Since this was a pretty quick install, I’ll try to keep the article short as well.  There really isn’t much to it.  Depending on the age of your truck and the condition of the stock exhaust, the installation will take between an hour to an hour and a half.  Removing the stock 55-gallon drum muffler can be done solo, but I would recommend having a buddy help.  The only tools you’ll need are a socket wrench, channel lock pliers, screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.

Removing the stock muffler was a pain in the butt and consumed most of the install time. The hangers were very rusty and were obviously made of low-grade steel.  This made it very difficult to get the rubber mounts off - even though I used plenty of penetrating oil.  Most of the hangars were bent and useless by the time I got them off.  It is a good idea to purchase new hangars in case the old ones are not useable.  The banding on the stock muffler should give you an idea of the hot spots caused by internal baffling.  This beast of a muffler was designed to keep the HEMI quiet, not free-flowing. 

The Borla muffler on the right picture is considerably smaller and has a much lower profile.  It was light enough to hold up with one hand while attaching the rubber mounts with the other.  Once hooked up, it hangs at an angle and will swing up and into position to slide onto the inlet pipe.  There are two adapters that come with the kit; one to fit the ’03 model and one for the ’04 model.  The difference in the quality of the steel and workmanship was pretty obvious.  I left all the clamps loose until I had all the pipes adjusted and tightened from back to front.

The tolerances were very close, but the outlet pipes were not too difficult to slide on and adjust.  I probably should have used some dry lube to make life easier, but I was pressed for time.  The passenger side down-tube behind the rear axle was the only hard part because I didn’t have any leverage or a second pair of hands.  There was just enough clearance to keep the passenger-side pipe from contacting the shock housing.

The supplied tip hangers bolt through existing holes in the frame.  The driver-side bolt was difficult to put through and tighten without removing the 275/70R17 spare.  I kept the spare in place because I wanted to make sure that the transverse section of the driver-side outlet pipe didn’t contact the rubber.  The tips are one of the best features of this system and are probably the best I’ve seen.  They are double-walled with a perforated core and filled with acoustic material.  They also have a drain hole on the bottom to get rid of any water or excess condensation. Once the tip hangers were tightened up, I went to work on the pipe clamps from back to front and finishing with the 3” inlet clamp between the muffler and the cat.  That was it… I was done.  Total installation time:  2.5 hours.  Having another person to help will easily cut your install time in half.

**UPDATE**  Make sure when you buy new rubber mounts for the hangers that they have metal bands in them to keep the pipes suspended even if the rubber portion splits.

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