Replacing exhaust.... recommendations?

[hat_man]

Hello everyone.

I am having to replace my exhaust basically from the catalytic converter rearwards. The cat has rusted holes on both ends and a little on the seams. I am getting a new complete pipe/cat combination with bungs for the O2 sensors. I will probably order from RockAuto as all we have locally is AZ or O'Rileys.

What I am looking for is if anyone has any recommendations on brands to look for or to stay away from. I have heard of companies like MagnaFlow, Bosal, and Dynamax(?) but I don't know anything about them. Or any other ideas of what I might want.

Also, I am getting new O2 sensors. The old ones are OE I believe. That means they are almost 17 years old and have had 220k miles of exhaust blown over them. But the biggest reason is they are fairly cheap and will probably be a PITA to remove from the old pipe. Are there any brands (Bosch, Motorcraft, Denso, etc.) that are any better or worse than the others?

And finally, any recommendations on mufflers? I know they are all pretty much the same so I guess I am looking more for anything to stay away from or is just a waste of money. I would maybe give up a little on FE for a decrease in decibels. I spend about 3 hours a day in the truck and the quieter the better.

This is my daily driver and sees highway mileage more often than not, but I still want a good compromise of in-town and highway efficiency.

Thanks for the help. I always trust the folks here. We all seem to have the same goals.

[Frank Lee]

I've had good luck with stock-type replacement exhaust parts from Summit Racing- I think the last ones I bought were Walker? I've bought truckloads of parts from Rock Auto too and usually they are OK. Anyway, I'd just go stock replacement for all of it and I don't think there would be much quality variation amongst brands for the pipes. They cut some pipe stock to length, bend it, and weld some hangers on. I would strongly recommend stock-type replacement mufflers over the "hot rod" stuff; the extra noise and resonation issues they inevitably bring do NOT give you any more fe in exchange. O2s- probably any brand is OK but for sure you can't go wrong with Motorcraft for your Ford, or Bosch.

[radioranger]

On this truck like mine a bigger or more free flowing mufler will actually help FE, proff of this to me comes from the fact that whenn my 88's muffler went bad my FE went up over 3+ mpg , the autozone muffler and stock pip is very restrictive, so in this case I would look to a performance type, dynomax isnt bad but flowmaster will last longer, I had a 98 ranger also and I noticed they have a larger size tailpipe I believe, would be worth a look at the pipes side by side , I think your truck is running at a much higher exhaust flow rate than an average eco car and would benefit.

[Frank Lee]

Sorry- I don't see in your fuel log where the supporting evidence is.

[radioranger]

Well I noticed the increase in FE when the muffler really started leaking, granted this is all almost highway - high load conditions, ( very common for a non aerdynamic truck, ) you are putting out much more power than a car per mph on average, proof of this to me comes from the fact my sisters 88 Mustang 2.3 got over 12 mpg more than mine on a trip to fla, mine is the same year , also the more the throttle is open the more important free flowing exhaust would be , seems logical, my escort I just barely touch the throttle, the raanger another story, also ford upped the exhaust pipe and muffler sizes on the late 90's trucks, I had a 98 with the 4 and I noticed it was bigger, also got better fe, but the clincher to me was the immediate decrease in fe when I put the new muffler on, this was on the same almost daily 130 mile round trip , with very light traffic, so just relating my own experiences,

[radioranger]

Back when I drag raced my mustang I went from stock duals to a flowmaster over the axle pipe but kept the old mufflers and went almost 5 mph faster in the quarter, the crinkled up over the axle pipe design doesnt flow very well .

[Frank Lee]

I've never had an altered exhaust increase fe. But I have had them increase noise. Refer to what OP wants as exhibit A.

[hat_man]

That's kind of what I had figured Frank. I was hoping they were all pretty much the same. I'll check out the pricing from Summit and RockAuto to see if either can save me any $$$. Think I'll go with the Motorcraft O2 sensors and a stock muffler. I really didn't want a Thrush or anything like that. Just nice and free flowing and QUIET.

[Frank Lee]

It is said the mandrel bent vs crush bent (ripply inside bends) flows better; perhaps for racing where one is crowding the upper end of the pipe's flow capacity it matters but again I've not detected a difference on the street. Mandrel bent systems are more expensive and harder to find.

[hat_man]

Just curious Frank....with our goal to stay at lower rpm's there wouldn't be as much exhaust "output pressure" as with a racing application staying at much higher rpm's right? I can't see where the more expensive mandrel bend pipes would be of any real world advantage to us. So I guess I am agreeing with you there.

What about the number of bends or "total degrees" of bend in the pipes. I would assume the straighter the better. I know there are a lot of obstacles under there to have to miss but would "re-routing" the exhaust make any real difference? I think the Lightning Rangers and maybe the Splash had a tailpipe that turned about 45° then ducked out the passenger side before the rear wheels. The old tailpipe on mine had at least four 90° bends in it and maybe one smaller bend.

There hasn't been a tailpipe on there for years and I have always just had a turndown pipe after the muffler. Any chance that is helping me? Maybe a pipe something like the Lightning would be a compromise?

Thanks again for the help.