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1989 Crew Cab Tow Rig Build

The whole exhaust is going to be welded except for the muffler connections...I'm going to clamp those...so should make it easier to change the tone of the exhaust as I get older and don't want to :weapon10: so much, haha
I am planning to add a flange on the outlet side of the Y. Several times now I've needed to drop the back part of the exhaust. Right now I have a regular reducer pipe that slides over the front half of the exhaust system and it's a bear to pull apart. With the exhaust being so long in a CC long bed you might find it to be helpful to be able to segment the exhaust.

Oh and if I was you I would do 4" out of the Y but that's because I'm OCD about the area of the exhaust pipe openings matching. 3" pipe twice is equal to 4.2" pipe once.
 
yes, add some flanges. I used 3 bolt thick header flanges, cut the pipe where I wanted it, slid them over and welded them up.
 
I am planning to add a flange on the outlet side of the Y. Several times now I've needed to drop the back part of the exhaust. Right now I have a regular reducer pipe that slides over the front half of the exhaust system and it's a bear to pull apart. With the exhaust being so long in a CC long bed you might find it to be helpful to be able to segment the exhaust.

Oh and if I was you I would do 4" out of the Y but that's because I'm OCD about the area of the exhaust pipe openings matching. 3" pipe twice is equal to 4.2" pipe once.

Where the muffler will be is going to be the split point in the system as that will have the clamps on it...that should be almost exactly half of the whole system making it easy to drop it down. And the pipe openings will match. Off the header will be 3" all the way to the Y pipe. The Y pipe is the conversion point...the dual input of the Y pipe is 3", but the outlet of the Y pipe is 3.5"...then I'll have some straight 3.5" pipe that goes to the muffler which is 3.5" inlet and outlet. Then more 3.5" pipe all the way to the tip...which my tip's inlet is 3.5" but the outlet is 4.5"...so all the sizes should match up just fine.

And once again...I'm not sure why everyone says the 40 series is so much louder...I honestly think the 40 series and the magnaflow sound just as loud to me. Each have a different sound (magnaflow a little bit deeper), but to be honest, I've never liked the higher rev sound of a magnaflow....it just seems to loose the sound as the rev's get high. I feel like the flowmaster does a little bit better at that, and sense mine will be in the high rev's a bit while towing...I would prefer the 40 series.

And lets be honest...does a 30 yr old guy build a ridiculously huge/long square body truck with a tuned 8.1 liter to have the exhaust not be loud? I'll let you answer that....:D
 
I like the sound of a good single exh.

Yeah, I was trying to figure out a way to get duals on this...but that was going to add to the cost a lot. And I didn't want to do true duals, so figured one good single exit exhaust with a larger diameter pipe and a good muffler (even old guys can admit the 40 series is a good muffler...no matter how much their hearing aids are buzzing :flipoff13:) would give me the sound I wanted along with the performance I am after. I think it's going to work out good
 
Got a good start on the exhaust this weekend. This was a lot more work then what it probably seems. Kinda hard to get two 3" pipes routed in that small of an area, but got it all in and routed to the Y pipe. Luckily I don't have to worry too much about ground clearance on the tow rig, but routing the passenger tube always seems like it's the hardest. I think it turned out pretty good so far though. Everything you see in the photos is fully welded too. And I installed/welded up my O2 sensor bungs as well. I'm just really glad there will only be one 3.5" tube to route the rest of the way out :D













 
I'm guessing you will be able to pull the trans and tcase without having to remove the exhaust. Looks good. I'd much rather build my own exh most of the time.
 
3" is pretty big diameter for that small of an area. Looks like you did a nice job if it.

Thanks for posting the pics. That's roughly what I'm hoping I hug the trans crossmember tight.
 
I'm guessing you will be able to pull the trans and tcase without having to remove the exhaust. Looks good. I'd much rather build my own exh most of the time.

I imagine I would be able to drop trans without removing exhaust, but it shouldn't be too difficult to drop exhaust if need be.

Fun stuff :D

Fun indeed. I was actually thinking of your build while doing this...I thought how nice it would be to have a bare frame on a lift to do this :D

3" is pretty big diameter for that small of an area. Looks like you did a nice job if it.

Thanks for posting the pics. That's roughly what I'm hoping I hug the trans crossmember tight.

Yeah, with what I was working with, I think it turned out alright. Just for your info, I used 2 90* bends, 4 45* bends and about 3 ft of straight 3" pipe to get to this point. And as you can see, its just past the t-case right now. I know you said you wanted some measurements on it. That's where I'm at right now
 
Well....got the exhaust all finished up. I am overall very happy with how everything turned out. Maybe a few small things I wish were a little bit different, but overall very happy. Here are some pics:

Went from the Y pipe to the 40 series flowmaster muffler all welded in



my little Eastwood 135 MIG welder does pretty good. Welds turned out pretty good





 
Then built the back half of the exhaust from the muffler out the back



Then, because I used a MIG welder to weld all this together, I knew I wanted to throw some kind of paint on it just so it doesn't rust away in a year, so painted the whole setup with VHT header paint



And installed in the truck





 
And the tip of the exhaust/exit...I think it turned out real good and looks real good









I actually set this up that the entire exhaust comes apart in 3 sections. The dual inlet of the Y pipe has clamps on it, then the muffler outlet has a clamp on it too...everything else is welded. Should make it pretty easy to remove if/when needed. I also installed my O2 sensors and hooked them up/plugged them in. So as of now, exhaust is completely done
 
Is that tip going to bounce up against that lower bed panel?

Will say there's a ton more space under the back of that then under my Jimmy...

Whens the burnout :burnout: video coming?! :whistle:
 
I like this thing a lot.

Thanks, I do too, haha

Is that tip going to bounce up against that lower bed panel?

Will say there's a ton more space under the back of that then under my Jimmy...

Whens the burnout :burnout: video coming?! :whistle:

I doubt the tip will touch the bed...it's pretty firm for up and down movement. If anything, the new isolaters on the hangers will loosen a little with time on them and it will settle just a tad. Should be just fine

Hopefully running soon!

Too bad you can't hear it run...Nice job. I bet it will sound perfect.

Yeah, really wish I could turn the key, but not yet, haha. I think it's gonna sound real good!

That is some sweet crew cab action you have in the making.

Thanks! Now once I get the motor to start, it's on the road!!
 
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