Just wanted to give some helpful hints to anyone who will be installing an MBRP exhaust.
1. Forget anything but cutting out the old exhaust. Most bolts and joints are too rusted.

2. The bolts that connect the flange on the downtube to the turbo will likely need to be replaced. They are metric (?size) and will need to be 1/2 to 1" longer. These were not included with the kit.

3. I had trouble making the last connection betweent the tailpipe section and the "muffler delete" section. What I did was remove the spare tire, attach a rachet strap to the rear hitch and then to the hanger on the tailpipe. Then gently pulled the whole tailpipe assembly rearward enough that the male-female joint was able to slip together. No cutting of any exhaust pipes to make this fit. Went together perfectly.

Overall very nice unit, hangers all welded and fit well, but the above points should have been in the instructions.
Now these points I mentioned may all be well known to members on this board, but I thought I had some valuable info to pass on. I feel that I need to return the favor to many who have provided excellent info on this board in the past.

 

Buz,

Excellent info, probably saved us 10 phone calls this week, we appreciate it!!

Mark @ DPPI

 

Buz,

What size and length bolts did you end up using? Any tips for reaching up to the bolts on the underside of the turbo? That is my last part to do. I am having a hard time using a ratchet there. I will probably go and buy a smaller one tomorrow.

thanks,
Bob

 

I just put a Pacbrake on my 98.5 and used long extension from underneath...worked fine with my air ratchet.

 

This was from a post I did after installing my MBRP:
(and I did NOT need longer bolts to bolt the new down pipe to the turbo)

Just put my 4" on last night and am all
I have an '02 quad cab, shortbed 4x4.
To remove the old system, you need a 13 mm socket to get the down pipe bolts out. I used about every extension in my tool box and came at them from the bottom, seemed easier than from the top (plus you don't have room for a breaker bar from the top, I needed one to get them loose). Next, I used sawzall and cut the system in two places, one between the muffler and the tail pipe and another between the down pipe and the muffler. Take a bunch of WD-40 and spray on the rubber hangers, this makes getting the stock pieces out much easier. Next up, put the new down pipe in. I lubed it up with every cuss word I knew. It will only go in one way, but it will go. I bolted it up loosely to get an idea of where it would be. After that, I hung the muffler and the new tailpipe. I then measured from the end of the down pipe to the input of the muffler and cut the remaining piece of pipe to length (the kit is for all cab configurations/wheel bases). I cut about 16 1/2" off for my truck (see above). I then unloosened the downpipe bolts and put the cut pipe inbetween the muffler and dowwpipe. This was the hardest part. The next hard part was getting the hanger that is on the down pipe in place (the one that slides in next to the tranny). The whole assembley had to be pulled back a bit to let the hanger slide in. A ratchet strap on the frame and the hanger helped pull it back far enough so that the hanger could be put into place. Next, I bolted up the downpipe (used a swivel joint on the socket this time) and installed the clamps. You will need a 9/16" deep-well socket for the the clamps.
Fired it up, checked for leaks and took it for a spin

Tools needed:
13 mm socket
9/16" deep-well socket
Lots of extensions
breaker bar
Sawzall
WD-40
Liberal amount of cuss words

~Rob

 

I installed an XP exhaust last weekend. New bolts were supplied for the downpipe. 10mm, had a 15mm head on the bolt instead of the 13 like stock. Used a 24" extenstion to get them from underneath. I put the down pipe in first, did the tail pipe and muffler, and then fit the extension pipe in last. If you leave the hangers off the muffler and leave the downpipe bolts loose, you can just pull both down to let the extension pipe slide in. Or if you have a LWB truck, just work your way back and you won't need to fool around with it, since you don't need to cut the extension pipe.

 

Thanks guys! Will let you know how it turns out. I am off to buy a sawzall...