I have a 98 F150 with a 4.6L and was wondering what harm it would do, if any, if I took the muffler out and just put a straight pipe in its place? I have a friend who did it to his and it sounds great. Thanks.

 

it shouldnt hurt anything other than your wallet when ya get a ticket for it

 

Vermonster150,
I tried this recently with my truck. When I went from side exit to duel rear it quieted down the truck quite a bit so I got a Y pipe from Magnaflow and removed the muffler. It was loud. Very loud. I could not stand the droaning in the cab.
If you like loud...
If you want a mean sounding exhaust with less droan, use a Flowmaster 40 muffler (non-delta) with the side exit in front of the rear wheel. People will hear you comming.
Magnaflow is a quality piece but quieter then most.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to try it and if it's to loud then I'll try the 40 series. Thanks again.

 

I did exactly what you are asking about. Removed stock muff and replaced it with a straight pipe. It will do no harm at all. It is safe to do.

It is not too loud, and there is no cab drone as someone posted. I could barely hear it at highway speeds. Sounded great at idle and up to about 4000 rpms. Above 4k revs, it started to sound like a dirt track car, so I had a glasspack installed. That made it real quiet, but got rid of the "dirt track" sound up high.

I am not satisfied with this setup either, though. Not enough "growl" for my taste. May go with glasspack cat-back duals. Not sure yet. That's what I had on my '99 SCab and it sounded great.

I have the 5.4. see sig for other truck perticulars that may make a difference to you.

 

RebelYell,

I've been called a lot of things on these posts but never a liar. The sound under load, part load and highway speeds was just plain obnoxious.
Funny I think you posted "it sounded really good... so I changed it"...

Vermonster150,
Good luck with the mod. I hope you have a nice stereo. Mine has a total of nearly 500 watts and it wasn't quite enough... The truck sounded like I dropped the muffler, you know like poor maintenance and the muffler fell off. If you think that sounds good then go for it...

 

WLF....
I am not calling you a liar. I said that "I " had no cab drone. That is why I said at the end of the post to see my sig for the perticulars of my truck because that could make a difference. (I have a SCrew). I could barely hear the engine noise from the tailpipe while at speed.

Yes, I did say it sounded good.....up to around 4000 RPM . If you had actually read the post you would have seen that I reported that above 4k RPM, it didn't sound good to me. That is why I added the glasspack muff.

Seems as though you are looking for an argument. I am not here to argue. Just want to learn and share. That is what I am doing....sharing my experience with the setup in question. You say it drones, I say it doesn't. You may have a different configuration of the f-150 than I, hence the difference in our own unique experience with straight pipes.If you want to argue, look elsewhere.
We are all FORD brothers here, how about we act like it. Done.

 

go with the flowmaster 430402 ..3 Inch in Dual 2.5 out ...you will not be dissapointed

 

RebelYell,
Not looking for an argument, not looking for anything except to enjoy my truck and help others do the same. Your post specifically states "and there is no cab drone as someone posted" which sounded like you did not believe what I wrote. Yes indeed we do have different set-ups and I'm sorry if I mistook your post.
I too am not yet completely satisfied with the sound I now have. It is too tame and I am looking for something in the middle, deep and throaty without that "TORE OFF MY MUFFLER" sound.
I have changed my set-up 4 times and have not yet found what I want. I may wait until I install my new engine since it will have higher compression and headers. That may make the difference I’m looking for.

 

I've had the muffler chopped on my 4.6L and I think it sounds really good. It really isn't all the loud unless you're at full throttle. I was worried at first that it was too loud until I started listening and heard how loud some of the other trucks on the road are (Chevys).

I had no cab drone at all when cruising on the highway. Under accel I get cab drone but it isn't that bad. I'm use to it it.

It has been show to give speed up your 1/4 mile time a little.

 

Everyone that has a problem should install a Gibson SuperTruck exhaust, its a cat-back system with a loud, deep, throaty rumble that exits before the rear wheel. Its an awesome setup...
Ask for pics if you want to see it.

 

Well I did it. I had a straight pipe put in in place of my muffler and had the guy then make a Y and ran duels out at an angle to the corners of my rear bumper. I think it sounds great! When its been sitting a while its loud but mellows out as she warms up. At high way speeds you can just hear her rumble. Thanks for all the info guys!