- Joined
- Oct 25, 2013
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- 273
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- Ram Year
- 2016
- Engine
- 6.4
I recently had the opportunity to meet with a local Ram owner who purchased the Stainless Works Factory Connect exhaust with S-tube mufflers. I traveled about an hour to help our customer install his new exhaust system and take some pictures. It was a win-win for both of us since we discovered that the Stainless Works cat back does indeed fit the Regular Cab Ram without modification.
The installation is very straight forward, and honestly most of the time was spent removing the old rusted exhaust system and then making sure the new 5" SW tips were PERFECTLY aligned in the bumper cutouts
.
* The factory exhaust system is stainless steel, but it's not 304 grade like the Stainless Works system is. The factory exhaust is 409 grade or similar, and it can develop a significant amount of surface rust in wet/salty areas of the country.
The Stainless Works 304 grade stainless will never develop surface rust, you may only experience slight bluing or discoloration from heat cycling the metal.
1. You will want to soak all of your factory exhaust connections and clamps with PB Blaster or WD-40 Penetrating Oil. If you can let it sit for 12+ hours, that would be ideal. If you have access to a torch that may also be helpful in making short work of the factory exhaust removal.
2. Next, and prior to removing any part of your factory exhaust, lay out the new system and do a thorough inventory of the parts. Anyone who has installed anything on their truck knows there's always a possibility for small parts to be missing. In our case, it was all good and we proceeded with the removal of the factory Ram exhaust.
3. For the removal and installation process, you will need a metric socket set, a pry bar, a rubber mallet, and some High Temp Copper Gasket Maker. We recommend that you clean all connections with brake cleaner put a thin coating of the gasket maker on all slip fit connections. Don't overdo it, but use enough so it squeezes out when the clamps are tightened. Excess can be wiped clean with brake cleaner.
4. Begin by installing the Y pipe to the factory mid pipe. Cleaning the male end of the factory mid pipe with emery cloth and brake cleaner is recommended.
From there you will install the two muffler pipes which are clearly marked left and right. You will want to orient the muffler inlet pipes so the bends draw outboard. Doing this will ensure you leave enough space between the mufflers to reduce the chance of them contacting each other or producing excess vibration. Snug down the clamps, but don't Hercules them just yet.
5. Install the mufflers, paying attention to their proper orientation. The offset side will be the outlet. The mufflers are not side specific.
6. Working front to back, align the left and right tailpipes which, again, are clearly marked by Stainless Works with a Sharpie. You can slide the hangers on to the tail pipes and begin to roughly align them toward the bumper cut out. Twisting the tail pipes will have an effect on their lateral alignment due to the upward bends.
7. Loosely clamp the tips on to the tail pipes and begin final alignment. When you feel the alignment is close, you can begin tightening the Y pipe and muffler inlet pipes. We recommend first using a rubber mallet to seat all of the muffler slip fit connections tightly.
The tail pipes to muffler connection and all rear hangers should be left snug during the final alignment. This may take you 2-3 times to get it just right. If you have a helper, start twisting the tail pipes and shifting the hangers until you're satisfied with the alignment of the tips.
8. Tighten all of your clamps and hangers. Double check them. If you are using air tools, we recommend going over once more by hand. These clamps will need to be fairly tight to achieve a leak-free seal. I'm guessing 75 lb-ft or more.
9. We decided to install the tips so the top of the slash cut was flush with the bumper cutout. You may find the length of the tailpipes to be slightly different left to right. Your final length and tip alignment can be adjusted by sliding the tailpipe in or out of the tip.
10. Once everything is tight, we recommend cleaning the entire system with brake cleaner and a rag. This will remove any excess gasket maker, fingerprints and manufacturing oil. Fingerprints will burn into the surface of the stainless once heated and will be much harder to remove. You can also cut down on any oil burning off upon initial start up.
11. Start her up, double check for leaks, you're done! Enjoy it.
Total install time: 2-4 hours
The installation is very straight forward, and honestly most of the time was spent removing the old rusted exhaust system and then making sure the new 5" SW tips were PERFECTLY aligned in the bumper cutouts
.* The factory exhaust system is stainless steel, but it's not 304 grade like the Stainless Works system is. The factory exhaust is 409 grade or similar, and it can develop a significant amount of surface rust in wet/salty areas of the country.
The Stainless Works 304 grade stainless will never develop surface rust, you may only experience slight bluing or discoloration from heat cycling the metal.
1. You will want to soak all of your factory exhaust connections and clamps with PB Blaster or WD-40 Penetrating Oil. If you can let it sit for 12+ hours, that would be ideal. If you have access to a torch that may also be helpful in making short work of the factory exhaust removal.
2. Next, and prior to removing any part of your factory exhaust, lay out the new system and do a thorough inventory of the parts. Anyone who has installed anything on their truck knows there's always a possibility for small parts to be missing. In our case, it was all good and we proceeded with the removal of the factory Ram exhaust.
3. For the removal and installation process, you will need a metric socket set, a pry bar, a rubber mallet, and some High Temp Copper Gasket Maker. We recommend that you clean all connections with brake cleaner put a thin coating of the gasket maker on all slip fit connections. Don't overdo it, but use enough so it squeezes out when the clamps are tightened. Excess can be wiped clean with brake cleaner.
4. Begin by installing the Y pipe to the factory mid pipe. Cleaning the male end of the factory mid pipe with emery cloth and brake cleaner is recommended.
From there you will install the two muffler pipes which are clearly marked left and right. You will want to orient the muffler inlet pipes so the bends draw outboard. Doing this will ensure you leave enough space between the mufflers to reduce the chance of them contacting each other or producing excess vibration. Snug down the clamps, but don't Hercules them just yet.
5. Install the mufflers, paying attention to their proper orientation. The offset side will be the outlet. The mufflers are not side specific.
6. Working front to back, align the left and right tailpipes which, again, are clearly marked by Stainless Works with a Sharpie. You can slide the hangers on to the tail pipes and begin to roughly align them toward the bumper cut out. Twisting the tail pipes will have an effect on their lateral alignment due to the upward bends.
7. Loosely clamp the tips on to the tail pipes and begin final alignment. When you feel the alignment is close, you can begin tightening the Y pipe and muffler inlet pipes. We recommend first using a rubber mallet to seat all of the muffler slip fit connections tightly.
The tail pipes to muffler connection and all rear hangers should be left snug during the final alignment. This may take you 2-3 times to get it just right. If you have a helper, start twisting the tail pipes and shifting the hangers until you're satisfied with the alignment of the tips.
8. Tighten all of your clamps and hangers. Double check them. If you are using air tools, we recommend going over once more by hand. These clamps will need to be fairly tight to achieve a leak-free seal. I'm guessing 75 lb-ft or more.
9. We decided to install the tips so the top of the slash cut was flush with the bumper cutout. You may find the length of the tailpipes to be slightly different left to right. Your final length and tip alignment can be adjusted by sliding the tailpipe in or out of the tip.
10. Once everything is tight, we recommend cleaning the entire system with brake cleaner and a rag. This will remove any excess gasket maker, fingerprints and manufacturing oil. Fingerprints will burn into the surface of the stainless once heated and will be much harder to remove. You can also cut down on any oil burning off upon initial start up.
11. Start her up, double check for leaks, you're done! Enjoy it.
Total install time: 2-4 hours
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