I'm going to do the installation myself, and am looking at kits from a few manufacturers. Probably CAT back but my question pertains to the material itself. Do I go with what I perceive to be a crappy quality stainless, like T409, I've never heard of the manufacturer? Link as follows,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131696...=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT,

or what I presume to be a better quality aluminized steel from a company we've all heard of:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261949...e=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

As you can see pricing is pretty much the same. The truck is an 04.5 and has 220k on on it, so I don't need to go overboard. I dont have access to welding materials, so a slip and clamp together arrangement is required. Thanks guys.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: apf383,

Magnaflow, they are made by walker, who makes pretty good OE replacemnet parts, the ebay knockoff stuff does not last.

My vote goes for MBRP

magnaflow has better looking clamps. and this is a CAT delete, from what I can tell. It says turbo back, so it is downpipe and everything behind that.

quote:

Originally posted by ScorpionBoy:
magnaflow has better looking clamps. and this is a CAT delete, from what I can tell. It says turbo back, so it is downpipe and everything behind that.

Yes Scorpion, it is a turbo back system, but I can either shelve the downpipe for when my cat rots through, or perhaps get a cat back system. The turbo back is not a deal breaker for me. I should have clarified that. Thanks.

I was leaning towards the Magnaflow because of the name recognition, but don't know if aluminized steel is better than crappy stainless.

Why MBRP David?

Are you going to run without a muffler? I don't see one in those kits.

I live in South Florida with no salt on the roads. Any how the aluminized Flow pro is what I went with for my 08 and my current 14 Dodge mega cab with 6.7 cummins. my 14 is a 4" straight pipe no muffler and isn't to bad. What I can say is the flo pro bolted right up no messing around. I can also recommend James at rollin smoke diesel
http://www.rollinsmokediesel.c...systemsmanifolds.cfm. Free shipping and fast, and if he doesn't answer his cell phone if you call he will get back to you ASAP. I have ordered 2 complete delete kits with programmers from him and is a pleasure to deal with.

FWIW- if you do turbo back get a friend to help because getting the clamp on and holding that part of the pipe is a challenge. hray

quote:

Originally posted by Suppressed:
Are you going to run without a muffler? I don't see one in those kits.

Yup, no muffler. Been doin' it for years.

smschulz- I just looked at a Banks cat back system for 400.00. I would have figured Banks would be more. Not out of the question, and if I can get a muffler delete, that might save a few $, thanks.

Thanks hray.

Did the Magnaflow on my '95 CTD. Muffler but no cat. Went in pretty easy. All stainless. Very happy with it. No welding. Clamps were well designed and work well. Easy afternoon job on a good day.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Did the Magnaflow on my '95 CTD. Muffler but no cat. Went in pretty easy. All stainless. Very happy with it. No welding. Clamps were well designed and work well. Easy afternoon job on a good day.

Chris, how long ago, and how has it held up? Im in NY, so our weather conditions are similar, thanks.

02 CTD. Went with magna flow four inch when new, all stainless from the turbo back, slip fit, and clamps, no welding.
still going fine dispite the winters here..

quote:

MBRP

I put a MBRP cat back on my 06 CTD 5 or 6 years ago. It was pretty easy to install. Seems to be holding up well (although it is no longer my daily driver).

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Banks

Banks is good stuff. I replaced the stock header on an X-GFs jeep with one of their stainless for less than the dealer wanted with 'partial warranty' coverage for a factory one (which WILL fail again).

Thanks for all the input guys. Just wanted to inform those who helped. I went with a cat back system from Banks. All stainless. The black tip is slash cut, but I prefer a turn down, so Ill throw that up on ebay and recoup some cash. Actually, a tip isnt even required as it exits far enough out that I wont need to worry about sooting up my 1/4. Kit cost me 350.00 inc. shipping, went together very easily, and the fit was great. All factory hangers retained, and the system is super solid, and very quite. I was running w/o a muffler for years, so this will be welcomed by my neighbors. Actually, the truck wasnt even that loud. Done in an hour including clean up. Money well spent if anyone is considering a new system.

quote:

I was leaning towards the Magnaflow because of the name recognition, but don't know if aluminized steel is better than crappy stainless.

I've been doing OEM automotive products since 1982 and my first job was as a manufacturing Engineer for Quanex Tube Fabricating, who supplied ALL of the front Y pipes for Chevy truck in the 1980's. All of those Y pipes were made using 409 stainless because any exhaust system component from the CAT forward must have a Minimum Service Life of 10 years. During that time I purchased a 1985 Monte Carlo SS that also featured a front Y pipe made from 409 Stainless and that Y pipe was still solid as a rock in 1999 when I redid the entire drive train. I'd probably still be running that Y pipe if it weren't for the cast iron exhaust manifold showing some cracks when pulled the old drivetrain out of the car.

We also did some exhaust systems for the Camaro and Firebird that featured Aluminized tubing and I can assure you that stuff is CRAP compared to 409. The problem is the steel comes in as rolls of strip stock that is run through the tube mill to form the tubing and weld the seam. Guess what happens when that aluminized steel is welded. You got it, the aluminum cladding is burnt away during the weld operation and that tubing is NOT re-coated. If you dont believe it take a look at any 6 month or older newer vehicle with an aluminized cat back system and you will find that the weld seam is rusted from front to back.

Point is given the choice between 409 stainless or aluminized steel for an exhaust I would go with 409 every single time. However, in appearance 409 is so visually close to mild steel the only way to actually insure you are getting 409 stainless is by wetting a bit of sandpaper with a liquid copper sulphate solution to see if sanding the surface to bare fresh metal causes the cleaned area to "plate" with copper. If you see copper you have mild steel, if you don't see any copper you have 409 stainless. BTW, learned the copper sulphate test way back in 1982 when I participated in my first full Inventory for Quanex. We had 3 tube mills and ran a wide variety of tube materials and diameters and for the inventory the only way to tell the mild steel from the 409 was to test each bundle with copper sulphate.