DIY: 3" exhaust in your driveway... w/pics

[beatersubi]

...All you need is:
1: The parts
2: A welder (with enough wire , but more on that later)
3: Patience (the more the better)

So I did it. With inspiration from Soarer and the knowledge that I finally got all the parts together, I decided it was time to fix my busted-ass exhaust. Following is a step by step w/ pics.

Step 1: Remove old exh, lay it out, ponder patheticness.

Yes, thats a stock turbo DP ghetto-mated (safety wired) to a stock L exhaust.

Step 2: Install downpipe w/ relocted O2 bung (Invidia catless, in this case)


Step 3: Attempt to fit welded cat&flexpipe, realize interference w/ carrier bearing, create and weld in offset.
I had an exh shop weld the cat and flexpipe as the cat is stainless and all I have is a 110v mig w/ fluxcore wire

Step 4: Hang muffler. For those who've not done this yet: Get an offset inlet muffler, it'll save two 90* bends and a moderate amount of headache and wire.

Step 5: Fabricate everthing between the flexpipe and the muffler.

This is where patience comes in handy. Be prepared to fit and remove about elevnty billion times. You should also be adding hangers in this step.

Step 6: Racing paint.
Its actually flat but was still wet in this pic.

Step 7: Compare side-by-side.
New hottness vs. old n' busted

Step 8: Get more wire for your welder and install tailpipes. Sorry I don't have pics for this at the moment (I'm experiencing technical difficulties, i.e. I ran out of wire, @5pm on a sat, while welding the muffler ! ).

Impresions: Its loud. I may get a resonator to install before the muffler. Boost comes on smoother and more responsively at part and mid throttle. At full throttle its really loud and actually feels slower, but that could just be my butt dyno overcompensating for the noise.

Hope this helps anyone planning this.

[555BCTurbo]

That sucks that you had to use Flux Cored wire...

I used it when I welded Devan's exhaust...and it made my exhaust welding experience much less invigorating than I wanted.



Nice work though!


My SS is getting something similar soon, but without the whole muffler thing

[SubaruNation]

sweet!
that's awesome!

[BXSS]

+1 DIY is always nice in my book.
Thats the only way to get cheap 1 off hand fabricated parts/accessories!

[legasee]

Awesome write up! Bookmarked and saved for when its my turn!

[beatersubi]

Update: After getting more wire and installing tailpipes, its considerably quieter. Enough that I won't need the resonator. I didn't think 18" more pipe could make that much difference, but its entirely livable now with a deep mellow rumble and just the slightest hint of whistle on throttle.

[tahiti350]

That last 18" probably got the end of the exhaust out from under the truck which would act like a giant sound box. I'll bet it is MUCH quiter now that it's out past the bumper....