Gents,

A few weeks back I posted soliciting opinions on selecting a new muffler for my '89 V6 Runner. I had put the complete Downey exhaust system on the rig and was not happy with the supplied absorption style muffler. It was way too loud for my taste on the trail and around town, made me feel like a 19 year old kid with a lowered Honda.

I got a bunch of great input, thanks for the responses. I ended up going with a Flowmaster Series 70 muffler. Yup, the big dog, biggest one they make that has 2.5" center inlet and outlet. They push this muffler has having the least amount of cabin resonance and exterior volume.

To summarize, I am really happy with this muffler. I got back a ton of low end on the motor that was lost with the free flowing muffler. I know a lot of that is subjective, but it does pull better now and makes 1/10th the noise in the cabin.

Some pics below showing my install. I went with a Summit 6" flex stainless union between the back of the 2.5" Magnaflow Cat to the inlet of the Flowmaster Series 70. The outlet of the Flowmaster was able to use the stock hanger mounts above the rear axle via 2 bolts and some exhuast tape. I then ran 2.5" stainless flex tubing to a stainless tip that exits through a hole that I cut in the driver's side bumperette. Stole that from Roger, thanks again for a great idea, worked perfect. I was able to take advantage of some stock holes in the body to hang the tip on a flex mount from Kragen.

All told, really happy with the install. The exhaust is now up out of the way and looks clean. Now, on to the OME lift and 33's!!

Cat to Muffler union:



Flowmaster up over rear axle:



Rear mount on Flowmaster:



Flex tubing to stainless tip:



Tip exiting bumperette:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x112/mholdner/IMG_1094.jpg

Nice little writeup and a VERY clean install. Nice. Let us know how that rear hangar mount setup holds up. I've been trying to find a workaround for that one for awhile.

I don't think that will last very long. Either the screws going through the rubber mounts will rip, or the exhaust strap will tear.

Nice clean setup though.

Thanks for the compliments, I spent a bit of time trying to figure this thing out.

The one aspect of the install that I am not too happy about is the hanger on the back of the muffler. I agree that the rubber hangers are the weak point, especially since they are the stock rubber hangers that shipped from the factory..... note to self, purchase new rubber hangers.

The stock hanger uses two pieces of round stock that are welded to the exhaust tubing and bent upwards to engage the lower holes in the stock rubber hangers. I have bent up a couple of pieces of 1/4" round bar to work with this application, just need to weld them to the Flowmaster exit tube. That was one objective of the install, to get the exit of the Flowmaster right below the hanger location so that I could attach directly to the muffler, not to the flex stainless.

As for the stock style rubber hangers, the Flowmaster does not weight that much more than the stock muffler, I weighed them, only about 5 lbs difference. I am contemplating how to install 2x of the stock hangers per side on the stock hanger points, which will cut the load on each by 1/2.

More to come later, most likely this winter, on this one.

Mike

Muffler tape is going to fail at the most inopportune time and scare away all the furry creatures.....

Brian

Awhile back, I had to replace the hanger where the pipe end leaves the muffler behind the rear tire of my '86. NAPA carries a somewhat rigidized hangar with the hook on it that bolted right up with a bit of modification to get rid of excess material. It's similar to what the generic muffler hanging straps were for the old Ferds; hard tire-type rubber.

Yeah, I've ground off and rewelded my old rear hanger too. What a PITA if you don't weld.

That's the muffler I run. Very tough, it's been banged up by rocks (yeah, even that high) and I need to touch it up with a bit of bead, but it is still quiet yet flows quite well even with a 3.4.

You definitely need to weld the hangers in the rear.