar setup with dual side outlet pipes and was luck enough to have a welder on hand to weld everything together. Great sound!

Guff

Alright, I'll try to recall the steps I took to put this exhaust system together. Note: I am NOT a mechanic, just mechanically-inclined . Take this for what its worth, it should help guide you but I do not claim that this is the only way to do it. Also, this may seem overwhelming but I am just posting a lot of detail, it's really not that complicated.

Things you will need

• 2 towels for wrapping exhaust tips so they don't damage paint/chrome.
• Duct Tape (Always)
• 3 Tie straps. I used the cam-type straps, you could use ratchet straps or even rope in a pinch. (jack stands might work as well)
• Various metric sockets/wrenches. (I don't recall exact socket sizes)
• Reciprocating saw, hacksaw or pipe cutter
• Marker or pencil
• Tape Measure
• Penetrating oil like JB Blaster or Seafoam Deep Creep.
• Drill and 5/16 bit.
• 4 - 5/16 x 1" grade 8 bolts, washers, nuts.
• High temp aluminum foil tape (like used to tape duct work)

Removing the factory muffler and tailpipe

1. To get some room, I ran the back of the truck up on ramps. If you put the ramps in front of the rear wheels and drive forward you get a little more room because the ramps aren't in your way. You could also jack the truck up on both sides or use a lift (obviously).
2. Spray the stock exhaust clamp and pipe connection in front of the muffler with penetrating lube like JB Blaster or SeaFoam Deep Creep. Let it soak while you do the next steps.
3. Wrap your exhaust tip in a towel and tape it in place, you will probably bang it against your truck trying to take it out.
4. Remove the bolts from the front and rear factory exhaust hanger mounts. One of them is in front of the muffler, the other behind the axle. There are two bolts in each. Leave the middle hanger in place for now.
5. Loosen the factory exhaust clamp in front of the muffler. This is probably a 15mm nut, but it was rusted and I was afraid it would round off, so I was able to work a 9/16 socket onto it. I was afraid it would round off with a 15mm. The clamp itself is spot welded in place so it won't come completely loose.
6. You might want to support the muffler with a tie strap at this point because once you remove the last hanger all the weight will be hanging on the exhaust headers and y-pipe. I didn't do this and had to hold the system up the whole time until I was able to get it loose .
7. Remove the last exhaust hanger, behind the muffler.
8. The factory exhaust pipes have a key and slot, so you will have to twist the muffler and tailpipe counter-clockwise to move the pin into the key-way so the pipes will come apart.
9. It takes some maneuvering, and maybe more penetrating lube, but twisting and pulling at the tailpipe end of the exhaust system should work it loose. If all else fails, remove the two bolts in the flange near the y-pipe and deal with the keyed fitting once the system is off. I didn't want to mess with the flange because I was afraid to introduce leaks.
10. That wasn't fun, grab a beer. Start truck and listen to it roar.

Building your new system
I imagine there are several ways you could go about this, but the one thing I knew was that the pipes have bends that need to be centered over the axle, so I worked from back to front.

1. Slide both tailpipes in from the rear, twisting to fit between the spare tire and the leaf springs, and over the axle.
2. Wrap the rear ends of the pipes in a towel and tape in place so you don't damage your bumper in this process.
3. Use a tie strap to lift and hold the rear of the pipes. I attached them just in front of the rear bumper, between the hitch and the fender. This way they hang in approximately their final location. The pipes will likely be 1-2 feet tool long at this point, depending on your bed/cab length.
4. Center the bends in both pipes so the tallest part of the bend is centered over the axle. see pic below.
   
   
   
5. Hold the front ends of the pipes together, in the approximate location where the muffler will be. You might want to strap them in place or rest them on a jack stand. They will likely be different lengths.
6. Cut the longer pipe to match the shorter pipe. You may need to cut both to make room for the muffler and a short pipe between the stock pipe and muffler, depending on your cab/bed length. I removed the pipes from under the truck and cut with a reciprocating saw, you could probably cut it while still under the truck if you are careful.
7. Slide band clamps over the muffler outlets.
8. Slide the ends of the pipes into the muffler outlets and use a strap or stand to position the muffler in its desired location, in-line with the factory pipe. Leave clamps loose.
9. Measure from the base of the muffler inlet to the base of the flare on the factory pipe. See image below. The length of this pipe will vary based on your bed/cab length. I have a super-crew, but I also cut a lot more off the front ends of the pipes than I needed to so this picture will likely show a longer intermediate pipe than you will need. You can likely re-use pipe that you cut from the end of the tail-pipes.
   
