Hello all,

I have, after bowing to the needs of home ownership, I recently purchased a truck. In buying the truck I looked at the needs I would have and did a certain degree of research and firmly decided on an F-150. Last month I purchased a 1997 F-150 Lariat edition with an extended cab and full size bed. I Love it and am enjoing driving to a degree I have never before.

We'll when I purchased the truck I noticed a number of "differences" between it and other trucks on the road. One specifically being that I note that my exhaust pipe, rather than exiting from the rear, exits from the side. (a few inches in front of my rear wheels) Additionally, I note it appears the diameter is greater.

I am trying to understand what sort of modifications have been made to the exhaust system. Could anyone give me some ideas of what sorts of things I should look for in order to understand if I should upgrade the system.

I appreciate any input you may have. I aplogize for any ignorance on my part, but I'm hoping that by reading through these forums I'll gradually increase my knowledge. Thanks again

 

You will notice that your center wheel cap will turn green if it bhasn't already. They had a recall (TSB) and changed them with a 99 exhaust. Good luck

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1997 FORD F-150 REGULAR CAB, FLARESIDE (TO COOL)PACIFIC CLEARCOAT GREEN 5-SPEED THAT WILL MAKE YOU BLEED.

 

All the '97s had the exit forward of the wheels. It's one of the few things that makes it easy to spot a '97 sometimes.

If the muffler looks and sounds stock, it's probably still the factory setup.

 

Thank you both for your comments. On to determining what kind of modifications I want to make......

 

Depends on what you are looking for in an aftermarket exhaust. Do you only care about sound? Do you want more low end torque? Do you want more high end torque? There are many many different combos and price ranges depending on the above. Ask five people their personal opinions and you'll probably get five different answers.

I was looking for a slight increase in sound, but more concerned with low end torque. I still wanted it quiet in the cab, but some "rumble" at the pipe. I did much research on this site and went with a Gibson Swept Side. It exists behind the rear tire (which my '97 came stock with?? I too, thought all '97's exited in front of the rear tire) Anyway, it's still pretty quiet, but better then stock. Exactly what I was looking for. Looks better then stock too. It's a 3" inlet/outlet with a 3.5" slash cut tip.

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1997 F150 4x4 Off Road, SuperCab, Short Box, 5.4, Royal Blue/Silver, K&N, Gibson SS, LT265/75/16 Wild Country APT's

 

I wasn't trying to avoid the question, just help in determining if the system was stock or not. Sorry if it came across wrong.

As far as the "if you should upgrade", that's hard to pin down. Most systems will give you more power, but there are other options besides the exhaust. If you like the truck "stock quiet" this can be a factor. Many (if not most) do the exhaust as one of the first mods. On my current truck I did intake, pulleys and ignition upgrades before the exhaust and still got good results with the stock exhaust on.

The different setups are almost endless. Price, sound level, torque curve and overall quality are all factors. I wanted torque and mid range power more than 5000 rpm flow, so I went with a stainless Gibson side swept on my '95.

 

Hello. Nice to see someone else from WA. Just wish someone from the east side of the state would join. Check out the WA chapter at www.f150world.com.

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1997 XLT Teal 4.6L Flareside 4x4 ORP. Automatic, Reg. cab, 3.55LS, tinted windows, bug deflector, Dual exhaust, K&N Generation 2 air filter, BullDog keyless entry/remote start, Modern 16" wheels, bedliner, Covercraft tonneau cover, White faced gauges, electronic shift on the fly, Clarion ADX5655z Double Din Cassette & CD, 4 Pioneer TS-A6865 speakers and superchip. Going to add headers.


Future mods: Supercharger, headers, NOS, tranny upgrade(heavy duty gears, clutch packs, etc.), performance torque converter, composite driveshaft, bore engine 30 over, new pistons, crank, and rods, performance heads, new L if they still make them and I like the way it looks, and a Z06 Vette or BMW Z3.




Click here to see more pictures

 

Signmaster- I never thought you were avoiding the issue at all, your information was very helpful. Can't really know what to get if I don't know what I want so your post helped me to understand that I had someplace to go.... Thanks again.

MitchF150 - Thank you as well for your comments. I think that I'm looking for a bit more torque. We have a lake cabin on the other side of the state (I must cross a mountain pass to get there) as well as living in a lake community here on the west side of the state. There will be times I will be towing a boat (19') over the pass. The low end torque may be somthing to look into. The vehicle now has the 5.4 ltr V8 and class 3 towing package.

As for sound that isn't much of an incentive for me. I understand that one of the costs (or perhaps for some benefits) of adding the torque is increased noise. I am certainly willing to pay that price for the increased power, but noise for the sake of noise is not my cup of tea. (Not that there's anything wrong with that....) Your system sounds like it's probably in line with what I am / may be looking for.

I'll be hauling the boat to our cabin in a couple of months so after that I'll know what the stock configuration will get me. Be able to make a more informed decision for any modifications at that time. I'll certainly look for recommendations from this community at that time.

King James - Your truck looks very nice. As mentioned above, I often get over to your neck of the woods (the cabin is on Newman Lake - just a quick jaunt from you.) I would be interested in any recommendations you might have where I could let my truck unwind over there ( F-150 4x4, 5.4 Ltr,.....)

I'll look at the WA chapter. Thanks for the heads up.

Again thanks all for your advice. I've been lurking for a few weeks now - with some concern about posting because of some of the less than polite and often insulting replies I've seen on some of the boards. I appreciate hearing from people who love their trucks and are looking to help others achieve the same.