davelinde

I'm on a road trip this week and in the mountains in Tennessee I heard an odd clinking from the back of the truck... my tailpipe rusted out at the clamp and is now dangling from the hanger. As far as I can tell the muffler and other pipes are secure and the tailpipe seems happy enough just hanging there - so I'm going to just drive it this way until I get home next week.

But... this opens the door to a mod for my (now long neglected) truck.

What will I end up with if I go to a chain shop and tell them to fix it? What can I buy aftermarket? what will it cost and what are the pros and cons?

I have an early 04, so there's no cat - just a pipe from turbo to the muffler and the (now defunct) tailpipe. Is it easy enough to remove and re-install?

davelinde

Doing some searching... I'm finding 4 and 5" pipe/mufflers spec'd for the 04?

Brands I've found so far included
Donaldson
Diamond Eye
MBRP

and prices ranging $260, $320... $355

Also it looks like a reasonable DIY install? I've never done one... is it naive to think the pipe segments slip into the hanger bushings and just clamp together?

fireram

I have an 07, and am in the same boat,, just got back from a camping trip, and found that the tail pipe had let go while on the road, still hanging on tho, and looks normal from the side....
BUT.
I had an inflatable boat in the box, and the way the pipe broke off underneath it was shooting the exhaust right up at the bottom of the Box.

It got hot enough to melt the spray on bed liner and the plastic tote, and my kids rubber boat...

Fortunately there was just a couple propane tanks, and a couple bags of campfire wood in there too,,, Unfortunately my trip was not long enough get it all going, and get me a new truck...

So Im looking for a replacement system as well.

I put a magnaflo Turbo back stainless kit on my 99, and it was only around $300, but that was many years ago.

It was super easy to install, getting the rusted old one off was the hardest part, but still just like putting lego together, and sounded good,, I like quiet, and it was as quiet as any 99 I have ever heard...

I put a call into the shop I got it from and will post a price if they return my request..

davelinde

oops, just found Magnaflow and stainless vs aluminized. those are 5 bills.

worth it?

fireram

My local shop got back to me today.
I priced out a 5" Aluminized Turbo Back system with the donaldson muffler and a resonator was $300.
Same thing in a 5" Magnaflow stainless (no tip) was $600.

Incidentally they only wanted $100 for installation of iether.

Those are Cdn funds and Taxes are extra as always here...

SO My question now is also,, Is the Magnaflow kit worth twice the price? and will it be as quiet as stock?

Fiftygrit

I would just go for a stock tail pipe, a Donaldson 41 or 51 inch muff. 4" inlet outlet, will still be quiet and works fine, if you 5" they can get loud, drone when towing, just my .2c worth.

davelinde

hmmm... $100 for an install is tempting to avoid hassling it myself.

Though it does look to be a simple matter of just slipping the parts in place and clamping. I'm curious - in the pictures I see some have welded hangers and some don't? If the hangers are not welded on does the kit come with bolt-on hangers? Or are the pictures just generic and all the kits have hangers welded on?

PS - finished our road trip... did about 1500 miles with the tail pipe dangling. Nothing in the bed caught fire or melted. My buddy had suggested we get two soup cans and a clamp to re-attach the pipe which seemed like a clever idea which would probably work better on smaller pipes - so I just let it dangle.

mykaos

I did the Diamond Eye 4" turbo back aluminumized steel. If I lived in a climate where rust was a issue, stainless steel without question. For the $100, let the shop deal with the install. It will be $$$ well spent. As far as the actual muffler, as others have suggested for noise control, 41"-51" Donaldson or stumble across a screaming deal on a Banks Monster muffler (which is SS) as I did.

davelinde

I have not had a minute since we got back and today I finally crawled under the truck to look closer. I realized what I had not understood on the side of the highway... there is a washer that holds the welded hanger into the rubber support and all I needed to do was break it off and the tailpipe slid out - so at least now I don't have any dangling metal clanking around back there.

I tried to get the clamp off the muffler but it won't budge, so that's all I can do for now. I'm probably going to drive it this way for a few thousand more miles and get it fixed up in the fall. Beyond a heated bed and a bit of soot blown at the rear axle I'm thinking this won't cause troubles?

Blueboy

First, think about how long you will keep your truck.
Second, Do you live where they use a lot of salt on Rd,s
in winter, I do, upstate NY.
Aluminum, and any of the 409ss systems will rust, if you are
only keeping your truck for a couple yrs, no problem.
The first system I bought was Banks 409ss, within 3 yrs had 1/4"
hole in the side. I bought a 304ss MBRP from store on this site.
304ss will not rust. all aluminum and 400ss series will in time.

davelinde

1. A long time, probably another 10 years

2. Zero snow, no salt. Sometimes around ocean salt, but (if I can help it) never in snow again

cjones42

Donaldson or Nelson make quiet 51" mufflers and a 4" tail pipe are good. I just replaced mine last week. I had a Donaldson before which was good I just put in a Nelson and it seems to be a little quieter.

Musky50

Performance Truck Products has 15% off MBRP stainless and a $50 manufacturer rebate. It was the best buy I searched out. Should have it in a couple of days, will let you know if there are any problems.

davelinde

cool. please let me know how it works out - I'll probably order mine in September when I have time to put it in (or get it put in).

RamGazer

I don't know if this helps out or not, but when I got my cat removed to put in a straight pipe they had to cut it off with a torch. The hangers are pretty easy to remove after you put some WD-40 on the rubber bushings that are in the hangers.