Gibson Exhaust Feedback
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Joined: Nov 2002
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Gibson Exhaust Feedback
Generally pleased with the Gibson 3" cat-back I put on on our '03 Expy last Sat. night -- a bit "throatier," but in a subtle way -- not much louder than stock at idle or when pulling away from the driveway. No report yet on highway or full throttle volume or tone, or whether there's any power increase, because it's SWMBO's Expy and she hasn't given it up to let me try it yet 
Installation was straight-forward, with three comments:
1. After removing the stock exhaust tail pipe, you can pull the stock exhaust out by moving it forward, down and to the right -- *if* you get the right side of the truck up in the air high enough -- in my case, wheels at least 8-10" above the ground -- high enough that you really need to make sure your jacks/stands/blocks whatever are set up right.
2. The instructions say put each of the four pieces on sequentially from front to rear. Because the front flex joint and the inlet to the muffler were not both precisely round, no amount of "futzin" (tech term) would get the muffler to slide onto the mounted flex joint pipe. I ended up removing the flex joint from the truck and lightly "persuading" it to slide into the muffle inlet, then installed the combination.
3. At first it didn't seem like the after-muffler pipe and tail pipe would line up without being way too close to a bunch of under truck bits, but when you follow the instructions and slowly, carefully tighten up the system from front to rear, everything eventually can be twisted/turned into exactly the right place. Final installed product is routed *precisely* where the original pipe ran.
HTH others considering which system to go with.
Installation was straight-forward, with three comments:
1. After removing the stock exhaust tail pipe, you can pull the stock exhaust out by moving it forward, down and to the right -- *if* you get the right side of the truck up in the air high enough -- in my case, wheels at least 8-10" above the ground -- high enough that you really need to make sure your jacks/stands/blocks whatever are set up right.
2. The instructions say put each of the four pieces on sequentially from front to rear. Because the front flex joint and the inlet to the muffler were not both precisely round, no amount of "futzin" (tech term) would get the muffler to slide onto the mounted flex joint pipe. I ended up removing the flex joint from the truck and lightly "persuading" it to slide into the muffle inlet, then installed the combination.
3. At first it didn't seem like the after-muffler pipe and tail pipe would line up without being way too close to a bunch of under truck bits, but when you follow the instructions and slowly, carefully tighten up the system from front to rear, everything eventually can be twisted/turned into exactly the right place. Final installed product is routed *precisely* where the original pipe ran.
HTH others considering which system to go with.
New User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Pacifica, CA
Gibson Exhaust Feedback
Thanks, I just bought the same Gibson 3" swept side for my 03 Expy. The underbelly of the 2003 is a little different and I hope not to run into to many snags this weekend. If it all fails I guess I can go look at the instructions. Anyways wish me luck.
Lostalien
Lostalien
New User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Pacifica, CA
Gibson Exhaust Feedback
Well, I just wanted to say thanks for all your help. I couldn't wait till the weekend so I installed it this afternoon. And let me say that by following your instructions instead of the ones that came with the exhaust everything went very smoothely. The only problem I had was not being able to lift the truck up far enough to pull the old muffler out easily. But eventrully it came out.
The truck sounds so much more aggressive but with a civilized tone.
Lostalien
The truck sounds so much more aggressive but with a civilized tone.
Lostalien
