So after swapping over my front axle I ran into the issue of the driveline not working with the way that the exhaust was routed. The 1979 F250 front axle has the driveline more centerline than the 2013 which is more to the drivers side. Either way my exhaust was absolute garbage and needed to go.
Advanced had removed the drivers side rear cat so when I went to go get my exhaust re routed they wouldn't touch it because it wasn't federally legal. I totally understand but wasn't expecting it so I was a little irritated. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because that exhaust was shot anyway.
So what to do? I would basically have to purchase a new front exhaust and then pay to have it modified and put in my van. Super sucks and I was going to go after the dealership to pay for it since they sold me a vehicle that was federally incompliant but decided I don't have the time or energy to play games like that.
One day I was talking with MG about how his quadvan exhaust was routed and he sent me a photo. Even though it was a 5.4l v8 and mine is a v10 6.8L the newer vans both used the same exhaust system. Mine is an 08 and from 09+ they changed from 4 smaller cats to 2 bigger cats. He agreed to sell me his since it was supposed to be an easy plug and play but as always it turned into a bunch of shenanigans.
I didn't bother taking a ton of pictures because it was exhausting...
... and I just wanted to get it done.
So I removed my old system, 4 bolts at the headers, unplugged the sensors, undid the joint that attaches the front to rear, cut the crossover pipe that was in a horrible spot...
You will also notice in these photos of the drivers side exhaust there is a total lack of heat shields. This resulted in the floor of the van getting so hot that I couldn't sit on the bare metal, thank goodness I have 3/4" rubber mats that absorbed some of that between when I got the van and now.
So the install of the new exhaust was fairly straight forward, as you can see in this photo, it re routs the drivers side exhaust completely to under the passengers side and then back, Ying before it passes over that cross member pictured above.
Lets just say it took a good amount of work because what I didn't account for is that my transmission is bigger than MGs. The 5 speed is definitely a little wider so when he took his out and it just fell right out, mine going in needed a little help. I am just getting very good at removing and reinstalling front suspension components and fortunately MGs system is easy enough to remove and put back on that it was more time consuming than anything else.
I also found out that the v8 must have the headers coming out about an inch or so forward of where the v10 headers come out. So I had to cut the rear of the front pipe (after the Y) back in order to get the rear portion of the exhaust to mount over the axle correctly. I do have some rubbing on the heat shield but now at least I can take it to an exhaust shop and have them be able to modify it because everything is in its "stock" location for a 4x4 van that was never built by Ford...
All in all its a huge improvement over the old exhaust. The biggest change I noticed was that when I let of the gas the van coasts a lot better than it did before. It was almost like before I had a continuous exhaust brake holding me back from being able to just roll easily, kind of threw me off as I was driving up to a light. Its also a lot quieter, and has more of throaty sound when I punch it, as well as the intake really can pull some air. Even my wife, who never admits than anything I do to this van is an improvement said that she feels like the van is more comfortable than it was before and that it sounds smoother. Oh and no more scorching hot floor, I might regret that in the winter when I want a butt warmer.
Agnes
Tan Hot Dog
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