What mandrel bent tailpipe catbacks are available for these trucks still? I picked up a 4.9/M5OD truck recently and the current exhaust is comical at best. All I have found is the Flowmaster system, I have used them before and they fit well and are not obnoxious in tone. Just want to check other options prior to purchasing something.

Thanks guys.

PS, do you guys do rebuild threads over here? We first gen Powerstroke guys do over there.

 

Personally I would not waste the money on a cat back system and would just order the muffler and stainless tip or tips of your preference and have an independent exhaust shop make the tail pipe or tail pipes setup the way you want it. These trucks especially the 300 do not move a lot of air and having a mandrel bent pipe really isn't something that should matter much if at all. I do think that Magnaflow used to offer a mandrel bent tail pipe for our trucks though. At least I remember someone on here or Full Size Bronco using one, but I don't see a listing for it.

Flowmaster is the epitome of obnoxious tone. They sound like a hollow tin can and almost anything sounds better. I would look at Dynomax or Magnaflow. Gibson offers a few nice catbacks that would probably work well if you really want to go that route.

For the 300 you really don't need more than a 2.5 inch single exhaust at the most.

Yeah, some folks post rebuild threads or their projects. Almost everyone likes those.

 

I use the Summit House Brand cat-back on any stock OBS trucks. It's reasonably priced, and sounds decent enough.

 

I remember seeing a Bassani system forever ago that was available as a 'builder' kit, but cannot seem to find them anymore or data on the kit. I get it, this platform is over 40 years old now (I have had my '88 since '99 or '00) so stuff simply dries up as manufacturers discontinue products that are not selling well.

Local shops do **** work and charge too much for what you get. Hell, that single out Summit kit for $220 would work if the muffler sound is bad. Worst case, swap it for a Hooker Aerochamber and motor on. Yes, I am well aware the 300 has no need for a 3" kit nor is that what I want for it. ALL the catbacks are 3", therefore it will get it. Such is life.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...rd/model/f-150

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/f...-150/year/1992

Gibson looks interesting, I have never heard one in person. Anyone heard one in person?

 

My 300 has that exact kit on it, with the stock converter, and it sounds fine to me.

 

Too large of an exhaust often adversely affects scavenging and therefore reduces performance.

The Gibson exhaust systems do sound nice but I have never heard it on an I6 only Chevy and Ford V8s.

 

Just straight pipe it back from the cat the cat is more than good enough of a muffler on these trucks. They're surprisingly less loud than youd think.

 

3 inch is pretty big but I have 3 inch from the cat on mine and I even thought it freed up performance.

 

460 needs the volume, the stock 2.5" cat the size of a boat pontoon is comical on it at best. My 300 had two cats stock (precat and main) along with AIR injection, which I read was mostly dependent upon E4OD or manual. Been fixing all the leaks, 130A 3G swapped it, the usual stuff. The OE main catalyst was removed and it only has the precat, probably going to hollow it out and do just a high flow 3" to keep the sound minimal.

Either way, I will keep you guys posted on what I choose.

 

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That is what I did on my 1991 F-150 5.0 V-8. The factory exhaust was a joke, too small diameter, weighed a ton, and was routed everywhere. It was as if Rube Goldberg designed it when he was drunk, after a fight with his wife. I took it to a local, "Custom Exhaust" place in town. For $185.00 and change, (1992 price), he removed everything from the cat back. Opened up the cat to 3", and custom welded a large diameter angle pipe out the right side, in front of the right rear tire. And welded a nice chrome, large diameter slash pipe out the side. He incorporated a short Flowmaster muffler right behind the cat, that is just right sound wise.

Everything was professionally welded, and the welded seams were beautiful. He did everything in less than 2 hours from when I drove in, to when I drove out. the truck runs beautifully, and I'm still running that setup almost 30 years later. Stay away from all of these overpriced "kits". Most don't fit exactly right, and you'll struggle with them. And you will end up with a system that's all pieced together with a bunch of clamps when you're finished.

 

You got lucky. It's nice when you find a good shop, that knows what they're doing, and won't hose you on the price. My last three experiences with exhaust shops have been subpar work, tubes clamped together, overpriced garbage, I could have done better myself at home with just buying a stick of pipe, and "pie cutting" my bends. I'm glad you had a good experience, and you should be telling people who this shop is and where they are. Your experience is the exception, in my experience.

 

You have to ask questions, and tell them exactly what you want. Do you weld connections, or use clamps? What size and type of pipe do you use? How thick is it, etc.? This guy put my car on the rack, and showed me exactly what he was going to do, and how. That's not difficult with exhaust work. It's not like an engine repair that has to be diagnosed before anything can be done. If a shop wont do that, don't walk away, RUN. You can know before hand what to expect, as well as the cost, so you don't come back to a bucket full of unpleasant surprises.

 

Yeah, not a spring chicken here, I've got close to 30 years experience in automotive and heavy equipment, across parts, sales, and service, I didn't walk in off the street and just blindly tell them to work on it. I told them what I wanted, they agreed it was what they were going to do, and I came back to a big bill, and substandard work. So much so that there might have been a fair bit of yelling, and the threat of attorneys, until they came down a price I was willing to pay for their substandard junk.

 

Flowmaster seems to sell 2.5" split rear tailpipes for about $160. Not bad, add a muffler and some pipe maybe can do for maybe $300. Just really do not want dual outs, but maybe will rock it!