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Hooker Dual Exhaust Kit "Header Back" 16552HKR

9K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  blueduster 
#1 ·
I recently installed Hooker's 16552HKR header back dual exhaust kit on my '85 W150 Power Ram short bed with a 360 and 727. I paid $166 for it from Summit.
I chose this kit because there are not many options out there for the older trucks, and it was much cheaper than going to an exhaust shop and having it bent up for me. While this kit only uses 2-1/4" aluminized tubing, I felt that it was large enough because all the bends are beautiful mandrel bends with absolutely no loss of diameter.  The tubing was well formed, with nice flanges and quality composite gaskets and hardware included. The components were well packaged and arrived in great condition.
The instructions were not so great, with a downright crappy sketch of what went where. They did caution that this kit was made for Hooker Headers and mufflers, so those are the ones I got. I was not looking for trouble, just trying to save some bucks.  I had just installed Hooker Competition headers and had some new Hooker Competition 21005HKR turbo mufflers to go with this kit.
The first headpipe I put up to the collector DID NOT FIT. It hit the frame, hung too low, and pointed downward, not good. Now, my truck has never been in an accident, doesn't even have any body filler anywhere, has new engine mounts, I used the headers they reccomended, and it did not fit. Not even very close.
What to do? Well, I saw this as an opportunity to make the kit better. You see, they want to run the left side down, out, below the frame, and back up and across to the right side, all to avoid the vaccum storage ball for the Ramtrack 4WD system. So, I relocated my ball (I know, ha ha) to the inside frame rail near the gas tank, used the right side 2WD headpipe on the left side, and ran that sucker right up over the tranny crossmember like the right side. I then cut the unused under-the-frame head pipe and used it to hook into the rest of the system. I'm sorry that I didn't take any pictures.
So, everything worked out great, and I didn't have to buy ANYTHING else to make the kit work. It had enough clamps and hangers to make it nice. You DO NOT need to have access to a welder to install this kit. The instructions say to clamp it, which I did. I intended to weld all the joints, but after being on my back for so long under the truck in the cluttered garage, I figured I'd see if it had any leaks before I welded it. No problems at all so far. Oh, did I mention that the kit came with quality composite gaskets? Oh yeah, I did, but I thought it was worth mentioning again.
The kit has a nice tone outside the truck, but even with the headers it is quiet in the cab. The tailpipes exit out the side behind the rear wheels

Bottom line: The kit did not fit as designed, maybe Hooker would have made it right, but the workaround actually resulted in a better finished product. Maybe one day I will take some pictures.
 
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#3 ·
I used the Ramcharger kit in mine. Had to flip sides on the head pipes too. I’m using Thorley Tri-Y headers and added a Summit H-pipe w/Flowmaster Super 50s. Everything was great except the Summit kit’s clamps. They sucked. But I’m going to weld it in eventually.
 
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