how difficult is it to do an exhaust upgrade on a 97 3500 p/u, entire system,

Depends on what you consider difficult, What tools you have. Experience etc. If you have a hoist, air tools, a torch and some knowledge it is simple. If you are laying in six inches of mud and snow with a cheap set of wrenches, not so simple. There is no shortage of good exhaust systems out there starting around $500-$600. More $ in Canada.

My BD exhaust was $500 and it was around a 2 hour install. I bet if i did it again i could have it done in an hour.

Heath Dsl has a "True" bolt on system. Uses the OEM frame mounted struts/hangers & the kit clamps/hangers interfaces with the OEM parts. The 3 in. system is very quiet & the 4in. system is noisy IMO. Get it with the down pipe & engine crossover pipe.

I made a 3" exhaust for my truck for $71. Did it lying out on the side walk with common hand tools, pipe cut off tool, and lots of swearing.

I made a 3" exhaust for my truck for $71. Did it lying out on the side walk with common hand tools, pipe cut off tool, and lots of swearing.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :):(:(:( SOUNDS LIKE ME!

I put the hearthrob exhaust on my 95 k2500 ld. It is designed for 92-93. I had to redo all the hangers[should have gone to the junkyard and got 93 hangers]. I broke all but one bolt off for the crossover. It took the better part of a day mostly because of the broken bolts. I have a welder and a torch and air tools. Cost about $600 with all flanges and new studs/springs. Its a 3" dp and 4" pipes. It fit nice and not too loud.

Well, one ton... I think your question is pretty much answered. It is doable by yourself without all the right tools, but you will bleed or smash a finger so bad you might pee a little. If you are doing flange back, make sure you soak the bolts in PB Blaster.

In retrospect, if I ever had to do it again, I'd drive the truck to an exhaust shop, slap the kit on the floor, and say "I'll be back later"

exhaust install is easy! Almost all new aftermarket exhaust systems folow the factory system to include connections and hangers places.

To make it easier invest our borrow a saw zaw to cut out the old exhaust. This will save you time on getting the old out and the new in. If you have to unbolt anything PB blast the nuts and bolts so they break free easier than with out it.

I replaced mine with a 4" turbo back in about 4 hours. The biggest problem I ran into was hooking up the new downtube. I didn't have anyone to help me and it took forever to get the clamp on. Having someone crawl under the truck and hold the new downtube up would have saved at least 90 minutes and 3 beers.:D

-Rj-

wow, I guess i'll give it a shot? maybe



which exhaust should i go with?

i have seen the cheap one on ebay - aluminized steel. about $300 including the downpipe and $65 for the 2.5" cross over. i see Heath is $500 + $160 for the cross over and BD i found one site that sells them for around $700 with no cross over. what's the best choice for the 4" turbo back (i guess 3" down pipe)? and 2.5" cross over? '96 Sierra ext cab 6.5l.

I just bought the cheapie on fleabay, but i paid 259, if u tell the guy you dont want the muffler he includes a muffler eliminator piece for less money. I should have mine in a week or so, we will find out, if i dont like it i will return it (my office can give me cheap ship rates) but it says comparable to ss diesel and other kits, heaths is so expensive because i believe it is stainless steel. My truck needs an exhaust bad and i dont have the money for the stainless. We will see......

I went turbo to stern in about 2.5 hrs.... didn't rush it everything fit, hangers weren't a problem.... a sawsall is your friend in removing the old one... 4" with muffler and a turndown pipe on the end to keep the soot off the TT....

well worth the investment, mileage wise and hot rodders keep rackin their straight pipes at me.....

Is the mileage notice able with the 4'' stove pipe exhaust?? I get like 13 now and thats not to good........ (i have a stock system including im sure a clogged smoke box)

Mine improved mileage by at least 1 mpg. What I really noticed was the throttle response, much quicker. Leo

My next exhaust will be a strait pipe. This truck already had a 3" system on it when I got it. I replaced the rotten down pipe with the 2nd aftermarket down pipe. I have driven a twin truck with a strait pipe. And a friend will do it for $100. From the down pipe out the back.

I replaced the exhaust in my '95 k1500 extended cab shortbox, and the one in my 1999 Suburban k2500. The Suburban was harder because the downpipe is closer to the frame. I believe the frame is heavier on the 3/4 ton where the downpipe comes down. Both replaced with 4" off the bay. Both under $300.00+shipping. Relatively easy installation. Definitely easier to have someone hold the downpipe while you put on the clamp. EGT's lower and throttle response improved.

ill make sure to have an extra set of hands!!!

Warpspeed 4"-- Good people to deal with. Shipping to Hi. would have been as much as the exh. but they packed it so I saved a bunch! Sounds great. Gotta love people who go out of their way to save me money.

I have a cat conv. on the truck now should i completely remove it when i do the exhaust or leave it on? It does go through emissions here in Ct.
97 3500 p/u

I have a cat conv. on the truck now should i completely remove it when i do the exhaust or leave it on? It does go through emissions here in Ct.
97 3500 p/u
Not really a cat converter per se, it's actually just a soot trap. I'd lose it if you can pass the visual that way. It will make the truck run so much better your emissions will probably be less than it is now.
The factory exhaust is like 2.75 inch, plus the soot trap which gets more blocked and restrictive every time you drive.
When I took my soot trap off, several techs I talked to about it didn't even know diesels came with "converters", so they wouldn't have noticed it gone on a visual inspection.
A mechanic friend of mine noticed mine recently when he got under the bed to cut a rusted bolt off for me.
He looked all around and said, "hey, where's your muffler?"
I said "why, is it loud?"
He says "no, I mean I don't see one."
I said, "huh, I wonder where it could have gone?"
He said "how do you get an inspection sticker with no muffler?"
And I said, "why, is it loud?"
And so on.

I live here in Connecticut does anyone here live in Ct. and removed there soot trap? And did you have a problem going through emissions?

Well installed my warpspeed exhaust, the turbo downpipe clamp was super rusty. The nut was rusted so small that it looked as if there was no nut on there to begin with. Had to take the whole rusty fender off and cut it with a sawzall. PIMA!!!!! All done though, sounds good, doesnt have the knocky idle as much as it used to, i like it...

ive got a 98 K1500 6.5 TD but im havin a hard time finding a good exhast for it , 98 was like a transition phase for the silverado any suggestions??

Well installed my warpspeed exhaust, the turbo downpipe clamp was super rusty. The nut was rusted so small that it looked as if there was no nut on there to begin with. Had to take the whole rusty fender off and cut it with a sawzall. PIMA!!!!! All done though, sounds good, doesnt have the knocky idle as much as it used to, i like it...


Thats what mine looks like. How did you re-attach it if you sawzalled it off?

I put the Diamond Eye 4" from Ebay and the 2.5" crossover from Warpspeed on a little more than a month ago. Took a better part of a day to get it done. Factory hanger locations were used, though the 1st hanger(towards front of truck) couldn't be utilized and the 2nd one I had to have the kit's hanger modified. Have some spare jackstands handy and you can mock the whole thing up under the truck in the position you want. I didn't have any problem with the DP: I toof out my airbox and had a pretty easy time getting on. (Alright, a little swearing) Sounds great.
Price: $284,$70, respectively.
I have a thread with finshed pics and video with new sound posted here.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=313678

How hard is it to remove the nuts from the manifold studs. How do you free them if they are rusted?

Moved to Fuel System, Air, Exhaust, & Emissions Upgrades...