I have 1994 F350 with the 460 that I love. However it has the california emissions package on it which I'm not a fan of. Is there anyway to get rid of that crap to make it breathe a little better and get some extra hp?

 

I have NOT modded the 460 so I am "bench racing" here...

I don't care for vehicles that have had emissions removed, especially if it was done sloppily and without thinking. Modern engines are designed to run at their best for all conditions with the smog stuff in working order. It is a compromise tho. If you remove things without thinking about the effects, you may actually decrease performance and economy.

That said, the 460 is supposed to be very poor on the exhaust side. Most shops and magazines I have read recommend a free flowing exhaust for the 460. I tend to believe it since with my 94, it has warped Two Y pipe exhaust flanges due to excess heat kept in the exhaust system while towing. If the exhaust was freer flowing I think it would eliminate the warping problem.

There is also a silencer in the intake tubes. Supposedly if you remove those the truck will gain some power. I have read in one case it doesn't help and may hurt, but I bet that was due to inadequate exhaust flow not taking advantage of the intake. Removing the silencers, of course will make intake noise louder, but I have been told, not too bad.

Some people will install O2 sensor simulators and remove the EGR so they can improve performance. I am not sure on the 460, but it is fairly popular with the Chebby SB.

Unless I am looking for a hobby toy, I avoid hacked up emiisions systems like the plague. Usually it tells me the owner didn't really look at the system as "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" and so the end result may be a vehicle with "drivability issues" babble speak for a pita ride.

About the only mod I might do one of these days is to get a smog legal set of stainless headers and a free flowing exhaust. Calif is pretty sticky on smog stuff.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Well spoken. I think the 460 can and does benefit from a freer flowing exhaust, but there is not need/benefit to removing the cats or other smog controls. Most people here who reported a benefit from removing the cats from their 460s also increased the exhaust size and in many cases, the factory cat had begun to break down due to excessive heat, causing it to clog. So of coarse you will see benefits to removing a clogged cat. But so long as it is working correctly, I would leave it in there. Do not remove or disable the smog pump or EGR systems either. But I highly recommend doing a 3" catback system to open that up and let that engine breath. Removing the intake resonators shouldn't cause any problems if the exhaust is improved first. You can buy premade intake kits that should work well, though just removing the resonator is free.

I was not aware the 460 was ever installed on an OBD-II system, so there would be no need for O2 eliminators.

If the factory cat ever fails, I recommend replacing it with dual large bodied converters with air injection. You just add a y to the air tubes and split them off to the dual cats. Each cat should be 2.25" or 2.5" depending upon the factory y pipe size. Then tie it into a single 3" exhaust behind the cats. You could run it as duals all the way back if you wanted to. At that point, it would largely be a matter of preference, but if you did run duals, I would recommend that an h-pipe or crossover be added to aid in exahust scavenging.

 

Thanks for the in depth info. guys. I do already have a nice cat-back 3 inch magnaflow exhaust. Since I live in az I want to keep most of the emissions equipment but just delete extra ca. equipment if it is possible. Does anyone know of what the "ca. emissions equipment" consists of? Is it the same equipment installed in other state trucks with more restriction built in?

 

I don't know about the OBDII for sure but the California 460 's did get mass air flow which may mean they where obdII. And the free flow exhaust work is by far the the best performance improvment you can make on a 460.

 

Mine is OBDI. I will more than likely remove the cat. and put a open pipe in its place except for emissions inspection once a year.

 

Hello all;

My understanding is that the 96 and 97's from California are OBD II. I have a 97 and it is. I believe that this was only a California thing though. If that is the case, you may not want to mess with the "California Smog" equipment much, just do the exhaust work.

 

Hey guys how much do you notice with a exhaust? I was looking at my cat today and two pipes go in and one comes out? All my other cars were the opposite. Could I get away with the same setup just go 3" flowmaster? Is it worth the cost?