exhaust
 

I'm currently looking into getting a new exhaust. which is better, stainless aluminized or 409 Stainless steel??

oh and what size should I get 4" or 5"?

I have a 4" DiamondEye (3" downpipe into OEM cat con) turbo-back into a 4" DiamondEye muffler that is a few years old now. It's aluminized and is holding up pretty good. I wanted their Stainless Steel (Lifetime warranty system), but that is a different story.

Some folks have a 5" system and love it. The one complaint I hear most is, there isn't much room where the pipe comes over the axle. I'm sure some will chime in about their systems.

Unless you're planning on major engine modifications, the 4" system should work well for you, IMHO.

My truck is a 1995 7.3 Automatic. All stock..
I've got some advice from others in another thread when I asked about the TSP programmer.
It is aluminized steel pipe not aluminized stainless. The difference between the two will be more a matter of preference. I may go with the 409 stainless just because of the road salt used here in KY during the winter. The small price in the upgrade from steel is worth it to me. Even though I posted links to aluminized steel.:o

I also understand the 4" is plenty big enough. I have looked around on here and guys running much more powerful equipment than stock are still running 4". So it looks like that will be my route as well.

Also alot of talk about changes the stock air intake system from stock to a NAPA 6637 filter.

Looks like the price for the exhaust system will be about $325 or so for the stainless. That's about as cheap as I have found it.

I think i will go aluminized steel just because its cheaper. also I will probably go with a 3" down pipe that comes in two pieces so its easier to get passed the seam and that will go into a 4" straightpipe both are diamondeye brand.

I've got the aluminized steel on mine. Diamond eye is a great choice.

Just now ordered mine..
Diamond Eye | K4307S | 4" Turbo-Back Single Off-Road 409 SS : 1994-1997.5 Ford 7.3L Powerstroke F250/f350

I'm glad to hear you guys had a better experience with this purchase than I did back in 9/2008. I was told I had to have the system sent to a shop for installation. They would not send it directly to my house. Paid slightly over $540 for the wrong kit and installation. The system has held up well, but the customer service I received sucked. I wanted a straight-pipe system, but I still have the catalytic converter and a muffler (DiamondEye 4") in my setup.

Kit I wanted was the one listed by HOOTs95PSD, the K4307S. What was received and installed was the K4306A. I didn't even see the box or the warranty card with the part number until after the shop did the installation. That won't happen in the future. I could order the delete-pipes, but I'm not inclined to give this company anymore of my money yet.

Did you use Performance Truck Products as a supplier?

For your 97 F250, there are many options from where you can buy Exhaust of your choice like;
Exhaust Systems - Cat Back Exhaust, Performance Mufflers & Tips | AutoAnything
Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more
ebay.com

A site sponsor like Riffraff is the best place to buy about anything for these trucks, including exhaust.

If you're asking me this question, I used Premier Performance Products in Rexburg, ID.

I started my exhaust swap out today.. The only thing that went right was the weather, nice and cool. I did alot of damage to my brand new Super Sawzall. 1 cut and it looks like it is 10 years old:-arrgh. I may of also destroyed the radiator when I slipped pulling the old down pipe out and landed on the line running from the rad to the coolant bottle. Snapped it right off.:-arrgh.
It was getting dark so I called it quits for the night. I'd post some pics but the camera is somewhere in the garage still.
Some days I fell like a total douche doing projects like this. You'd never know I build multi million dollar custom packing machines for a living.

Performance Truck Products got the exhaust here in 3 days time.
Amazon got me my Motorcraft positive and the left grounding cables for the batteries here in 2 days time. The right side grounding cable didn't make it, suppose to be here Monday.
My neighbor came through like a champ and got me a 6637 filter. It's good to have a connection.

Hopefully tomorrow the exhaust will be done, then all the other stuff goes in. I'll stop free loading on this post then. Just thought I'd keep my exhaust doings in a related post instead of starting another.

Things learned:
Jack the truck up so the sawzall has more room to be used correctly.

Use a long blade. I had the 9" and had to take the shoe off the saw to get it to cut through the pipe.

After you disconnect your downpipe to turbo clamp wedge the lower part of the pipe away from the transmission with a small length (10" or so )piece of 2x4. This will give you a bit more room to cut and keep the pipe from jumping around from the saw.

Cut your down pipe just a bit in front of the transmission line connection. My cut was about straight across from it and I had a tough time keeping the saw from cutting the line. When I did get it cut in half it was tough to pull the section up past the turbo because of the length.

Use a pair of vise grips clamped to the downpipe to give you a better grip and pulling power.

Don't slip and land on the radiator hose to reservoir tank connection. Broke it off clean right at the radiator. . I hope I can fix that somehow:'(.

I'll try to post some pics of the system and any other problems I encounter tomorrow night. I need some :-X17

IIRC I've read someone was able to tap the radiator for a nipple fitting. I've also read of some who have had to replace the radiator. I suppose it depends on where its broke.

Good luck.

I'm going out to look at it now. It looked like a clean break so I figured I could tap it out and install a fitting. It only has 16 lbs of pressure so I think it will hold. JB Weld would most likely work if nothing else.
We'll see as this day unfolds.
I knew I should of put the brake lines back on the T Bird before I started on this truck. I just might have to find out how nice my neighbor is.