Eliminate Muffler

[jkoopmann]

I have an "03 3500 Dually with 60K miles which I purchased new. I was considering replacing the muffler with Geno's muffler elimination straight pipe kit. Outside the increased noise level, has anyone experienced any negative issues?

 

[AMcCormick]

Did the same on my 03. Other than the noise no other negatives. It's a bit loud but not over the top. Driving through SF i would set car alarms off. If you tow on a frequent basis I would think twice about this.

 

[jkoopmann]

Is it noticably louder when towing? I may also replace the standard intake filter/box with the one Geno's offers. I would expect it to "breathe" better than with OEM intake/exhaust. Does the PCM throw any codes after these items are changed?

 

[S.Morris]

The drone will make your ears ring if you get into or above 2000rpm. It will sound good at first but if you tow enough miles, you will wish you hadn't.

Just my 2cents

 

[rscurtis]

Save your money on the air filter. If you want it to breathe better, go to an aftermarket turbo and manifold. The stock turbo is the biggest restriction in the exhaust.

 

[MChrist]

When I bought my '06 used, it was stock with the exception of a straight thru louvered muffler in place of the stock one. Still has the catalytic converter to this day. Anyway, although it sounded deeper than stock, even it had a drone pulling our 8,000 pound camper. Bad enough that our daughter would get nauseous. I switched to a larger muffler from a big rig shop and it's quiet as stock again.

I wouldn't recommend removing the muffler to anyone. But that's just me.

 

[Prairie Dog]

To me, there just isn't anything that sounds worse than a straight piped Cummins. Just sounds like a big ricer 4 banger or like the junk hondas that the neighborhood kiddies like to "pimp".
But that's (mostly?) just me.

 

[MChrist]

To me, there just isn't anything that sounds worse than a straight piped Cummins. Just sounds like a big ricer 4 banger or like the junk hondas that the neighborhood kiddies like to "pimp".

But that's (mostly?) just me.

I agree. Although I think they sound good at idle and unber load at low rpm. Rev em up, and I don't care for how they sound.



When quiet, though, they sound great!

 

[cerberusiam]

To me, there just isn't anything that sounds worse than a straight piped Cummins.

I am with you there. Way too tinny and cackly for my taste. A good muffler will deepen the tone quite a bit and stop the drone. Even with the CAT on and no muffler the drone was way bad. I have a Borla and its just about right.

 

[timelessconstructionllc]

If anybody wants to get out cheap on this one, you can cut the cat and muffler off. Gut the cat, easiest way to do this is with a 2 foot long flex bit extension with an auger or paddle bit (approx 1") on the end of the extension and just drill as many holes thru the media in the cat as possible, then once you have plenty of holes drilled jsut take a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" steel or rebar or something of that nature and stick it down in there and work it around to break the rest out. then weld the cat back in place. the muffler is a little bit more difficult. The two times i did this i used the plasma cutter but a torch would work fine too. You have to cut an access plate the full length of the muffler and about 6" wide. once you have this plate off you simply cut the baffles out of the muffler and weld the access plate back in place then weld the muffler back in place. I did this on my 05 as well as on my 06 that i have now, before i put my stacks on, i actually had people tell me that it was quieter than stock. I was told that this was due to the way the air circulates and basically kills it's own sound in the open chambers before it exits the exhaust. I don't know the logistics of it but i know from personal experience it is just as quiet as stock but obviously will breath better.