   
   
10. Slide the intermediate pipe into the factory pipe.
11. Slide one of the band clamps over the muffler inlet and then slide the intermediate pipe into the muffler inlet. Leave all clamps loose.
12. Remove the towels from the pipes and slide the tips in place. There will likely be a lot of extra pipe sticking through the tip but you will cut that off later. Wrap the tips in towels and position them approximately where you want them to be.
13. Now is the time to start aligning the pipes to make sure they are even, there is enough clearance around the axle, spare tire, drive-shaft and suspension. This takes some trial and error. You may need to adjust the length of the intermediate pipe if you are hitting the spare tire or leaf springs. You may need to cut more off of one of the tail pipes if only one of them has a clearance issue. I had to give the passenger side pipe a hard tug to the right to bend it a little so it would line up evenly. Pics below show how mine landed. You can see in the second pic below, the pipe is under the leaf spring, I need to move that a little because it might hit if I haul extremely heavy loads. It hasn't rubbed in normal driving.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. Once you are happy with the positioning, remove the tips and cut the tail pipes to length. I left a few inches extra just in case I needed to adjust things later.
15. As you can see in the pic above, the driver's side pipe is really close to the brake lines and axle vent tube. Relocate the axle vent tube by pulling it from the top connector and routing it between the brake lines. I zip-tied everything together and wrapped the closest brake line in aluminum foil tape. I also put a little aluminum foil tape on the pipe itself where it is close to the tire. That probably didn't do much but at this point not even the little hairs on the tire have melted so I'd say the clearance is fine.
16. At this point the system should be basically in its final resting place. Adjust your straps/stands so the system is right where you want it. Position the band clamps 1/16" to 1/8" from the end of the muffler inlet/outlet and tighten until they are snug. Same for the tips. This isn't the final tightening, you just want everything to stay in place while you attach hangers. You will likely have to loosen and adjust things once the hangers are in place to get the tips aligned just right.

Next up are the hangers, but I'll put that in the next post...

Guff

Attaching Exhaust Hangers
I started at the front when attaching hangers. Since there was one hanger in front of the factory muffler I decided to put one there. I don't think its necessary. I also only have one hanger on the outlet side of the muffler. I will probably add a second hanger in the near future.

If you don't want to attach a hanger in front of the muffler, skip to step 6.

1. Start by attaching one of the u-bole clamps to the pipe near the frame cross-member. See pic below. Not the best pic, but you can see the clamp and hanger on the right. Note: this is a cheap universal hanger, not one of the ones listed in the parts list. I failed to order enough and had to find one locally, this is all i could find.
   
   
   
2. Hook the hanger through the clamp and mock up where the hanger can be attached to the cross-member. You'll need to bend the hanger. I did this with a vise and a hammer to get a sharp bend.
3. Drill a 5/16" hole through the cross-member at a point where there is the most space between the cross-member and the bed floor. You will need room for the bolt to stick through and to thread on the nut.
4. Hold the hanger in place and insert the 2" 5/16 bolt through the hanger and the hole. Thread the nut and washer on the top and tighten.
5. Tighten the nuts on the u-bolt clamp.
6. Attach a u-bolt clamp to the passenger side pipe near the muffler outlet and the frame cross-member. See pic below.
   
   
   
7. Hook the hanger through the clamp and mock up where the hanger can be attached to the cross-member. I attached to the rear of the cross-member, you might prefer to attach to the front of the cross-member.
8. Drill a 5/16" hole through the cross-member.
9. Hold the hanger in place and insert the 1" 5/16 bolt through the hanger and the hole. Thread the nut and washer through the hole in the cross-member and tighten.
10. Tighten the nuts on the u-bolt clamp.
11. Repeat steps 6 through 10 for the driver side pipe if desired.
    
    
12. To attach the tips, slide a u-bolt clamp over the tip itself, between the tip and the band clamp. See picture below.
    
    
    
13. Hook the hanger through the clamp and mock up where the hanger can be attached. Pay attention to how far the tip is from the bumper, so you get this right where you want it. I attached to the sheet metal at the rear of the bed, you might prefer to modify the hanger to attach to the lower leaf spring bolt.
14. Drill a 5/16" hole through the sheet metal. The hole I drilled is about an inch to the outside of the curve in the sheet metal. I also bent the angled portion of the sheet metal flat so the hanger would attach easier.
15. Hold the hanger in place and insert the 1" 5/16 bolt through the hanger and the hole. Thread the nut and washer through the hole and tighten.
16. Tighten the nuts on the u-bolt clamp.
17. Repeat steps 6 through 10 for the driver side pipe.
    
    
18. To make sure the tips are centered, measure between the hitch and the inside of the tip. Mine are within 1/2 an inch and you can't tell.
19. Adjust the tips and hangers as needed to get the look you want.
20. Tighten all the band clamps to 40 ft-lbs.
21. Done! That wasn't all that fun either, but it sure is satisfying doing this work yourself. Grab a beer.
22. Start the truck and listen to it rumble.
    

I'll try to get some audio at some point. There are some clips on youtube and mine sounds very similar.

johnday in BFE

iTrader: (1)

Nice writeup, and sounds very good! How is it in the truck? Any drone?

Guff

Thanks! It sounds great in the truck too! I actually recorded some driving yesterday. If I figure out how to get it posted I will. No drone, you can hear just a low rumble on the highway. Not loud or annoying at all and can easily talk over it.