how did you guys get your old down pipe outta the truck. that thing is the biggest pain in the butt,
thanks,

by the way this is one of the most informative sites around, visit here alot more now then the others
thanks guy

 

I took mine loose and wedged it up from the bottom and cut it with a sawzall. It would be easier if someone could hold it up from underneath.

 

The sawzall and or plasma torch makes the job extremely easy. Cut it from the bottom as high as you can and then at the top after the snake head.

Get a good set of long metal blades...

 

I used a sawzall and a air cutoff tool and it was still a PITA with 2 of us working on it. Turned out to be a 12 pack job between the 2 of us. Good luck. It is worth the trouble.

 

yeah been trying to do it myself in the driveway and its not working gonna get together with a couple buddies and yank it out next week. looking forward to the 3" DP instead of the pancaked POS thats in there now, along with deleting the Cat and muffler
thanks yall

 

Had mine out in about 20 minutes. Using a sawzall with a 12" blade. As other's have said cut at the bottom as far up as you can. And on the top cut the top "snake head" off as far as you can get off the turbo connection w/o getting into the head, fuel connection, or tranny dipstick tube. it literally falls right out. Took me just as long to get the downpipe clamp loose from the turbo that it did to get the thing out of my way. No cutting the pinch weld and bending the firewall to get the 3" dp in, that took the longest. Alot of prying, hammering, and testfitting.

 

I used a torch and cut it up as high as I could from underneath and then cut it again at the 1st bend after the turbo.

 

Concur on Sawzall and good-quality long blades.

Did mine last year. I recollect that if you can free the connection on the bottom, you don't need to cut it there. If you do need to cut, make the bottom cut last, so the pipe is better supported for the top cut. Location isn't critical.

On the top cut, if I did it again, disconnect the pipe from the exhaust back pressure valve housing, stuff a rag in to prevent metal shavings getting in the valve or turbine, and reconnect. This will support the pipe while you cut. Location of cut isn't critical so long as you get most of the top bend off the pipe. It should drop right out then.

For your new downpipe, I suggest doing a test-fit from the top to see how much (if at all) you need to persuade the firewall, BEFORE slitting and bending the weld flange at the bottom. Seems like assembly tolerances on individual trucks determine how much of a PITA installation is. If your truck is assembled cab rear / engine front, pipe fits nicely between engine and firewall, and about all you need to do is slit and bend the weld flange. If your truck is cab forward / engine rear, there's not enough clearance and you need to bulge the firewall pretty much all the way down. That was the case on my truck, and slitting and bending the flange first made bulging the bottom more difficult. Bulge first, then slit.

If you need to bulge the firewall, try a short air hammer with a short, blunt chisel, and a swivel air connector. You want the thing as short as possible to drop between the engine and firewall. I used a little Kobalt (Lowe's brand) hammer & chisel.

 

I only cut it at the top like this:

 

Be VERY careful, I saw somewhere one truck that was burned bad inside the cab using a torch.

 

I cut mine a little lower on the top. with the long blade in the sawzall cut a couple of inches lower than that and at an angle. Had the cut the bottom off because it kept hitting the trans crossmember when trying to take it down.

 

sweet im gonna try agian tommorow

 

I was a muffler man for 10 years with lots and lots of experience.

 

Exhaust removal gone horrible. - Ford Diesel Power Forums

 

Well, thats OK, but, look the link below.
Thats exactly what I was refering to. Thanks Cope.