Need Some Advice

[djclass22]

Ok guys, bear with me on this one. I’m kinda old school. My first truck was a 1979 F150 4X4 with a 3” lift and 36.5” swampers. I ran headers with true duals consisting of twin Dynomax super turbo’s and straight 2.5” pipes. This was back in the early 90’s when emissions weren’t as strict and there wasn’t emissions testing in Rhode Island.

My next truck was a 1992 F350 extended cab dully. When I bought it (around 2004-2005ish) the first thing I wanted to do was a custom exhaust so I went out and purchased headers, high flo cats and another pair of super turbo’s. I had a custom exhaust shop do the work. By the time everything was done this guy hated me… It took him 3 days and a few knuckles just to get the headers in because this truck had a 460 in it and very little engine compartment room to work in. Well not only did the headers leak from day one, even after trying several different gaskets, but it threw the whole computer off. I ended up having to remove the headers and putting the original manifolds back on. That turned the check engine light off and it seemed to run good but the whole process was an expensive nightmare and a waste of a set of new headers.

I recently purchased a 1996 F250 4X4 with the 351 engine and just had a ton of work done including a new exhaust and manifolds. I really want a dual exhaust on this truck but am afraid to screw with it because of my last experience. Another concern is I live in Connecticut and there super strict with their emissions. I told the mechanic doing the work to make sure none of the emissions components were blocked off or removed.

What kind of exhaust setup can I install that wont screw up my emissions system. I’m just looking for a little sound and for the engine to breath better, no speed demon stuff.

Thanks!!

[Bear River]

Your 351 would be difficult to dual out due to the way the sensors and converters are set up. The best route would be a dual outlet muffler.

Lets start with my recommendations on the headers.

JBA Smog legal headers are the way to go. You can get them so that they will bolt up to a the factory exhaust as well, though I'm sure you will be changing stuff out. They aren't the cheapest mufflers, but you can't go wrong with JBA.

If you want to stay with the stock cats, thats fine. You can get a little more performance with good high flow converters, but the factory system is ok too. the factory cat is not the best, the large size makes them quieter than most, and they can also slow down the exhaust more than a high flow cat will. What replacement you would need would depend upon what your current air tube setup is like.

This part would be fine if you do not have any air tubes, of if there is an O2 sensor in the rear of the converter
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For the dual tailpipes and a great sound, a good dual outlet muffler would be ideal.
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