Down pipe question

[The assassin Blevins]

Hi. I have a 97 F250. Have those of you that added a 3" or 4" down pipe removed the large rectangular heat shield that is mounted to the underside of the cab just over the area where the down pipe is? A specific description of how your factory down pipe was removed WITHOUT CUTTING IT and exactly how you modified the underside of the cab to fit the new pipe would be greatly appreciated. (I'm aware most of you probably just cut the stock pipe up to get it out but I want to save mine.) Thank you.

[ryandamo]

if you want to get it out without cutting it, you have to drop the tranny, there is no other way, it was installed in the factory before the transsmission. The only part you have to midify to get the pipe in is the lip at the bottom of the fire wall. i made 2 cuts with a sawzall roughly were the pipe would pass through then took a crow bar and bent it in. The hardest part is getting the old one out. theres really no way to save the old downpipe anyways. when you take the catalytic converter off the downpipe, usually the only way to sperate them is cuttign the studs since they rust, which will render the downpipe useless

[The assassin Blevins]

Originally Posted by ryandamo

if you want to get it out without cutting it, you have to drop the tranny, there is no other way, it was installed in the factory before the transsmission. The only part you have to midify to get the pipe in is the lip at the bottom of the fire wall. i made 2 cuts with a sawzall roughly were the pipe would pass through then took a crow bar and bent it in. The hardest part is getting the old one out. theres really no way to save the old downpipe anyways. when you take the catalytic converter off the downpipe, usually the only way to sperate them is cuttign the studs since they rust, which will render the downpipe useless

Thanks for your response. Actually, my truck doesn't have a catalytic on the downpipe. Did your truck have the heat shield I mentioned? It covers the entire area where any modification would take place so I can't even see the seam that needs to be modified.

[ianstew]

Originally Posted by The assassin Blevins

Thanks for your response. Actually, my truck doesn't have a catalytic on the downpipe. Did your truck have the heat shield I mentioned? It covers the entire area where any modification would take place so I can't even see the seam that needs to be modified.

mine does......kinda silver flexible cloth like stuff...looks like Reflectix brand duct wrap.....all over the firewall....

[ryandamo]

o yea that stuff just peals back, make the cut and then pound it back over, if it still wont fit you can just cut it away.