LOLOL. Yep. Familiar with that exercise.

 

You ought to have the plenum leak sorted before dropping the cash on a high flow cat as that oil burning problem will kill cats. The plenum fix is always the recomended first mod on this forum since they all fail soon after the truck is new. Sounds lame until you actually do it and see how much better your truck runs for it. A badly blown plenum that gets fixed will add more horsepower than headers. Sounds like you may have a sticking lifter or something going on in there too.

 

+1... It's all getting done backwards.

 

Its all getting done period so the order doesnt matter. Im lazy so I am doig the things that require the least amount of effort or that I am the most familiar with. Completely redoing the tie-rods, u-joints and balljoints for example for me is an hour or 2 of work where as the plemun is uncharted territory. So they get done first. lol

By next week or so it will all be done either way. Everything I buy gets headers, intake and exhaust period, so i usually just throw them on first.

 

Sounds logical...

 

Plenum was fine as Expected. this crate motor only has 40-60 k on it and it hardly got used. the guy who bought it put a load of cash into the block and tranny then couldnt afford to fix up the rest. thats where I can in, BUT!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The headers did wonders and I expected a bit more from the new y pipe. BUt wow!!!! It is like night and day with this new 2-1/2" custom Y. If you do any exhaust work to a second Gen dodge, do the y-pipe first!!! The muffler guys scoffed when I said what I wanted but my Butt Dyno is screaming hell yea. lol


The new system goes from 1-1/2" primaries [pace setter] to a set of custom 2.5" pipes that meet at a dual 2.5" y inlet with a 3" outlet, that is welded strait from there to a 3" high flow CAT [Magnaflow 642-99009HM] then ties right into my existing 3" flowmaster exhaust.

The guy ended up charging me a tad more [$160] rather than the $70-100 he quoted me but it was worth every single penny. the cat and the y-pipe were another $130. And the cat back systems cost roughly $450. so roughly $750 [most muffler shops that do custom systems with headers will charge upwards of $1500-2000] and it transformed my truck into a monster. I am just glad I was not the one that had to pay for the internal work.

The crate motor in it had a over sized cam and 1.7 rockers apparently, but the guy never opened up the exhaust. he put a 3" flowmaster on the end of it, but left the manifolds that opened into a 2" pipe that tapered back down to a 1-3/4" pip then back to a 2" cat and then a 2" piece with the bung in it that had to be slipped into the 3" exhaust. The muffler guy and I were laughing at it. It was pretty bad. I just had him cut the entire thing out and make a smooth continuous 2.5" from teh collectors to the y- and the opened it up to 3" at the cat. I have nothing to compare it to but I have read that the 3" cat is the way to go. Either way the back pressure feels just right. there is constant power under the pedal all through the throttle range and it never hits a flat spot.

It was worth every penny. I drove that truck with the headers and 3" exhaust for months. But complete with the new y and no restriction and now I do not even have to downshift to pass on the highway.

With the internal work and the intake exhaust combo. I wish I had an idea of how much horse power I really have... I now it has go to be close to 300 at this point. It pulls almost as good as my buddies New 345hp hemi and his tires are only 33"s. And I still get 14 mpg in town driving it like a sportscar!! woot! lol

 

I love it when a plan comes together.