I decided it was time I 'straightened' out my exhaust a little bit. . . . . From past experience with the mighty Cummins and a 'straight' through muffler that was too loud for pulling, I was a little hesitant to just completely straighten out the exhaust on my Mega. I bought one of those Rokk Tech mufflers and when I saw the inside of it I couldn't help but come up with the idea of making a slide to put inside it so I could have both a muffler in one position and completely bypass it in another. I started off wanting to take the OEM system apart intact so if I ever had to 'replace' anything it would make it a lot easier than if I had just cut it out of there. Another aspect of doing it this way is if you do a mod like this and don't like how it turns out, it is easier to change it down the road. (My last Cummins had a straight through muffler and you couldn't tow above 70 mph without it splitting your head!!)

My professor suggested using a clamp design to pull the factory pipes apart. I feel fortunate in that they didn't over tighten the u-bolt clamps on my exhaust. I had pulled those clamps off right away when I got the truck. Here is a pic of the clamp I made to pull the joints apart:



It really did work quite well!! Only place I had trouble using it was for the tail pipe right behind the muffler. That is a little tight since the tail pipe has a resonator in it right in front of the rear axle. Two rigs, some chain and a come-a-long will also pull this joint apart! Here is a pic of the inside of the OEM resonator:



This is what the inside of the new muffler looks like. This is the only openings in it at all! They are roughly 2 inches square ea and right near the end of the muffler. The instructions say to install it with these at the rear:



This is a shot of the 'slide' I made to go inside the muffler. It basically covers the openings in the muffler making it a straight pipe. When I want a muffler again I use the 'handle' to slide it forward and expose the openings inside the muffler. I use the muffler for towing heavy. It takes the drone out of the cab and makes for a pleasurable trip!



Here is another that shows how I ran the handle through the tail pipe to be able to move the slide inside the muffler:



Another part of this install that I really like is the wide band clamps that I used to hold it all together. These are just like what big rigs use and I recommend them. It only takes a couple of minutes to connect a joint in the exhaust. It comes apart just as fast! If you have any doubt of whether you will like a muffler or not; this is the way to go!! This is also a very good thing to have in case you have to 're-install' anything in your exhaust for certain 'agencies' if you know what I mean. Here is a pic of one of these clamps (Notice the red arrow pointing out my 'handle' to be able to select which mode of muffler I want!):



Hope this helps. If you have any questions or ideas, just let me know!

 

Looks interesting, smooth and easy to operate? Those Torq-Tite clamp are awesome, used one yesterday.
I have always thought about a 2 position valve that would either direct the exhaust through a muffler, or just dump it off. Never came to life, but I'm pretty sure it's possible.

 

I have always wanted to have some kind of cutout valve in the exhaust of most of my rigs... Just never got it done. This seems to be a good system!
It is easy to operate. In fact, I need to find a way to keep it from moving back into the 'bypass' mode. I tried tightening a wire around the outside of the pipe to keep the handle from moving back but that didn't work. I need to come up with a fastener or latch of some kind.

 

Where did you get the muffler from?

 

From:

Rokk Tech

But, they have listed the muffler as 'Out of Stock' for some time now. I don't know why or if they will ever have them again.

The Donaldson muffler is supposed to be the same thing. The one I purchased from Rokk Tech was a 48" one.

Just the other day I removed my OEM tail pipe which had the resonator welded into it and replaced it with a different one without a resonator. I can't believe how much the resonator was doing for me. It is so much louder now. Sounds a lot like a tractor now! Turns out 'straighter' is better! Course I have to tow with it to see if I can stand it. I hope to do that soon. We will see.

 

Hmmm I checked them out they seem like a pretty good idea. I may have to contact them and see if I could get one in a 5" and run a setup like you have. I want to run a stack and want it to be LOUD when I want it to be, but would like to also be able to set it to where its quiet for long trips.

 

Very nice!! Ferraris and lambos do that. Except they have a switch on the steering wheel.

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i was thinking about just buying a cheap cable operated exhaust cut out. i think i can pick one up for about 60 bucks. have one side strait piped and then the other side muffled. just my 2cents

 

looks good!!! i agree with RAwilliams...those torktite clamps are awesome!!!

 

What Donaldson muffler do you mean?