Low hanging exhaust cross pipe on 2013 V10 RB with SMB 4x4?

[aVanDidIt]

Attached photos are of a 2013 Sportsmobile 4x4 V10 RB I'm looking at. Is it normal for the exhaust cross pipe to hang down several inches lower than that frame cross member, beneath the Atlas transfer case? I googled some for undercarriage photos but I think I was finding pics from vans with the 6.0 diesel that I'm guessing may have different exhaust routing, but those didn't have this low hanging cross pipe.

Being right in the middle of the van, seems it would be extremely vulnerable to getting bashed if wheeling in some rocks, rather than that frame cross member taking the hits.

If it is normal, anybody have experience with asking an exhaust shop to reroute it somewhere higher and less in the line of fire?

 

[aVanDidIt]

With some browsing through the photos on the site here I found another example of the cross pipe running low under the Atlas, on what looks like another V10 van. So it appears this may be the standard.

Photo is here:

fbe6d0086e6df47920b5e89f51a25fd1

www.sportsmobileforum.com

Would still be interested to know if anybody has ever had an exhaust shop reroute this pipe, maybe just to the rear of the TC instead of under it, under the front of the rear driveshaft. Even maintaining some clearance to the driveshaft, would still be able to have the pipe a few inches higher up.

 

[carringb]

The stock Ford 4x4 manifold crosses over tight under the oil pan, but it tees into the other side as a bad angle, so it’s pretty common to upgrade that anyways. Here’s one option: 2000-2004 Superduty & Excursion Exhaust Y-Pipe

 

[aVanDidIt]

Thanks, that looks interesting although the catalytic converters must be up closer to the engine in that config? The cats that I see on this van are to the left and right of the transmission, which is aft of where that aftermarket y pipe looks to be.

As an aside, the cats had to be replaced on this van (it was failing emissions testing) when it was about 10 years old / 60k miles, which seemed strange to me. Is that at all common with these V10 vans? I'll be asking a mechanic about that and whether there might be some other underlying issue that led to that which I need to look out for.

 

[carringb]

Cats should be a lifetime item. Early failure is usually from worn spark plugs (although 60k is too early for that) or another air/fuel system issues causing fouling, like a broken vacuum line. Using the wrong motor oil or RTV silicone can do it too.