Ok, I have the stock system right now. I bought several feet of 3" exhaust pipe and 2 clamps.........what else do I need? Anyone on here done their own exhaust modding? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I did my own this last weekend. It took me about 3-4 hours. First I cut the factory muffler off and fabbed up a piece of pipe that was the same length. On mine there are hangers on either side of the muffler. I cut the pipe so that the hangers came off with the muffler. This gives you plenty of play in the tailpipe to work it on your new piece of pipe. My pipe had swells on either in to slip over the factory pipe. You can use connectors if you wish. Lay under and made sure the new piece will fit before you weld the connectors up solid.
Next, I cut the top portion of the hangers off the factory muffler. It was a rubber piece that bolted to a piece of strap. After cutting it off I only had about an inch of strap on the bottom of my hanger. I welded about 5 inches of strap onto the bottom of this factory piece.
Then you can slide your new piece of pipe onto the exhaust system on both ends. Don't force it on so tight that you won't be able to get it back off. Put the bolt back into the factory hanger location and while holding it in place tack the pieces of new strap that are on your factory hangers onto the side of the pipe. Once they are tacked pull the whole piece back out. Begin welding the strap onto the pipe and make sure you roll the strap under the pipe. I made the mistake of trying to weld the hanger on the side of the pipe without wrapping it around and under the pipe and it doesn't work well.
After the strap is welded completely just reinstall the pipe, connect your hangers, and that is about it. I can try to take a picture if you would like to see it. (As long as there is no jokes about my welding.)

 

1stgen545 has done a ton of them. He knows all the bends and angles you'll need to do it off the top of his head. He helped make mine and I love it, PLUS it was totally free. The best place to get stuff for it is big truck junk yards. Everything has 4" stuff on it plus all the 90's and 45's you'd ever need.

 

I cut my muffler and got a piece of 3" pipe with one end belled so it will slip over one side of the existing exhaust then got a 3" coupler from Autozone and got three exhaust clamps. Then I got steel bands that are drilled throughout and used the factory rubber hangers that held the muffler, and bolted the drilled steel straps to the hangers and walla better music then what is on the radio

 

Ok, tonight was a total disaster for fabbing my exhaust. I used a 3ft 3" OD exhaust pipe as the replacement for the muffler. Tools used was a sawsall, 2 band clamps, hack saw, and metal strapping. I do not own a welder or have access to one. I did the best I could and it turned out terrible. Tomorrow I will hang my head low walking back into the local muffler shop and wave my white flag of defeat. Note to self: I have never really known anyone personally who had success with fabbing/repairing their exhaust systems in a driveway with exhaust clamps and hand tools.

 

Aw don't beat yourself up over it - live and learn. Now you know it's just not practical trying to do much in the way of exhaust work without a little welding involved.

 

got a hundred bucks tractor supply, or any large hardware store should have a stick welder for ya and you will own a welder or i think a small lincoln mig 110 volt is like $150 in florida. look around short pipe it a while

 

or you could go to a local truck shop or dealer and use i think there 3 in wide bands stainless

 

I did mine in the front yard. A Sawzall and a wire welder. I changed the tailpipe because it turned into the mud flap and burned a hole in it. I used this piece from a Chevy HD2500 that I previously owned and modified the exhaust on.

 

mine was cheap. check out the vid in my signature to see it

 

Ok guys, I just got back from the muffler shop. Everything is all professionally welded up and tight. The guys working at the muffler shop listened to my story and kinda felt bad about my deal. After 10 minutes of work and a few bucks later........I was on the road! I'm pretty happy about it. The pickup sounds a little bit louder at idle, but not much. When you put your foot into it or climb a grade, it really sounds good! I can hear the turbo a lot more now. It's definately not as loud as my friend's pickups..........but I think going to a 4" system with a nice tip and swapping the turbo exhaust housing would really crank up the sound volume. Maybe going to an open-air filter would change the sound? Any thoughts?