The Pacbrake Exhaust Brake and 5" FLO ~ PRO exhaust have been installed. So far so good. The PacBrake is working as expected. Can't wait to try it with the fifth wheel in tow. I purchased 5" FLO ~ PRO exhaust with a muffler as I am not trying to be louder. I like the sound so far. It is louder during acceleration, but it is hard to hear much of a difference at cruising speed which is exactly what I wanted. Now my truck sounds like a beast, but only when you put the hammer down. There were some minor and preventable install issues but for the most part things went well.Summary:
Exhaust Elbow Removal took an extra hour due to some dumb idiot
Pacbrake Instructions need to be updated
Aftermarket accessories might get in the way of your new Exhaust
If I had to do it again I could probably do the install in a day, but in total I probably spend two full days on this project so be warned if you plan to do this yourself and you have never done it before. I only banged one shin and one knuckle so not bad. I like to do things right which also adds time. Much of my time was spent in short spurts in-between breaks at work and after work. I completed small portions of the install on the bench and did lots of periodic research. I took a full day off to complete the brake and exhaust install.
I had issues removing the factory Elbow from the factory Turbo and the factory installed exhaust. I could tell it would be difficult to remove the Elbow without removing the tire and wheel house splash shield so I went ahead and removed them. The V clamp on the exhaust side of the Elbow came off easily with a 7/16 wrench. The v clamp on the Turbo side was oriented in the most difficult place possible. After repeated attempts with a 7/16 wrench and no success I tried a 10 mm wrench and to my unhappy surprise it fit. WTF is what came to mind. Who is the Idiot that did this? One of the v clamps was clearly American made with a Chrysler symbol on it and the other was apparently made in Japan or somewhere where they use metric threads. ARRR! Come on! Geeeze! 1 hour wasted.
There is nothing more concerning then when you finish a major install like this and it doesn't work. I turned the truck on, the compressor ran and ran and ran, but the tank wasn't filling with air. I figured it was an airline issue and reread the instructions. Ultimately I found the problem, but it was based on guess work and a photo on the internet of someone else who got it right. There is one major mistake in the instructions on step 15 which says to connect the Blue nylon hose to the connect fitting on the "BOTTOM" side of the Compressor. If you are hanging upside down when you install the blue nylon hose, this might make sense. Take a look at the picture to the right. The picture demonstrates the correct way. As you can see i had to connect the blue nylon hose to the connector on the "TOP" of the compressor. Step 18 wasn't helpful either as it says, "Connect the Black nylon airline to the remaining fitting at the compressor". Had this step been more clear I could have used process of elimination to figure out where the blue line should go.The Pacbrake instructions could be more clear. If you have never inserted an air line into a quick connect fitting you might wonder how to do it. Once you have done it you realize how simple it is, but I had to research this as it was not explained in the instructions and I don't want to just guess. The install location for the wiring harness was also unclear. The place they suggested doesn't appear to exist on my truck so I had to improvise. Other than the installation instruction issues mentioned the product is working good. I really love it so far. Quality parts appear to have used so I am happy overall with the product so far. Ive only driven a few miles with it so the Jury is still out, but so far so good. Sounds cool too. Big smiles. If anything goes wrong I will be sure to update this.
I had some minor issues when installing the 5" FLO ~ PRO exhaust. There is nothing wrong with the exhaust system. It's just that I have after market things installed that I didn't account for. In the end it wouldn't have have caused me to change my purchase. I have a B&W fifth Wheel hitch. This hitch includes a large bracket under the bed that protrudes a couple inches down very close to the top bend in the exhaust tip section of the pipe. Additionally I had an after market sway bar that was in the way. I no longer need the sway bar so I removed it. I also found I had to cut an inch and a half off the tip section of the exhaust from the side where it connects to the muffler so I could stay clear of the spare tire. I also have an after market hitch that was in the way of the bracket that holds the tip portion of the pipe. I was able to utilize the bracket where the sway bar attached and it all works well. Sounds very nice as well.
Took the truck for a test drive. Between the addition of the Smarty Jr and the new exhaust, the truck gets up to speed very quickly now. So quick, I plan to turn down the setting on the Smarty Jr. I really don't need that much, but it is nice to have. The Pacbrake works great. It really slows you down especially when running at higher rpm's. The Pacbrake automatically disengages when you apply the gas. I should be picking up the fifth wheel from the dealer soon so I can give it a good test. I am heading to Pismo beach next month which will be the real test. Can't wait.
