I got true duals put on my 2002 F-150 with a 5.4 about a month ago, I noticed after driving a awhile the right pipe has a odd putting sound. It has a fairly consistant beat, and at cold startup or after an hour on the highway it isn't there, mainly after driving around town for awhile. The guys at the exhaust shop think it might be the rear cat, which I find unlikely with only 49k on a truck that runs perfect with no check engine light. If it is the cat I told them Ford would get to look at it first for warrenty which they didn't like, they started spouting off about how the exhaust is now altered and the warrenty is now void (it shouldn't be). If I had to do over I would probably go to a different shop, and I will when it is time to dual my Ranger.

I had them put on 2.25" duals after the stock cats with Thrush glasspacks, it sounds great from in the cab as you can't hear the strange noise from there. Any ideas what would do this?

 

They said it could be the rear cat? How did they run your new setup?? What I am getting at is how does the rear cat only affect one side of the exhaust system.

 

They were using a stethescope with a probe on it. My truck has 2 cats per bank from the factory, they thought it was the second one on the passenger side bank that is making the noise. They couldn't find noise in front of it, I am going to test it myself shortly using the same method. They just had it idling on the lift, the noise either goes away or is drowned out when it revs up.

 

If it helps it sounds similar to blowing hard into a pinwheel, only if you could slow it down. It is kind of a hard noise to describe but after 2 days that is about the most accurate discription I can come up with. I am wondering if they put too much pipe sealer in that joint by the cat, suppose that would sound like that?

 

More or less thinking out loud trying to understand the way they ran your pipes. If I understand correctly the factory pipes have 2 cats per side that tie into each other in a Y then go back to the muffler and out of the tail pipe.

What your shop did was cut your factory piping behind the last cat, eliminated the Y and ran two pipes back to two mufflers and out to two tail pipes correct??

What is getting me is you are only hearing the sound out of one pipe, did they put a crossover pipe anywhere in the system or are the two banks of your motor completely seperate from the headers to the tail pipe??

Lastly what is pipe sealer? I have never seen any type of sealing compound put on an exhaust system other than a gasket or welds.

 

That is it.

No crossover, trully true duals.

It appears to be a rubbery type substance that goes in the on the pipes being jointed, kind of like never-seaze or lock-tight on a bolt and nut. Entire system aside from the tips is clamped, which is how I wanted it incase I have had a powertrain problem down the road, there is only 3 junctions per pipe not counting the tips.


Edited for spelling

 

I'm sorry but the garage that you had the work done is correct. When you change the configuration of the cat pipe (cat back pipe does not apply... you can install a cat-back system and this note does not apply) to make true duals you VOID that emissions warranty per the EPA guidelines. Ford will not cover that and you can be damned sure that they will recall that part.

 

It says it may be void, they have to prove how the true duals caused the cat to fail in under a month. I think we both discussed this early in the "emissions warrentee" thread. At any rate I can get a stock cat from Magnaflow that can drop right in for about $300, probably less than either the exhaust shop or the dealer could put on in if it the claim was rejected. I am pretty sure if the cat is bad it had some help at the shop, hence why they are not going to work on it to fix it if it is. My brother is a tech in training at a local dealership, he comes back from co-op at his college in 2 weeks and I was going to bug him to run some diagnostics on it if I haven't figured it out by then.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=300168

 

never heard of a tech in training program... always thought that you either knew what you were doing or you were fired.

anyway, a dealership won't "install" a single cat... they will sell you the entire unit which is way too expensive IMO.

a local shop can weld you in one.

As far as the dealership having to prove that the true duals caused it... they actually don't. When you modify the part that you are trying to get them to warranty they will point to the EPA guidelines. Any smart dealership will deny that claim because if they don't, ford will do a charge back when they receive the part.

Oh and I'm sure that your shop damaged it... now proving it beyond a reasonable doubt is another issue.


EDIT: Here's your guidelines: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/warr95fs.txt

They actually say that aside from the cat piping the exhaust manifolds are the only other emissions control device under the EPA warranty guidelines.

 

He is going thru the ASSET program at a college, the school requires he have a dealer sponser him, so he obviously does. Each class he goes thru he is certified when he is done, he is up to diesels now, and when he graduates in March he will be 100% Ford certified.

I can get both cats, the exhaust flange on down brand new for $300, so if it is on my dime that is the route it is going to take. I can yank the stock ones out, trim the end of the new one to the right length and go. Not to mention I can't really tell anything about the cats yet other than that it is what they thought it might be, no CEL, no rattle when you thump them, no funky smell just a wierd sound after driving so long.

I want to get an estimate on getting the rust on the bottom of my door fixed anyway so I am not even really out the time, the worst the dealership can do is tell me no.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

True. Good Luck!