first off hi im new just found the site. second i recently bought a 97 ram 2500 4x4 extended cab, 5.9l v8. when i bought it i knew there were some issues with it but after looking into the exhaust sytem i found i really need help. so the moron who owned it before me put aftermarket headers on the truck, normally not a problem except they are not CA approved and threw away the stock set. second they had just run straight pipe out from there. once again throwing away essentials like o2's cat and muffler. when they went to sell it they grabbed bits and pieces from who knows where and threw it together. so now i have horrible exhaust leaks, gas mileage, and assuming the slight miss fire i feel and hear are from the exhaust as well. does this sound right? would the exhaust issues cause a missfire? i figured gas mileage and the smell of raw fuel in the exhaust was mostlikely caused by the o2's missing and preventing the comp from ever leaving open loop and just dumping fuel. and second does anyone know where i can find some images of diagrams of how my exhaust should look? where everything is supposed to be? how many o2's and locations? im currently trying to piece together all the important stuff and then take it to a shop to have it welded up properly. oh and does anyone run the flowmaster 40 series on this model and if so how does it sound?

thank you for reading my long winded intro to your group and thanks in advance for any help you all may give.

mike

 

I hope you got a good deal on that truck. CA systems aren't something I know about, But I know there is a difference. If the O2 sensors aren't stock they could be causing engine problems as well as the catalytic converter. I also believe I heard CA systems have a pre-cat as well.

Oh, and Welcome to the fourms

 

ya im not to familiar with the CA systems either i recently moved out here from colorado for school so its actually pretty different. and as for the o2's its not that they are aftermarket they just arent there at all there are no o2's in the entire system and no bungs even welded into the system where they should be.

oh and ya i feel like i got a good deal paid 2000 for the truck with 147000 miles on it and its actually in really good condition. it drives very good too i bought the truck and then drove it 137 miles home with out any issues no overheating or funky oil pressures.

 

I have a cali ram which also happens to be a 1997. I can safely say that your rig has 1 pre and 1 post O2 sensor. the pre O2 sensor goes in the cat and the post goes in the intermediate pipe,about a foot and a half from the back of the cat. Hope that answered some of your questions. Where in cali did you move to?

This should also help: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ram-1500s.html

 

i moved to sacramento nice out here i guess but definitely not enough snow for me lol. and yes that helps alot seemed like everytime i looked for stuff online i was just finding the prices of parts for the truck not the locations. ill have to post a pic tomorrow of the truck and of the shotty exhaust system. the welds look like a 2 year old did them and i was told i would fail smog just from inspection lol. but thank you for the info.....just hoping they left the wiring under the truck for the o2's now.

 

I use to live in stockton, right off of Hammer lane. I just could never get use to those summers out there...or that damn tully fog. Its so thick, you can't see crap while driving. If your ever down in stockton, visit the pick n pull out there. Its pretty big. Take it easy bud...welcome to Cali!!!

 

ok so i got to the exhaust shop today and found out the headers are actually CA approved they found the sticker i didnt know what i was looking for lol. they told me its gonna cost about 600 to get the new cat and flow master 40 series installed properly. not too bad. i also found the o2's zip tied up on the truck and installe dhtem but go figure they were trashed so gotta get them replaced now too. so i think im on the righ ttrack now thanks for the help guys.

 

I got a full dual exhaust setup from the bone yard for $40. If your coming by the bay area, I have the tale pipe from the muffler back that you can have for free.

 

make sure the cat is EXACTLY like the stock setup, or they WILL fail you visually at the smog check. CA is no joke when it comes to smog .... if it isn't set up exactly like the stock CA ram, it won't pass. You are lucky those headers had the CARB sticker ....

 

I'm no lawyer; but I seem to remember hearing somewhere or another that if a vehicle is sold with emissions devices purposely defeated (gutted cat, or complete lack thereof), the seller is financially responsible for the complete restoration of the emissions system.

That is to say: the person you bought the truck from is legally obliged to pay for your new cat (possibly the muffler too), and all installation costs to bring it back up to spec. Might be worth looking into if you're not opposed to taking him to court.

This would be void of course if you signed some kind of agreement stating that you knew the emissions were defeated, and waived your rights to sue (highly unlikely that this happened if you bought it in the private sector--i.e. for sale by owner).