Well, the exhaust is on.
Final impression?
I'll call it a good kit, but not a great one.
Why?
Well, here's the reasons why;
It's advertised as needing nothing but hand tools. It's anything but...
You need a sawsall or a smoke wrench to get the old system off. There is no other way that will work with old pipes that won't have you wishing someone would just put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger...
You need a cut off saw to make the intermediate pipe the proper length, it comes as a universal 48" piece. I suppose you could cut it with a hack saw or sawsall, but you just don't get the proper square cut.
Almost all the hanger brackets are there, except the intermediate pipe hanger.
There is one in the kit, but it does not fit the truck. At least, it doesn't fit my 98. I had to cut the original bracket off the old pipes and weld it to one of the 4" pipe clamps.
Cut off saw, angle grinder, MIG.....not exactly common hand tools like the kit advertises.
The pipes needed dressing with a file, lots of burrs that prevented the pipes from sliding together.
The pipes/muffler required reshaping with a ball peen hammer in the openings in order to fit together.
And finally, the pipes were covered in forming and release agent. Nornmally not such a big deal, pipes usually are. But Diamond Eye specifically advertises that thier pipes are washed before shipping and can be handled right out of the box.
Now, the good stuff:
You literally are stuffing 4.5 pounds of sh*t into a 5 pound bag. It goes in, but it's pretty close in a lot of places. To Diamond Eye's credit, it fit just right in each and every spot. I either got very lucky, or they did thier home work when the designed it.
It all lined up very well, once it was all in place and "massaged".
The muffler is stainless, a nice touch. It's a glass pack, so make your own decision on whether or not that is a good thing.
The kit is really complete, from turbo to tail pipe (except for that one wrong bracket).
Now, the sound:
First start it was evident that there was a glass pack on the truck.
Instant drone noise.
I haven't driven it yet, only idle in the driveway. I'm hoping it's not going to be as loud as I think it is.
This is a daily driver and a trailer towing family rig, not a kids truck.
In my opinion, Loud pipes don't save lives, they just piss off the neighbours and lead to early hearing loss. Personal preference there....
One thing I did do before the kit went in was to wipe it all down nice and clean with thinner, then spray everything with satin black barbcue paint (good to 1200). From tubro to tailpipe, all satin black.
And it looks damned good!
I gave it a nice coat of paint in order to help stave of fthe rusties a little longer.
Did I mention it looks damned good all black?
Overall, for the price it's a good kit.
It took me around 8 hours to remove the old system, paint the new one, make the modifications needed, then get it all hung and properly aligned.
The ride right bags were also great. I pumped them up to 80 PSI and it gave me plenty of room under the truck to cut/manuver pipes and pull them out.
Keep in mind, I not a new wrench at this and have all the tools readily at hand I could possibly need.
You may take longer (or less) depending on you own ability....
