Getting midpipe installed-what else do I need?

Hey, I'm having my MRT catted H installed on my 02 by the local Midas shop this Saturday (no, I won't waste my whole Saturday wrestling with this myself - $75.00 ain't no big deal to me! ). I'm just wondering what other parts may be needed. I already plan to soak everything down with PB Blaster on Friday night. I've heard I'll need studs and gaskets, but I am unsure which ones or any particulars. Can someone fill me in? Which exact gaskets and which studs? Part numbers?

Roger_4.6_96 said:

I would stay clear of midas unless you want 3rd graders working on your car

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You've had a bad experience, huh?
Well, I've been up to our local shop and have talked to the manager there - he's a Mustang enthusiast, with a nasty looking/sounding 'Pro Street' 5.0 Fox in the parking lot, so I feel like I'll be in good hands. (I hope!)
It's not like I'm having them rebuild the car, just swapping the midpipe-I just don't have the tools and lift to make the job 10X easier.
Anyway, back to my questions....

Mr GT 02 said:

You are going to have to get some earplugs for your neighborz. DUH

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Naw, my wife's 01 with a similiar midpipe and welded in Flows already has the neighbors trained...now they're gonna hear it in stereo!
Thanks guys!

BMan5150 said:

You don't need anything but a new gasket - which MRT supplied for me when I bought my MRT catted h-pipe.

You are going to love the sound - it's the same set-up I have. By the way, skip the MILs for now unless you already bought them - my car never threw a MIL with the catted MRT pipe.

$75 for the install is a great price. I think I paid a local speed shop around $110-$120. Regardless, it was nice not to kill my Saturday and my back!

Let us know what you think of the sound!

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Cool - that's the answers I wanted to hear! Yeah, my other option was SLP's catted X, but, in the end, I knew the H would sound good, so that's where my money went.
No MILs for me...and if I have a problem, I've got an SCT chip, so i can have them turned off if necessary. But I don't expect to.
I'll pass along my assessment of the whole setup (Flowmaster American Thunder catback is behind it) by this time next week.

INSTALLED!

Well I rec'd my MRT/JBA catted H pipe today nice! I had the local muffler shop install it on my 02 (which already had a Amer Thunder CB), since I really don't have time and didn't want to spend my day or night (or both) crawling around underneath my car, wrestling with this pipe.
They had no problem installing it, though the two sections that come together to make up the H were supposed to seal themselves (without the need for a clamp), we opted to weld it as it wasn't completely sealing. The installer also welded up a 1" gap on the front of my pass side flowmaster (nice job Idlewild Racing! ). The whole setup fits perfectly, just like the OEM pipe - nowhere near interfering or rattling against anything. It really looks like it belongs there - like it should have been there from the factory.
There really is quite a difference between 2.25" and 2.5" pipes - a 1/4" doesn't sound like much, but seeing them side by side, the difference is easily noticable.
It revs more freely now and is pretty loud when running it up to 5K+ to shift, but mellow below that...not much different that with the OEM H pipe. It seems to pull better thoughout the RPM range, but not a huge SOTP's feel - it just feels like it's breathing better.
I was really surprised (and, sadly, somewhat disappointed) with the sound however. Oh, it's a great sound, nice tone - deeper, throatier, muscular - it's sweet, not ratty, no mistaking it's an All American V-8 baby!, but I honestly thought it'd be LOUDER! My wife's 01, with Flowmasters welded in and a custom sort of catted H, is much louder.
Is this possibly a case of mine being delta flows (which, I believe are what the American Thunder Catback comes with) vs. her weldins, which, I'm not sure, but I think might be the original 40s? Any thoughts? Is it worth switching them out for original 40s?

BMan5150 said:

Glad you like the pipe. So, how did you find out that JBA makes the pipe for MRT? MRT wouldn't tell me . . . I was fairly certain it was actually Magnaflow, but they may just manufacture the cats.

Yeah, the sound is killer but like you said, I wouldn't say it's too loud by any means. Yet, you'll notice that as your catback and h-pipe age, the sound deepens and gets a little louder. I have Deltaflows in my stock system. When I went to the MRT catted H-pipe, I noticed a deeper and louder sound but it's not obnoxoiusly loud like some set-ups I've heard. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the loudest), I'll the MRT H-pipe and Deltaflows a "7" and the stock set-up a 2. Magnapacks with an off-road X pipe would be a 10 in by book.

Does your wife's 01 have a prochamber? It might look like it's got cats, but it's just the chamber where the cross overs meet. The prochamber sounds killer, but I wouldn't say it's that much louder than our set-up.

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The box was shipped from JBA. Interesting, the MRT H pipe is no longer listed on PartShopper. The cats are indeed Magnaflows-the best cats in the business.
My wife's is a homemade sort of H. It started with 2 2.25" downpipes with Magnaflow cats welded in, but no crossover H. That flows back into welded in original 40s, then out my 02's stock talepipes. We had the local shop add the crossover pipe when they put the 40s in. The whole thing will get scrapped this winter for a new setup, front to back. (It's just a mess of welds-it sounds great, but I want full 2.5" front to back)
Thanks for the reply!