undecided.steve

I know he has a Mac, but this is my experience with a stock and some general advice from someone else who never did this before.

I'm going through this now but I am replacing the stock system with a Magnaflow catback.
As others have said, getting out the old STOCK system is a royal PITA.
I used a Dremel tool with a heavy duty cutoff wheel because I don't have a Sawzall.
Two tips for people (not you) cutting off the stock system.
Don't cut on the welds / seams as they are stronger and more difficult to cut than the pipe itself.
Buy a Sawzall


For you, make sure to remove the head pipe bolts (at the front) FIRST because if you start from the back and you are working by yourself, you will find it impossible to pull the pipe off the studs when it is leaning down and has tension on it.
Of course your system is 3 piece so you won't have the total weight like I did with the 1 piece system so it might be easier for YOU to start from the back.

When you install the new system, start from the front and leave everything loose so you can line things up.
Watch for clearence problems etc.
After it looks good, tighten it down REAL TIGHT..
I don't know the torque spec, but don't be shy.
Just don't squash the pipes[:@]

After a few days, check again and you may need to tighten it up once more.
Also, try not to get oily fingerprints on the stainless parts because they will become permenant when it heats up.
Some people care about stuff like that because those bright shiny stainless pieces look gorgeous!

Good luck!!
Take your time and it will work out great!

I have Rhino Ramps as well!
Great stuff!

Azure

It's possible to get the pipes over the axle without cutting stuff apart. I had to put jackstands on the frame, take off the wheels, drop the axle all the way down, and wrestle with it, but I got my Magnaflows over the hump in the end.

chrissilver3975

Is the MAC catback a one-piece exhaust? Thats gonna suck especially by yourself... I went from stock to SLP LM2 and I just cut the stock with a handsaw... thats a PIA... I had someone to help me though so we could take turns hacking at it.. oh and definately make sure to tighten it down and recheck it a few days later.. I was in such a hurry to get my on and take it for a test drive that I missed tightening a bolt and my passenger side pipe fell off and scraped the road.. .good thing the hangers held it up.. sounds awesome though.. well worth the time and effort..

undecided.steve

Yea I know but I figured doing all that was even more of a PITA.
I made my cuts on the straightest part of the pipe so I can always put the stock system back and just use a muffler clamp over the cuts.

With a Sawzall it would take less than 5 minutes per side to cut.

undecided.steve

I think the MAC is 3 piece but not sure.
Getting the stock system out is a royal PITA.

I tried the hacksaw and gave up after 5 minutes of hacking.
The Dremel was much better, but it's hard to get it in position to cut the top of the tubes.
I don't have the remote attachment which would have helped.

In retrospect, not having a Sawzall, Azure is probably correct in that it might actually be easier to drop the axle.

StriktlyGT

Almost happenned to me. I thought I had everything tight, then asI was trying to adjust the tail pipe, one of the pipes in the middle fell.

redass02gt

good lord, you cut that **** off with a dremel?!?!? with th elittle 2 inch diameter cutting tool??!/ hilarious cause it wasn't me. [sm=icon_rofl.gif]

HamMach1

Well, yall really didnt answer the question but the other advice really helped. What I was hoping to get an answer for was do i put the jack stands up in the rear and put and like wheel blockers or a piece of wood or whatever in the front of the front tires or what?

OzzDOA

Yeah, block the fronts and jack up the rear high enough to unload the suspension and put it on stands. Ignore what I said about cutting, didn't see you already had a MAC system on it. So it should be easy to remove since the MAC is already in 3 pieces.

HamMach1

AIght thanks man! I hope it runs okay! I just dont want to spend $100+ on getting an install done when I might be able to do it myself with the help of my sexy girlfriend assistant LOL! I just have to figure out exactly where I put the jack at cuz I'm new to this haha.