 

[Nyoest]

If anybody wants to get out cheap on this one, you can cut the cat and muffler off. Gut the cat, easiest way to do this is with a 2 foot long flex bit extension with an auger or paddle bit (approx 1") on the end of the extension and just drill as many holes thru the media in the cat as possible, then once you have plenty of holes drilled jsut take a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" steel or rebar or something of that nature and stick it down in there and work it around to break the rest out. then weld the cat back in place. the muffler is a little bit more difficult. The two times i did this i used the plasma cutter but a torch would work fine too. You have to cut an access plate the full length of the muffler and about 6" wide. once you have this plate off you simply cut the baffles out of the muffler and weld the access plate back in place then weld the muffler back in place. I did this on my 05 as well as on my 06 that i have now, before i put my stacks on, i actually had people tell me that it was quieter than stock. I was told that this was due to the way the air circulates and basically kills it's own sound in the open chambers before it exits the exhaust. I don't know the logistics of it but i know from personal experience it is just as quiet as stock but obviously will breath better.

Did you know that those converters are worth quite a bit of money? Well worth the time to remove them intact and sell them. Some diesel converters are worth about $200. The fine for no WORKING convertor will be the same why waste the time?



To the OP if you tow at all don't do a straight pipe. After about 1. 5 hours the drone will be working on you. Also makes it hard to hear a phone on the hills.

 

[AH64ID]

I think the exhaust manifold design of the 3rd gen makes a straight piped truck sound like a wet goose fart. I do like the sound on older models/manifolds.

The stock intake/exhuast are good for more air than your stock HE351 can support. The exhaust is good for about 600 rwhp+ and the intake for 450rwhp with some simple, cheap mods (Airaid MIT, 04. 5-07 lower 90° elbow, Home Depot CAI).

If you are going for a better sound I would change the muffler not remove it.

 

[jkoopmann]

Thanks for all the great "hands on" comments!! I was really looking for a little more "pep" while pulling hills with the 4000 lb 11. 5' camper loaded and 6000 lb boat in tow. The original turbo was already replaced under warranty with another OEM because of an oil leak. It sounds like I should be considering a turbo upgrade as a first step. I ordered the 6 speed manual transmission with the 305HP HO which was the largest engine available in '03 in Wyoming. I also had the OEM Jacobs Exhaust brake installed at the dealership when new. What would be a good turbo upgrade? I don't really want to upgrade HP to the point that I need to replace the fuel pump, injectors, etc. I just want a little more "pep".

 

[S.Morris]

Install a smarty jr and you will be a happy camper. You will really like the driveability improvements without being overboard for stock.

You will see very little if any mpg improvement but no cost to the power enhancement. It will make pulling your toys much more enjoyable

 

[MChrist]

I, too, would suggest Smarty Jr. Best bang for the buck. Somebody on this forum replaced his stock turbo with a newer one (cerberusium or ah64id, I think). They had very favorable things to say, but that peson was already modified to the point that a better turbo made a lot of sense.

Different intake and open exhaust will make such a small difference on a stock motor, you would not notice very much. Smarty Jr will make you say "Holy ****!"

 

[cerberusiam]

I was really looking for a little more "pep" while pulling hills with the 4000 lb 11. 5' camper loaded and 6000 lb boat in tow. QUOTE]



Smarty hands down for a little more power. If you really want a good turbo upgrade that is cost effective an HE351 off of an 04. 5+ would give you some good return and make the Smarty even more usable.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Without more fuel a turbo isn't going to give you much of anything. Try the Smarty first.

 

[jkoopmann]

Obviously I haven't done much to upgrade the truck since it was new so bear with my ignorance. Is a Smarty Jr. an electronic chip or a PCM upgrade? How would the "shade tree mechanic" like me install one? Maybe it would be best to have a diesel performance shop do it. About how much does it cost? I have all the TDR magizines since 2002. Is there an issue that discusses it more?

 

[Prairie Dog]

The Smarty Jr is a simple programmer that down loads a modified program into the trucks computer. It has 3 levels 30/70/100 HP. It can easily be changed between power levels or back to stock at any time. It's a great system because there's nothing to wrench - you don't even have to lift the hood. Nothing stays attached to the truck.

 

[MChrist]

Mads Electronics - Smarty - CaTCHER - Dodge Tuning - Home

To have one is to love one...
Look up "J-06"