My turbo back system came in on Friday and I finally was able to hang it today. Its a 4" turbo back system (3.5" downpipe, 4" all the way back) with a 5" tip. I opted to go with the cat test pipe and the muffler delete. What a freakin' difference! The turbo spools quicker, there's a nice rumble at idle, and under throttle it roars! The turbo whistle is much more noticable at all rpms and at idle, it really does sound like a jet. Very little drone at highway speeds and at 60-70mph, there's enough rumble to make other drivers look around to see what's coming up on them. In cab, you barely notice a difference unless you're mashing the skinny pedal on the right. With the radio on, you can't even tell you had an exhaust system put on.
The install was pretty easy. We didn't even put the truck up on a lift. Actually, taking off the old exhaust was the most difficult part. After removing the clamps behind the cat, the section of pipe with the muffler (goes up over the axle and back to the tip) was a biotch to get out. We ended up cutting the tip off with a plasma cutter and pulling the pipe forward to the front of the truck. The cat came off easy, but getting the factory downpipe out was impossible without another cut. Its obvious that Ford put the exhaust in before they installed the tranny and the tranny crossmember. Cutting the pipe by the crossmember was difficult, only because of the limited space. It was hard to see where your cut was on top of the pipe and we had a couple of mis-cuts where they didn't line up.
Finally got it all out, and then on to the install. We kept all the bolts loose so we could twist and turn the pipes for clearance. The tightest spots were at the down pipe (firewall clearance is minimal), at the mid-pipe (two bolts on the frame come awfully close to the pipe and you have to pay attention to them or you'll get some clanging when you hit a bump), and at the very tail end of the exhaust. You really have to ensure the pipe is "square," meaning the axle hump is straight up and down. The clearance between the spare tire, the pipe, and the leaf spring is pretty close. Keep the clamp bolts loose and pull the extension pipe back a little. This should provide the clearance you need between the leaf spring and the pipe. And before you tighten everything down, put your tip on to make sure you have enough clearance between the bottom of the quarter panel and the top of your pipe.
Oh--and you're going to have to cut the extension pipe if you have a short box (6 3/4' bed). If you're measuring in from the straight section of the pipe, measure in 15" . If you're measuring from the bent end of the pipe (as per the directions), your cut needs to be 29" from that end. Have a crew cab with a 8' bed? No need for cutting the extension pipe. And the factory cat is the same length as the cat test pipe (a tad over 28"), should you need or want to interchange the cat and the cat test pipe.
We tightened the clamp at the end of the extension pipe first (the muffler end, or towards the back of the truck). Next, we checked the clearance of the downpipe and midpipe and tightened the band clamp at the turbo.
**TIP** Put a 1/2" - 3/4" piece of wood between the midpipe and the two bolts on the frame rail where there's limited clearance. Then when you tighten the clamps down, the pipe will sit away from the bolts sufficiently.
Then just work your way back tightening the clamps. Make sure they're tight, but don't over-torque the nuts or you'll compress the pipe and restrict airflow.
Like I said, putting this thing on was easier than taking the factory one off. Total time was around 3 hours and I'm up and running. No clangs, no leaks..........just a great sound and better performance.
I'll keep you posted on mpg gains--I can't believe how restrictive the cat was! You can't even see light through that mofo!
Oh---and while we were waiting for the exhaust to cool down (after driving the truck to my friend's house), I got a ride in a AC Cobra replica! Its got a 302 bored .030 over and runs low 11's. Put it this way---2100 lbs and over 300 hp means a 1st gear burnout as long as you stay in the gas! What an AWESOME car!!
Phil, I know you'll probably never see this post, but thanks for all your help with the install. Having a guy who's handy and has the tools makes all the difference.
I'll throw some pics up later---I have some before stuff but nothing during the install. My hands were really nasty and I didn't want to handle my camera.
Those of you with a Powerstroke, I highly recommend this mod !
--Snake