JPaganel
04-20-2012, 10:27 AM
When I got my truck it had an exhaust leak where the Y-pipe joins the manifolds. The donuts were beat up and the flange on the passenger side has partially rusted off. It also had the super-rusty remains of a cat-back dual pipe setup.
I needed this to be fast and cheap and I wanted the truck to no attract too much attention and not blow exhaust into the cab. It's a daily driver, not a racing or dedicated off-road rig.
I started with a stock muffler and tailpipe just so I could start driving the thing. I then set to read a lot of stuff here on FSC on what to do next. I decided that since I am going to have to pull the Y-pipe I will likely break the bolts off in the manifolds and would need to pull them to fix that anyway, so I might as well go for headers. I got a set of $120-or so stainless headers from eBay.
When I put the headers on I found out about the rusty bit on the y-pipe and so I had to get a new one. I got the "off-road y-pipe" that Jegs lists for 95-98.
The pipe fit pretty well. I did have to make two alterations - I notched the passenger side flange about 1/8 inch to clear the protrusion on the tranny and I shortened the part of the Y where the driver's side segment attaches by about 1/4" to make that side fit correctly. I thought of welding the pipes together, but since I am not a very good welder I would have had to pull it all out again after aligning it and I just didn't feel like it. I used the clamp supplied by Jegs instead.
I planned on reusing my original oxygen sensor, but I got stupid and cranked it hard in the wrong direction. Tore the threads right off.
The truck is fairly quiet now and seems like it has a bit more zip to it. That's butt dyno, so it might be wishful thinking. It also runs very smooth. The slight occasional stumble I used to have is gone. This will probably stay how it is, unless I put in a Magnaflow-type muffler at some point.
Here are some pics of what it all looks like:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0285.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0284.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0286.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0288.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0287.jpg
I needed this to be fast and cheap and I wanted the truck to no attract too much attention and not blow exhaust into the cab. It's a daily driver, not a racing or dedicated off-road rig.
I started with a stock muffler and tailpipe just so I could start driving the thing. I then set to read a lot of stuff here on FSC on what to do next. I decided that since I am going to have to pull the Y-pipe I will likely break the bolts off in the manifolds and would need to pull them to fix that anyway, so I might as well go for headers. I got a set of $120-or so stainless headers from eBay.
When I put the headers on I found out about the rusty bit on the y-pipe and so I had to get a new one. I got the "off-road y-pipe" that Jegs lists for 95-98.
The pipe fit pretty well. I did have to make two alterations - I notched the passenger side flange about 1/8 inch to clear the protrusion on the tranny and I shortened the part of the Y where the driver's side segment attaches by about 1/4" to make that side fit correctly. I thought of welding the pipes together, but since I am not a very good welder I would have had to pull it all out again after aligning it and I just didn't feel like it. I used the clamp supplied by Jegs instead.
I planned on reusing my original oxygen sensor, but I got stupid and cranked it hard in the wrong direction. Tore the threads right off.
The truck is fairly quiet now and seems like it has a bit more zip to it. That's butt dyno, so it might be wishful thinking. It also runs very smooth. The slight occasional stumble I used to have is gone. This will probably stay how it is, unless I put in a Magnaflow-type muffler at some point.
Here are some pics of what it all looks like:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0285.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0284.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0286.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0288.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/1995%20K1500/IMG_0287.jpg