I bought a 2006 Dakota with a 3.7 V6 and figured the first thing I should do would be a brand new exhaust system, from headers to the exhaust tips, is there any system that works better than others or any brand that I should stick to when doing this ? ( also reasonably priced )

 

Gibson -> Magnaflow -> Flowmaster is what I wanted to do. It'll set you back $900-1500 though.

Or just get a dump valve. Which is what I got. Which sounds *****in and does make more power. And it only costs about $160.

 

What exactly is a dump valve ? lol
Also, that's about the price range I was looking for, and I've done some checking around online and it comes up most of the time with headers for the 4.7L, is there any company that makes headers for the 3.7L for Dakota or do I have to do some modifications to the pipes and/or flanges ?

 

I was looking into this when I had my dak, the only headers that I could find for the 3.7 were made to fit the Liberty/Nitro. Since the current manifolds on the dak have different part numbers then the ones on the liberty/nitro, I would have to say that the headers for the liberty/nitro do not fit, or would need some custom work to allow them to connect to the rest of the exhaust system, or they could interfere with the inner fender, or not allow the steering shaft to fit or any other countless issues in making them work.

 

So the only way to get that perfect fit without interfering with the steering column or anything else, would be to get it custom? Also I've decided to run a Gibson cat-back dual exhaust with the magnaflow super 40 series mufflers, and the truck itself is automatic and without a turbo so the turbo-back system was out of the question, along with the dump valve. About how much might it cost for a local place to fab up a custom set of headers ?

 

forget headers, waste of money, keep factory manifolds and just get a larger y-pipe, what good is a header that flows into the restricted pipe, useless, unless you don't mind wasting money, if you live in a high salt area for winter stay away from junkmaster, it will rot out in 2 years, go stainless like magnaflow, spend now and you wont have to worry later

 

X2 on what superdak says. Headers are worthless. Stock manifolds flow just fine. Replace the y pipe and get a magnaflow catback.

 

X2 on what JKeaton said... but emphasis on stainless steel. I got Magnaflow stainless muffler and extended tips ( not the short little bolt on ones)... After a few Ohio winters their holding up good. Got a lot of surface dirt/corrosion due to my lack of maintaining, but with a bit of elbow grease they came back looking pretty darn good. BUT my word of caution would be on 2 things... 1. Your choice of pipes. 2. The guy welding it on.

1. First, know exactly the dimensions of the pipes, inlet, outlet inner and outer diameters (if poss. I'd scribe or somehow mark/label under truck what they are, so in the future if you gotta make any adjustments or get new hangers etc. you know exactly the sizes you need)

2. If you get good quality (i.e. Magnaflow) muffler and tips, it really don't matter who makes the actual pipes, just the quality of the material (Type of alloy, diameter, thickness or gauge). Most exhaust garages have their own pipes to shape, cut, bend etc. and they'll usually have 3 options: cheap steel, galvanized or aluminized steel, or stainless. Cheap steel will rust easily, gal or alum steel will hold up a bit better, but will eventually rust, stainless will/should hold up the best...if you got the extra bucks stick with stainless through and through.

3. The day you get the job done, if you're taking somewhere to do the work try to pick a day that they're not too busy, plus it don't hurt to tip the guy doing the install a few bucks...but, the point is you don't want him to rush the job and only get a bare minimum of a bead on all the connecting points. If able, make sure the guy doing it is a good welder, but at least emphasize that you you want good welds (i.e. TIG). I say this because I back up and tapped a low concrete barrier...but, it was enough that it broke the tail pipe right at the weld seam going into the muffler, instead of the force being absorbed into the rubber hangers. Yes, an easy fix to weld back on, but why have to worry about it.

4. A bigger less restricted Y-pipe is def a good way to go, but they can be pricey, esp if you have a place make you a custom one. The biggest problem with the stock Y-pipe is the point where the right and left pipes coming from the manifold join together. To save time and money, the manufacturer decided to just pinch both pipes and cram them into the larger one going back to the muffler... instead of taking the time to make a couple bevel cuts and weld them all together with no pinching. So, instead of getting a whole new Y-pipe, you might be able to save some money and just have a shop make you a new 3-way connection sans pinching/cramming...make sense?

 

Thanks for all the help ! Really influenced my next purchase and how I'm gonna setup my exhaust. Hopefully she sounds a whole lot meaner and louder than before !!!

 

I always like the deep sound of Magnaflow. For a louder exhaust, Flowmaster gets my vote.