Dodgezilla

Well, I finally sprung for an aftermarket muffler for Dodgezilla. I went to Bigexhaust.com and found that the only one close to the dimensions of the stock unit was made by Magnaflow with 4" in and 4" out. I sprung for the 4" to 3.5" reducer for ease of installation. I cut the rear of the muffler off right past where the tailpipe turns into 4". The rear of the muffler slid right on with a little coaxing from my 3lb hammer. The front, however was not so easy.
First, it was a pain getting the old muffler to slide off. I finally got it off and tried to slide my reducer into the muffler and then I was gonna use some 3.5" flexpipe to bridge the gap. Nope! The reducer is the same diameter as the inlet for the muffler and the flex pipe is the same diameter as the exhaust pipe! I then decided to slide the reducer onto the exhaust pipe instead and I would get some 4" flex pipe and some 4" stainless band clamps and I would be done in a jiffy! Nope again! The flexpipe is the same diameter as the reducer and the muffler!
So I drove out again(15 miles each way to the truck supply store which is only open till noon on Saturdays and it's now 11:15am) I decide to get a piece of 4"OD pipe which should slide right inside both the muffler and pipe and I will be done. Well, the only way they sell 4" pipe in is 10' lengths so I had to make due with an 8" reducer which only had about a 4" long section of 4" OD pipe. I cut the other side off of the reducer as it was only 3.5" diameter.
Finally! I got it put together and it sounds great!!!! It's not too loud but when I get on it she's mighty throaty! I threw a Megs 4" stainless tip on the end and now it looks and sounds great.
My main goal here was to get a HP muffler without spending $500.00 on a whole system. I still ended up spending about $200.00 in the end but it's well worth it. It's a true 4" from the muffler back now and that's got to be worth something. While I was dirty I pulled off the big round plastic piece between the air box and the turbo and cut out the noise baffles. Man that turbo really makes some noise now. Everywhere I go I see poeple stop what they are doing to look and see what's coming down the road.
Well, I've rambled enough. Unfortunately the bomb-bug has bitten and as many of us know, once you do the first mod you just can't stop. Hmmm, what's next???????

chuck3

Whats next? ;D My question is where does it end? ??? ;D



By the way, great choice on the muffler. 8)

Dodgezilla

Thanks. I hope it ends before I get as far as you...

03CTDCO

I would like to do the same thing...could you take
some close up pictures from underneith your truck
so I can see what is involved?
Also, what is the PN for the Mangaflow muffler you bought?
and how long is it

Thank you

Dodgezilla

I'll get the info for you when I get home. It actually was a simple procedure if I could have only gotten the right parts from the start. I will take some pictures if it is light enough outside. Or else I will do it tomorrow..
It definitely helped to have a Sawzall to cut the rear of the muffler off....

03CTDCO

I have a sawall....thanks for taking some pics and for
the PN on the muffler itself....did your reducer work
on the front end when installing your Magnaflow muffler?

Dodgezilla

Yes it's pretty loud. You will be noticed!

As far as the baffles go, I took the blade off of my hacksaw and reassembled it with the blade in the tube. I cut all four baffles and removed the center piece. The four pieces you cut off come out pretty easily. Just be sure to remove all the shavings before you put it back on. Just taking that baffle out has got to be worth something. It takes up about a third of the space in the tube....

Dodgezilla

Pictures of finished product. First where the muffler connects to the tailpipe. I cut it off right where the pipe becomes 4" There is plenty of room before the turn up.

Dodgezilla

Next is the front of the muffler. I would recommend a piece of 4" OD pipe about 6" long to do the install like I did (myself). This picture shows the reducer I got from Big exhaust.com which has the same 4" ID as the muffler.
Parts list:
1 each muffler w/ 4" ID inlet/outlet
Magnaflow part # MAG12773 36" long
1 each 4" to 3.5" reducer
2 each 4" band clamp
2 each 4" U-clamps
1 each 4" OD piece of pipe
1 each Megs 4"x12" long slide on stainless tip

Dodgezilla

Another picture..
You'll notice that I had a small bracket laying around that I used to attach the front of the muffler to the rubber mount on the frame. I also reused one of the factory 3.5" clamps for the front of the reducer.
The front of the muffler was a pain to get off because the factory clamp had made a big indentation in the pipe. I ended up having to use the sawzall to carefully cut just the muffler pipe and not the exhaust pipe so I could peel it off of the exhaust pipe with vise-grips and remove it without cutting the exhaust pipe off. (Hopefully you understand what I mean)
Now, in order to get all the pipes together I had to force the tailpipe mounts out of the rubber things they stick into so I could pull it back enough to put it all together. Once I had it all together I had to push like heck for a while to get the tailpipe to move forward enough to where everything was nice and snug. My neck still hurts from trying to get leverage to push on that thing! :'( Make sure you put a blanket or something on the tail end of the tailpipe because it will be banging on the underside of the rear quarter and scratch the paint.
You can PM me if you have any questions.

It's definitely worth the time.. ;D

Dodgezilla

Thanks..

03CTDCO

Very nice...thanks....notice any improvements in
acceleration....

Srigs

I did the same thing but much easier!

I went to the Wonderful Muffler Man muffler shop that does a lot of custom work and he put in a 4" in and 4" out high flow muffler and the reducer for the tail pipe and welded it up for 185 bucks. Much better sound and great power compared to the old stock one.

Love it and much easier. ;D