Ok. I havent turned a wrench in a long while and I am dying to do something to the truck. I Dont want to spend the 500+ on a full catback. I am considering a magnaflow muffler on stock pipes. Just looking at the factory muffler and the head discoloration around the upstream area of it, it has to help just putting a muffler on.

Do I just want to buy a 2.25 in/out? I dont remember exactly what the pipe sizes are, but I have dial calipers and I can measure them to get the exact measurements. If I come up with 2.25 and I buy a 2.25 muffler, will it be flared to fit over the pipe or will I have to flare it or but weld it? I want to say that the factory size is 2.5 in and 2.25 out. I want to keep my factory tip and all, plus that saving money thing.

Also if I do decide to go straight pipe, will it be obnoxious? With 4 cats, It cant see how it would be that loud. I dont want it to sound like my drag car with 2chamber flows on a dual 3 inch exhaust dumped, either. I am just looking for a tiny bit of performance and a good sound with a stealth look.

Last question. I have never welded exhaust on before, but if I have to butt weld it, can I use my argon/co2 mix that I have for steel? I want to keep the whole thing stainless for a nice clean look and a long life, so I would go get some stainless wire. Any other welding tips for Mig welding exhaust would be appreciated.

 

i have stock pipe with the rear 2 cats cut closest to the y-pipe with a flowmaster super 40 dumped under the truck it sounds awesome no drone and not that loud sounds are comparable to the magnaflow cat-back, also you can either buy simulators for the cats or turn them off with your programmer if you have one... .....

 

also buy a 2.5 INNER diameter it will slip right over the stock 2.5 OUTTER diameter.

 

I had a Maggie welded into my '05 Lariat. Sounded pretty nice, and improved gas mileage almost 2mpg. Do it!

 

2mpg gain just by welding in a magnaflow muffler? I'll bet you picked up 25 HP too!!

- NCSU

 

HAHA, no kidding!

 

You should be fine with the CO2/argon mix you use for steel, and you can also use the same wire in your MIG that you use for steel. The stainless used in exhaust systems is very low quality, so it is easy to weld. I only know because I have welded stainless exhaust pipe with my MIG setup with standard steel parameters and it has worked without issue.

 

Will the stainless wire rust like most welding joints do? The last truck I had exhaust done on was a 98 F150 and it was stick welded with a torch and looked like poop. I want to keep it as nice as possible. Jegs has the muffler and SS 4 foot pipe for about $125.

 

I bought a magna flow can for 106.95, added a nice tip, so I have great sound, just a bit louder then stock (got the 24") and so all in all pretty cheap.

Cost 30.00 for install
30.00 for Tip
106.95 Muffler


166.95 for my exhaust install

 

Actually, it was a "maggie" he slapped on there

 

I crawled under the truck today. The pipe comming out of the muffler is not round because of the bends and it is less than 2.5 inches, which is the size coming into the muffler.

I am concerned about the seal coming out of the muffler. I may go back to this idea. https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ghlight=summit
Of course its not stainless, but WTF I forgot how cheap the whole thing was. Add another 20 for a tip and I am all set for less than 200. I also looked under the truck and found the crossover pipe from drivers side to passenger to be very very rusty. Dont know why that would be. The truck has never even heard of snow and I only got it dirty offroad once.

 

The exhause pipe will corrode naturally because of increased oxidation due to higher temperatures that the exhaust sees. Any remember, even though the pipe is stainless, it is low quality stainless, so it will still corrode on the surface.

As far as the standard MIG wire corroding, I really haven't noticed it rusting any worse than the stainless pipe, it will get surface corrosion, but it's thick enough that it will never rust thru.

 

remember to diconnect the battery so you dont fry the ecu