When I bought the car, the exhaust was basically stock with the exception of some a Flowmaster 2 1/4 cat-back system. For those that do not know, the exhaust system on the Mustang is divided into three sections: Headers, Mid Pipe and Cat-Back.
The first problem I had was with a heat shield for one of the catalytic converters rattling. The stock mid pipe has not two, but FOUR cats. Its also VERY heavy. I decided to find a replacement for this. It didn't take me long to find a stainless steel H pipe, with cats. I had it shipped to my house for about 120$. The cats were hollowed out which basically made this an off-road mid pipe. Stainless also means no rusting! The nice part about where I live is that my county requires only a visual emissions inspection. That means that they look at the exhaust, see the cats are there, and I pass.
I spent some time removing the stock mid pipe and installing the new one. Without going into details, it takes some time laying under the car, and safety glasses are a must with all the rust falling into your face. I learned a few things while I was doing the installation. The studs on the headers were rusted almost completely away. I was able to get some of a nut threaded on there, but I was sure it was not going to hold for long. The best way to fix the headers is to, well, replace them with newer ones! I'll get to that part in a minute. The second thing I learned is that the mid pipe is 2.5 inch and the cat back was 2.25 inch. I was barely able to make the two seal up. the ball flanges on the mid pipe were just too big for the socket flange on the cat back. It worked, but I figured that the cat back will also need to be replaced. The Flowmaster cat back is made out of 'aluminized steel', and that rusts over time. It was definitely showing its age. I'll get to that part after I talk about the headers.
I did some shopping online and found a set of BBK ceramic unequal headers, used for 80$ They needed some work. The collector flange is threaded so that the header studs can be screwed into there, and replaced if needed. Apparently someone had stripped one and used a nut / bolt instead. I took the headers over to my buddy's place, along with some threaded bolts, the correct thread for the flanges - hardened steel. We used a band saw to cut the bolt heads off, then threaded them into the flanges. Then welded the flange to the bolt. We also straightened the flanges, and the collector ball flange as well. The BBK name plate also needed to be welded back onto the header. Once the headers were ready, I touched up some of the rust spots with some silver header paint. I then sourced some set screws, stainless lock washers and nuts from the hardware store and made myself a header stud kit. I bought the fel-pro exhaust gaskets and I was ready for the install.
I started on the drivers side and removed that header. I scraped off the old header gasket. These BBK headers did not have one solid flange where it meets the exhaust port. They were individual, and they had warped over time. This made the install a 'one bolt at a time' affair. I also had to employ a pry bar to line up some of the bolt holes for the set screws. This took much longer than I thought, but I eventually got it all to work. I moved onto the passenger side. I removed the cold air intake and began to work on the EGR tube. This is a tube that connects the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve with the header tube. I used a torch to heat the fittings and eventually was able to remove them. The tube came out, I removed all the bolts for the header and removed the stock one. Again I cleaned the gasket surfaces and began the affair of installing the header stud kit one bolt at a time. The left most and right most set screws are first, then I hang the exhaust gasket on them, and install the BBK header. I put each nut on with a couple turns and began the install of the rest. Eventually it was all tightened up. I would like to mention the reason behind using header studs rather than the bolts. The stock bolts typically work well, but they were very rusted. The header studs don't back out, and the stainless washers and nuts will not rust. They work well, and they last forever!
I came to the part where I needed to install the EGR tube, and its the wrong size. A quick call to BBK revealed that I needed their EGR tube, the stock one will not work. They sent it and a few days later it showed up. Because of this one detail, my car was in pieces for a few days. Live and learn! The new headers were installed, and I finished up installing the cold air and other parts I needed to remove to make room for the headers. When the EGR tube showed up, I installed it. The mid pipe and header install was a noticeable difference in the seat of the pants feel. It surely felt stronger! I was very happy with the mid pipe and headers.
A few months down the line, I developed an exhaust leak. I started my car getting ready to leave work and it made that aweful exhaust leak noise. I couldn't find where the leak was, so I drove home and put it up in the air. What I found was that the passenger side cat back socket flange had broken off where it meets the cat back exhaust tube that goes to the muffler. The rust had taken its casualty. The good part was that I had a spare set of mufflers with no tail pipes. They had 'turn downs' right on the end of the mufflers. Typically they are referred to as 'dumped'. I put them on for the time being. They were also a flow through muffler, so they were loud. It just wasn't right for my car. Time to do some shopping!
I ordered 2.5 polished stainless steel Thrush mufflers from Jegs. I also ordered the Pypes stainless steel flow tubes (connects the mufflers to the mid pipe). I also bought stainless steel tailpipes from LRS. I think that I had less than 350 into the cat back exahust. It did need to be welded together, so it was off to my buddy's place with a case of beer for the welding! He is a master of exhaust systems, and has built a few himself. Soon the exhaust was all in place. It sounded GREAT! The chambered mufflers were fantastic, and I did not have the flowmaster 'drone' cruising at highway speed. Since everything was stainless, it should last for the life of the car.
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