Thanks Andrew. I don't know if it's any lower quality. But when I put the clamps on Friday night, I was trying to just snug them so that it wouldn't slip and could still be taken back apart. Instead, the "snug" feeling I thought I'd got was actually crimping the pipes together where the round part of the clamp goes on.

This is the reason why none of the connetions would come back loose. I ended up having to expand the ends of the muffler with a flat pry bar to get the tailpipe and midpipe out. Still had to pound on the front of the muffler to drive it off the mid-pipe so now it's got some dents in it.

I knew you and Andrew were both running the MKO 5" and have both said really good things about it. That's why I decided to get it. When I was battling the tailpipe clearance, I came in and looked at your's and Andrew's pictures and on both trucks it looks like the tailpipe is rubbing (or very, very close to rubbing) the shock. I'm just used to the 4" kit I had before and there was several inches between the pipe and shock.

The other problem is I'm really **** retentive and like things done and looking a certain way. The price was great on this kit but I wasn't a huge fan of all the clamps. I think there is 8 or 9 total. That's why I wanted to weld the mid-pipes and tailsection together, as well as weld on some bar for the hangers. This would eliminate 5 hanger and clean it up alot. After welding I was going to paint it with high temp black stove pipe paint. I also didn't like that it was rubbing on the shock even though it was minimal. So if it wouldn't have been for wanting to do all this, then it would have been fine. And if I wouldn't have tightened the clamps too much by accident then I could have wiggled it all around from the font back to get my angles right the first time.

Lesson learned I guess!!

So Clint, how's the drone with the straight pipe and your 7" tip? The whistle like BDalton talked about? I know Andrew had told me that he's got some (running no tip) and was wondering if you or Ron were still getting alot of drone with the larger tips on.

 

running the AFE stage II I get very little drone at 55 MPH..doesn't bother me cause it isn't very often I run at 55 MPH..also I noticed my cab is pretty quite compared to a friends 02...I'm going to do some looking around..I think maybe the PO might have done some sound proofing..I think this cause when I bought it she had leather seats added along with brand new carpet...
good lesson on hanging the complete system before you tighten the clamps..my pipes miss by about 1/2 inch from the shocks and about an inch from the spare..when its time for a new one ill get another MKO only without the clamps..maybe save some cash on the deal..ill then get band clamps to use instead...this way if it does move or need to come apart it can be done at ease..

 

I do get a little bit of drone, but not enough to bother me. If it were anybody else, the drone might be annoying, but I have gotten so used to the Nittos roaring and the loud exhaust, that it doesn't even bother me. If I roll all the windows up, the exhaust isn't loud enough to drown out the radio or a conversation between the driver and passenger. As for the shock. My exhaust did touch the shock, so i went and got a heat resistant pad and stuck it to the shock so that even though it was touching, it wasn't rattling.

 

Sorry to hear about the issues, Ryan!! Sure hope you get everything worked out. I almost went with a 5", but decided on 4" after reading about clearance issues, plus I decided I wanted Stainless. There's no benefit to a 5" until WAAAAY past my HP goals, and I'm extremely pleased with my 4" MBRP...

 

I probably would consider it again minus the clamps. I was just p**sed last night mainly at myself for getting them clamps too tight. I'd just never had that issue before with other exhaust kits. It's still a good kit and I should have been prepared for the tweaking.

Do you have any pics of the band clamps installed? Ever had any troubles with them leaking at all? I've always been under the impression that they were designed and worked better for a vertical exhaust (stack) than a horizontal like we run. I think I'll try to pick a few up next week.

Thanks for the insight Clint. That's my biggest concern is not being able to have a decent conversation or having to turn up the radio because the drone coming back into the cab. As for the tailpipe, I think I've got that figured out so I've got a couple inches between it and the shock. If not, I'll check on that pad.

I thought of a few other "big truck" places here in town to check with Tuesday so I might have better luck finding another muffler. If anyone of them do have one and it's less expensive that the straight pipe I'd need to buy, then I'll just go that route.

