Stock Exhaust Removal

fondupot · June 21, 2014

Its honestly not that hard. I'm sorry i didn't take pictures during because I was trying to beat a thunder storm, plus my hands were really greasy and dirty. And it was hot as a MF. But really its not hard.

Took me about 1.5 hours to install. Mostly by myself and some help from my dad. The stock system really isn't difficult to remove. Just unbolt the spherical clamp right behind the cat under the cab of the truck. then work your way back with the grommets. I sprayed a little WD40 in the holes to help them slide out a little better. You can use a screw driver to help pry them open to get the spray nozzle in there.They will fight you the whole way if you don't lube them up. once the whole stock exhaust is loose, start sliding it out the back of the truck. Helps to have another person to hold the other end while you are under the truck guiding it out over the axle. At one point it will seem like it is wedged and wont go any further. Just rotate the entire assembly about 180 degrees. and it will then find the clearance it needs.

Keep special mind of the brake lines on the top of the axle while sliding the stock exhaust out.

Before I did anything I jacked the truck up using the frame rails right before they start to curve up for the rear suspension. Only needed to jack the truck up on the passenger side enough to get the rear right wheel off the ground about an inch. I secured the truck with a jack stand and the hydraulic jack together. Then I lowered the spare tire out of the way.

Getting the new system in was not bad either. It's basically in 4 parts. The flange pipe that connects up by the cat, using the stock Spherical clamp. The hangers are already welded to the system and will slide right into the stock spots. Then the muffler. Then the tail section of pipe. Then the tip.

I differed from the directions. They want you to put front section of pipe on first then the muffler on next, but that's kinda hard, because the muffler itself doesn't have a hanger. So I actually attached the front pipe and the muffler together before I put them on under the truck. Then hung the tail section of the piping so that I could get the front section/muffler assembly in and then slide the pipes all together. It helps if you have a could of extra hands, but the way I did it, You will need at least one other person to help. Make sure you put the clamps on the pipes BEFORE you stare sliding them together.

After you have everything seated nice and good you can start tightening the clamps. So the front clamp is an OEM spherical clamp. And it is attached to the OEM exhaust using some kind of little metal clip. You'll see. Just use a small screw driver to get it off. Then I just bent the clip back and forth until it snapped off so it was not in the way. That clamp needs to be tightened to 21 ft/lbs. It's not very much. My Torque wrench only goes as low as 25. so I actually did it to 25 ft/lbs. The rest of the clamps supplied with the system need 45 ft/lbs. And they are a pain in the ass. Because if you do it right you want the nut of the clamp facing up towards the truck. It doesn't give you very much room to crank back and forth on a 3' long torque wrench. But....it's possible.

After you have everything attached. Lower the truck back down, raise the spare tire back into position. Grab a cold beer. And start that puppy up.

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brents · December 18, 2015

I was able to remove my stock exhaust without cutting as well using only a jack stand - it was on a 2015 Sierra crew cab (143.5" wheelbase). Overall it came out pretty easily and the new system (Corsa) was just as easy to put back in - I did both by myself.

The only things I did differently than fondupot mentions above is I used a Channellock plier to get the rubber hangers off. If you open the pliers all the way you can put one side behind the rubber hanger and the other on the metal piece protruding through it and then just squeeze the pliers together to get it started. There is a special tool for doing this that works even easier but the pliers worked just fine. Using the pliers you will need to pull the hanger off for the last bit where the specialty tool would likely just push it all the way off. I also used a jack stand and one of the packaging pillows that was in the box to set the muffler on while I was clamping it up. I don't think I would've been able to do it in the order the instructions had said without doing that - it would be easier if someone was helping you but setting it on a stand worked.

The Corsa system sounds really good. It is a little louder than I was expecting but overall has a very good sound that seems muscular and not just loud.

Jerry's Denali · December 18, 2015

I removed mine on a 2015 6.2L Denali in one piece.

No jacking or anything besides dropping spare tire down a little.

Some creative twisting and it was out.

No damage to anything.

.

SAKO79 · December 19, 2015

In the summer I installed in MBRP exhaust on my 14 Sierra 1500 5.3 liter v8 I added on the hoist and it came out easy with no cutting

ic3man5 · December 24, 2015

I removed mine without cutting it, I had to put blocks on my jack to get the tire completely off the ground so the axle to bed was 100% separated and I had enough ground clearance to rotate the exhaust pipe. Have to drop the spare also. Made me wish I had a lift.

It has to go out over the axle through the back, no other way to get it out without cutting it.

UroGator · August 28, 2017

Thread revival. Seems like most everyone who could remove the stock exhaust without putting it on a lift had a short wheelbase. Has anyone tried remove the stock exhaust without putting it up on a lift with the 6.2 L in the 153" long wheelbase?

Crazyfly · August 28, 2017

Can’t wait to do mine next week

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alodawg26 · May 28, 2018

Just got the Borla Atak with the pipes coming out on each side behind the tires. Anyone with a lift in Cincinnati area want to help a brother out? I'll bring the beer.

alodawg26 · June 16, 2018

It definitely comes out without cutting it up. Truck is a 5.3, double cab, standard bed (143.5). I'll admit that I could not do it on my own, but had a friend come over and help me. The truck was lifted on Jack stands and the back right tire was about an inch off the ground, as others have recommended. It came out straight out the back after some finagling. I actually had more trouble getting the front clamp off than I did removing the exhaust. Mine is a 17 so the rubber boots were still pretty well lubricated. Thanks for everyone's help!

jdaddy33 · February 23, 2020

Just got my Borla S type and looking to install soon. I have ramps, jack stands, and a floor jack. What's the best method without a lift? Does running the truck up on ramps help at all? Confused on best way to get stock system out in one piece (don't want to cut as I'm selling to a buddy). Thanks for any help/advise.

dieselfan1 · February 24, 2020

On 6/16/2018 at 1:29 PM, alodawg26 said:

It definitely comes out without cutting it up.

The truck was lifted on Jack stands and the back right tire was about an inch off the ground, as others have recommended. It came out straight out the back after some finagling.