6.5 exhaust on Banks 6.2 Turbo

[flomulgator]

Okay, so here's the deal.
I finally got a Banks kit off ebay. Got everything but the exhaust behind the downpipe (truck taco'ed). All done (NOT EASY) except for the exhaust. I live in the Seattle area, and shockingly, there is only one place that does mandrel bending. Local shops can crush bend 3", but won't even touch 4". Mandrel bender want's and absurd amount for a 4" mandrel bent exhaust.

So here's the deal: I got the 3" downpipe. Reasonably cheap 4" mandrel bent exhaust can be be bought for the 6.5TD, newer body style suburban. Would the bends, especially around the rear axle, work for my 1991 6.2 suburban? Would love to buy one of those and throw a local shop a little change to do the welding/adjusting. (now I want a MIG welder for Christmas!)

Also open to 3"/4" comments!


Boring footnote: I felt this belongs in the 6.2/6.5 Tech thread, but apparently I don't have permission to post there. Admin feel free to move if appropriate.

[BigGun J]

About a year ago I was in one of the junk yards in kent (the one that does the recycle) They had a 80's era suburban with a banks kit. It was in good shape other then the muffler that got smashed when they lifeted it with a fork lift. They did not know they had the diesel. It could be a long shot but worth the drive down and take a look around the the yard? Thake the Kent/DesMoines exit off I-5, follow it down the hill, stay on the small freeway, go under 167, over the rail road tracks, turn right and their is about a half a dozen yards on that road. I think it was the second one in on a corner?

The pipe was clean inside. The rig had an impound stickrer from the eastlake area for being parked to long.

Good Luck, Jim

[flomulgator]

If it was over a year ago it definitely is a long shot...but may be worth it. Wish I had known it had a kit before I paid good $$$ for mine, buying a whole truck with a spare motor for a few hundred would've been cheaper.

Is the name of the place Binford Metal?
That was the closest match to you directions.

Not many Northwesterners on this forum, or much support in this area. Good to see another local on here.

[flomulgator]

bump for an answer? Anybody?

[Robyn]

The over axle pipe/pipes should be close and with a little coaxing can be made to fit.

The difference in power and such between a 3" and a 4" on a 6.2 is going to be a toss up.

The 4" certainly wont hurt anything.


Missy

[BigGun J]

binford metal, most likely? Worth the ride down and this close to Christmas if you have been good this year you just might get lucky. Now me, not a chance.

Other then the muffler being smashed all the pipe was there and clean.

Jim

[flomulgator]

Thanks Missy! You are an eternal fountain of knowledge about these rigs!

The reason I'm inclined to go 4" is reading a thread over at <cough> another forum a knowledgeable admin-type stated that it does add decent power and most importantly helps a bit in reducing EGTs on the 6.5TD.
Should probably mention that my engine is a 6.5 block with 6.2 components, so it has the turbo-optimized pre-cups on it. Dunno if that would be a deciding factor in gains compared to the 6.2 efficiency-optimized pre-cups.

BigGun J,
realized last night that I am caught in a logistical hole concerning the scrapyard. Need the truck to pick up the exhaust for.....the truck. My little Mazda hatch can't pick it up and I'm not willing to drive all the way to Kent and back with the no-muffler exhaust porting out directly from the downpipe.

I may still go check that out though. Banks Kits are pretty rare.

[flomulgator]

I've run this thing for about 2,000 miles now. Started out with some rattles, but mostly fixed. This post is for anyone else considering this.

The biggest rattle by far is where the ball joint is. Unfortunately the ball joint is located exactly where the transfer case on these trucks are, so there is very little room. After much fiddling, I finally found an orientation of the flanges that doesn't contact any part of the frame rail. It's an up and out, down and in, orientation that is 45 deg. to the frame rail. This gives about 1/2" of clearance, which is just enough so that the metal won't contact the shaky truck.

The alternate, and better, solution is to do some cutting an welding of the 3" pipe to extend or shorten it past this choke point. Probably extending would be best, as it would clear more obstacles that way. Gotta watch the fuel lines then though. May need to cut out muffler hanger too (which is unused here anyways). Currently muffler hangs a bit low. On the positive side, all over-axle piping can be adjusted with built in measures for a perfect fit. My exhaust comes out at exactly the right spot at a nice angle, and the 5" tip looks like it means business :)