Thanks Joe! Most all of the issues were my fault and after calming down, that's pretty evident. I didn't need the 5" and was already running the 4". But I just wanted something different and I knew that I'd never be satisfied until I got it. It'll all work out in the end and sound and look good, but it's just being a PITA to get there! Like I said last, lessons learned.

 

no i dont have pix but i can take some when i get batteries for the cam...i got the heavy duty SS TorcTite clamps for mine from a big truck chrome shop..we also use them on all the tractor trailers from the turbo all the way back..i never had a problem with any of them leeking or coming loose..had them on my truck for 3 years now and no pronlem so far....the one in the picture is where the 4" down pipe slides into the 5" strait pipe going through the cross member....you can see how well it would hold the pipe and seal it up with the step up for the pipe molded into the clamp...the U bolts was very close to the heat sheild..the band clamp gave it plenty of room to move it around,, and not let the pipe hit the trans,heat sheld or the cross member..there are cheaper band clamps..but they do tend to rust and weaken up after a short time,,and they are not molded for the pipe...

 

Thanks Ron. What do these things run? I'm going to check around tomorrow.

 

i want to say 8 to 10 bucks..i cant remember...

 

I found some like that locally for under $10 each. No go on a muffler locally so I picked up a 5' straight section of 5" aluminized. The 4"ID to 5"ID coupler will be here tomorrow. I'm going to cut it in half and use the 5" part for the tailpipe connection and the 4" part for the dp connection that I had to sawzall off. Total cost to fix the screwups, $120. So still cheaper than the other kits out there.

I'm gonna try to fix the ends of the muffler and straighten them out on the end of the anvil. If I can get them round and sealable again, then I'll keep it to install if the straight pipe is too obnoxious.

Hey BDalton- When you installed the muffler did you install with the louver openings facing the front like the sticker on it said? I was looking at the MBRP website and it says to put the smooth sides of the louvers to the front with the openings to the back. Wasn't sure if it really made a difference.

 

take the muffler to a muffler shop that bends there own pipes....they should have a tool (cant remember the name of it) that will fix it for you..take them just a couple of minutes to do it..

 

I'll check around for that but I don't know if they'd have anything big enough to do 5".

Well, I just called a local exhaust place that does some diesel pickup work and he thought he could get them straight even for being 5". I'm going to load it all into the car tomorrow and see if he can straighten it out.

I hadn't even thought of that Ron. Thanks!!

 

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Took all my pipes and muffler in there yesterday and they were able to get the ends fixed. Got it installed last night after painting black with high temp stove pipe paint. Looks pretty good. Still had some struggles with the fitment but it itn't bad. I'll get used to it. Where they 'expanded' the ends, it made it really tough to get the squeeze clamps, but I got it to work. The SS pre-formed band clamps worked great. I was hoping to use one on the front of the muffler too, but there was just to much weight and flex on that joint, so had to settle for a squeeze clamp.

So I can take the straight section of pipe back that I was going to weld in place of the muffler and get that $70 back. So with the fix yesterday, new clamps, and the union, I was under $100 to fix my screwup.

The sound is really good. Deeper than the the mufflered 4" but not obnoxious. Like Brian said, the turbo whistle is still very present with the muffler. There is some drone is lower rpm's between 40 to 60 mph. At highway speeds, I don't hear a thing. I can't wait to find a 6" chrome turndown to put on for a tip. That'll make it sound even better! It was really late when I got it back together so didn't get any pics of the black. I'll snap a few on Saturday and post up.

 

I learned my lesson with the exhaust clamps the hard way too. I ended up going to a shop and having them put the truck on a lift so that we (I helped to make sure it got done right) could get the freakin' exhaust in and clearing everything like it should (4" duals). It was fine for a long time, but now I notice some rubbing on my spare tire so I guess I need to figure out what to do now. I hate to take a hammer and "massage" the tail pipes away from the spare but I may have to.

 

Glad you got her all figured out Ryan.

 

thats great news Ryan..glad you got it on..i painted mine 3 years ago with black stove paint as well..the pipes still look good after all the salt abuse it see up here..