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Hey there! Having recently replaced an intermediate pipe on a '97 4.0L, this post caught my interest. TL;DR: I haven't yet found your part, but I feel like I've gotten closer.
Note of course that your vehicle's exhaust parts are almost certainly different than mine.
Anyway, I checked RockAuto, and didn't find a listing for an '87 intermediate pipe anywhere. However, if you look at the *tail pipe* listing, specifically for AP Emissions (an economy brand, I know) tailpipe #44756, you'll see a diagram in the list showing other interesting part numbers:
Specifically, AP Emissions part #28215. Unfortunately... searching the 'net for this part yields just about nothing, at least under "AP Emissions" brand as a required qualifier.
Still, I'm going to check a few other things and get back to you. I had to replace my own intermediate pipe because it was rusted through, with a fist-sized hole in it. The noise was pretty annoying, and so I feel your pain.
Could you replace the intermediate pipe with a universal 2" ID exhaust flex pipe, and cut it to fit? Here's an example of a Walker universal flex pipe on O'Reilly's:
Additionally, assuming the existing intermediate pipe is either welded to, or permanently rusted to, the muffler, it looks like you could get a decent OE-type replacement muffler (with 2" inlet) from RockAuto for less than $30, which would save you the effort of trying to separate the intermediate pipe from the muffler. That separation took a *long* time in my case, and I was even using a grinder... though it was my first time attempting a cut like this. Understandably, this section of exhaust pipe is incredibly thick.
As an aside - I checked Ford parts sellers, and there isn't even a separate part listed for this, Just the complete assemblies, and those are all long-discontinued. I see your struggle here... this is a freaking difficult part to enumerate, let alone locate.
I decided to cut the flange off the cat. and go with a straight pipe repair. The offset is unnecessary.
I actually took the time to cut the flange ears separately and grind the remainder of the flange down to the required OD to fit my repair pipe. You can even get stainless repair pipes off the shelf at Advance and they will still be cheaper than the original part on eBay. Probably a good idea to rig an exhaust hanger at the same location as the original. Heavy copper wire would work as would 3/4" perforated plumber's hanger. I haven't decided yet, but I have time to decide while I let the high-temp RTV cure.
The plumber's straps didn't work well with the original bracket. Without the 2-hole flange to bolt to, there is nothing to keep the bracket vertical so it droops down to a 45 degree angle after bouncing down the road. So I came up with something that works better with the original bracket. You could still ditch that bracket and feed straps through the rubber isolators, but here are pictures of what I did.
The repair pipe I used is cut to 13". (The original with the flange is a foot long.) It happened to be 1 1/8" ID at the big end. I don't know if it came that way or if someone expanded it. It was on my exhaust parts rack and I don't remember how I got it. The more common 1" ID piece will work as well. You would just grind the flange down farther. I used an air angle grinder until it was a hammer fit then used a hand file until it was a snug slip fit. Do not hammer toward cast exhaust manifolds! (Especially big block Mopar trucks. You just look at them funny and they crack!). It would be quicker to cut the whole flange off, but you would have very little left to clamp to. The flange plus the weld plus your saw curf add up to at least a half inch lost. If you can get a tube that is 2 1/4" ID at the expanded end you slide it on a couple inches farther. It would need to be a couple inches longer of course.
I used a piece of stainless square tube to adapt to the bracket. If your bracket is clean it would be quicker to weld the flat part of the muffler clamp to it. Mine has so much heavy scale and my clamp wasn't new so I used the square tube and bolted it. Up here in salt country bolts tend to last longer than welds anyway.
The first pic shows the repair without the completed hanger assembly. Note that I placed the front clamp right over where the flange was so I could wrench it tight and still be able to remove it later. Clamping it farther forward on the smaller OD would make it permanent and probably more reliable.
The remaining blurry pics (sorry!) show the hanger. (And the missing heat shields on the cat. An empty cat. doesn't need 'em. )
One thing I found on the muffler I had installed a long time ago was it came with drain holes at the bottom of each end of the case. This allowed accumulated water to drain out, and I believe kept the muffler from rusting out. I had the current one installed in order to replace the original one which had rusted out. So I use this trick with my other mufflers as well.
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