exhaust system

[Ram]

So my truck is gonna be in the garage for awhile because I'm putting in a new heater core, edlebrock vavle cover gaskets, rancho shocks, re-painting the frame and axles and some other stuff. I decided today to make a custom exhaust system and any help would be appreciated, I've never done this before. So far I'm planning on going with flowtech shorty painted headers, Magnaflow converter, and from there I was thinking like a thrush glasspack that had a dual outlet and just turn the tailpipes out in front of the rear tires, but after the cat i'm really not sure. Thanks, sorry for the long post

[Dodge4x4Texan]

Dont listen to him above.....keep your cat on your truck

[Pandemic]

look into Full Boar performance for you muffler, I just put one on my dodge and love it. sounds much better then Flowmaster in my opinion. I know a buddy that has thrush on his and the full boar sounds a lot better. very deep aggressive sound to it, sounds almost exactly like a cherrybomb extreme muffler. the thing i really like about it is at highway speeds its not obnoxiously loud so it doesnt get old on long trips. but in town that thing roars

[TexasRam]

(11-05-2009 06:56 PM)Dodge4x4Texan Wrote:  Dont listen to him above.....keep your cat on your truck

There are a number of 2nd gen trucks that will run just fine with the cat removed. there was actually a class action lawsuit against chrysler for defunct emissions controls and premature failure of the catalytic converters.
reference this article
http://www.crash-worthiness.com/articles...efect.html
the catalytic converters failed prematurely,(most likely from our plenum gaskets failing and burning oil/ spark detonation, which destroys catalytic converters), and the emissions controls on the vehicles never detected a problem with the cats being completely ineffective.
The catalytic converter on my truck is just this way. the last time my plenum gasket blew, around the same time i noticed a knocking noise from under my truck, i found it was in my cat, which i removed and shook the rest of the golf ball sized peices of decomposed catalytic converter out, it had burned itself up. no code did, or has ever emerged from it being like this. i have passed emissions inspection several times as well, my truck being a 1998 and obdII plug in test. Also, since then in the course of offroading, i have smashed my evap and charcoal canister offroading, which many of us have done, to keep my truck from sucking up all sorts of garbage before i could get home to address the problem, i unplugged my evap purge solenoid, and it never sent a light on either, so i left it unplugged and capped off the vacuum port and teed together the vent lines. the problem on the obdII system affects all the emissions systems on the vehicles, not just reading the o2's for the catalytic efficiency.

[2000ramsport]

So im lost here whats so wrong with taking the cat out?? A vehicle depends on them if ytou have to pass emission testing and/or if your vehicle's O2 cant work without one. Now if I dont have a cat and still have the stock O2 sensor put back into the pipe that replaced it and no check engine light what damage is being done? And dont say not enough backpressure because as long as these engine have a muffler they run fine, if not better.

[TexasRam]

absolutely nothing?

[Ram]

I had my dad look at my exhaust manifolds last night and the bolts are pretty rotted, anyone know any tricks for getting them off? I really don't want the breaking off in the block, that would suck.
Also do u think flowtech shortys would fit good without modification?

[ZacD]

Beyond the fact that it's illegal to remove ANY emissions controlling device on a vehicle that came with said devices, there's really no gain by removing the catalytic converter. They are pretty efficient at what they do.

It'll make the truck marginally louder, that's it. The loss of scavenging (not backpressure) and low rpm/seat of the pants torque will offset the audible horsepower you think you've picked up.

Beyond that, in terms of being socially and environmentally responsible, it's not cool. There's enough negative publicity out there concerning full size 4wd trucks out there, because of their sheer size and inefficiencies (fuel mpg). A bunch of rednecks running around making as much noise and polluting as much as possible certainly isn't going to help the plight of the rest of us.

[Dubya1]

Well said, ZacD. Get a Magnaflow Hi-Flow cat and be done with it. If you need Magnaflow part numbers that are legal for you're truck in the State of California, search my user name for threads on catalytic converters, as I posted a link to a list of approved cats for California.

As for the exaust bolts/studs, start soaking them in PB Blaster three or more times a day for the next few days. Before you put a wrench on them, rap the studs/bolts with a hammer to break up the rust.

Good luck.

Matt

[TexasRam]

talk about stereotypes.. calling somebody a redneck.. wow how original, what side of the issue are you on anyway? is it because im from texas? another stereotype? im sorry if my post mislead anyone, but i never once stated it gave more power, and forgive me if i made it seem that way. i was just stating the known facts of these failing, and the emissions controls not throwing a code, so, infact the truck will run without them. i didn't rip mine off to be cool, it destroyed itself because of the aforementioned problem, and i noticed that it did not send a check engine code when running without one.

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(11-06-2009 08:24 AM)ZacD Wrote:  Beyond the fact that it's illegal to remove ANY emissions controlling device on a vehicle that came with said devices, there's really no gain by removing the catalytic converter. They are pretty efficient at what they do.

It'll make the truck marginally louder, that's it. The loss of scavenging (not backpressure) and low rpm/seat of the pants torque will offset the audible horsepower you think you've picked up.

Beyond that, in terms of being socially and environmentally responsible, it's not cool. There's enough negative publicity out there concerning full size 4wd trucks out there, because of their sheer size and inefficiencies (fuel mpg). A bunch of rednecks running around making as much noise and polluting as much as possible certainly isn't going to help the plight of the rest of us.

that kind of hurts my feelings, i feel like harley rider now.