installed muffler today. 1) sprayed all rubber hanger bushings with silicone and disconnected the 2 rear and 1 middle rubber bushings and tailpipe, 2) used sawzall and cut old muffler out on both ends as close to the muffler as I could... it fell right to the ground, 3) slit remaining pipe ring on the cat side of pipe and pried it off.. it also fell to the ground, 4) slid new muffler onto pipe and clamped it on tight, 5) slid 24 inch turn down pipe onto the rear of new muffler and positioned it straight down, 6) used sawzall and grinder to cut out and deburr and smooth out the middle hanger, 7) re-connected the hanger rubber grommets onto the metal studs and strapped the hanger onto the turndown with a 3.5 inch radiator clamp X2, it barely reached but it did.. (this is temporary and I will have that piece welded this week). Mission complete. Test drove just fine. The old muffler was loud and I thought the magnaflow would be even louder... turned out the old one had a hole in it, and the new one was actually quieter... funny!!! I can still hear that low rumble they are famous for. If i get increased MPG or power, I don't really care anymore... I got a new muffler and I did myself and it went pretty smooth... with help from you brothers on this site of course... Thanks again.

 

magnaflow 12256 and 24 inch turndown

Hanger ready for reinstall

 

Some of your pictures didn't load all the way but congrats! Don't you love the feeling of doing it yourself!?

 

F yea!!

 

That's what keeps me going, the feeling of accomplishment. I started when I was 6 with my dad. Ever since then I have been hooked. Working on cars is my high, it gives me my highs and lows

 

I hear ya brother....I know cutting a muffler off and fitting a new one on is small potatoes... but hey... you're right... I feel good about that.... I've been messing around with cars too for a while...when cars had points and rotors timing marks.....and mechanical fuel pumps.... yea.. I'm old...lol....I had to get different tools...metric...and code readers.... and finally got the right kind of air compressor couple years ago...ya know...the kind... enough cfm... not psi... so I'm learning and like you said...enjoying every minute of it... thanks to sites like this and you guys input... thanks again yo!!!

 

I didn't contribute but you are welcome! I know points to! My 64 Dodge Polara and 56 Dodge Custom Royal has them! I converted my 69 Charger to electronic ignition this summer, more reliable.

 

I know this is a little bit later but glad to see you got it fixed, the new battery actually didn't end up fixing my problem, but, I did fix it after cleaning out the throttle body and IAC and IAC passage, they were absolutely filthy, about 3 rags were totally ruined with gunk afterward. With a whole tuneup done a year ago, new map and o2 for good measure earlier this year, new fuel pump about a month ago, new battery, and IAC and throttle body cleaned out, this truck should last me quite a few more years troublefree hopefully.

I absolutely hate the cold weather, so, when it warms up in the spring I'll probably finally replace my slowly leaking waterpump, I'm honestly not sure if it's the gasket or the pump but if I'm in that deep I might as well replace the pump. I'll need to get my dad to help me on that one. Not a god awful leak, I have to add coolant roughly every 100 miles but I really don't put very many miles on a vehicle per year so it hasn't been a huge deal....and tighten my steering box up so the wheel has less play, and the truck will be totally set.

I do wish I had an extended cab short bed instead of regular cab long bed, but, this truck has been quite reliable to me. I got it when it was neglected with 224k miles on it and slowly fixed it up myself.

I have really been thinking about changing mufflers myself, the cherry bomb extreme dual exhaust is quite loud lol. A magnaflow dumped near the back axel or even a dual or single side exit before the wheel on the side would be relatively cheap. Which muffler did you get, and is there anyway you could post a youtube sound clip of it? When I look online I can't find very much info at all about 2nd gen rams using magaflows, only a couple vids. I'd like a nice rumble without being annoyingly loud as the cherry bomb extreme is...it's basically a straight pipe

 

I got the magnaflow 12256.. 18inch... 2.5 in, 2.5 out...center/offset configuration. I just put on 300 miles on it and it got a little louder but not obnoxious. Sounds even better to me than when I first put it in 3 weeks ago. I read a few other places that it takes about 300 or more miles to break in and it would get a little louder... like I said tho, not too loud at all... but has that famous rumble... no drone at all. I found a couple youtube vids with soundclips with the exact same muffler, but on different vehicles, but I didn't think it was an accurate display. I guess ya just have to trust others opinions... LOL... that's what I did and I was very pleased with the results. I read that the 24 inch magnaflow would be too quiet and the 14 inch would be too loud... so I took a chance and went with the 18 inch. I also have the 5.2 V8 on a 1999 1500 and it seems perfect for it. There are a lot of choices out there... after research, I concluded that the strait through style with minimal tailpipe seemed best for airflow and sound. I put the 24 inch turndown dumped before the rearend like you said. I thought that with that short of a tailpipe it might leak exhaust fumes up into the cabin... but not at all... can't smell a thing, not even when it's sitting idling.... I turned the dump straight down instead of to the side... the muffler cost me $83 on amazon, $24 for the turn down, $8 for 2 muffler clamps...Ah yea.. mine is pretty much stock.. I only put the muffler in, cleaned the TB and IAC thoroughly like you, dropped in a spectre oiled air filter with the stock air box, upgraded spark plug wires and that's about it...and I can tell the difference in idle, response and acceleration.. Go for it!!!!

 

Law requires that the exhaust exits behind the passenger area, for just the reason you were thinkin'. So, as long as you aren't dumping it under the cab, you should be fine. (both legally, and odor-wise. )