well thats not my setup. my HSR 383 headman Lts, 3" true dual exhaust (mandrel bent) 3" summit xpipe and 3" force mufflers with turndowns... its the meanest sound ive ever heard on a 3rd gen... the ypiped cars just dont sound the same.
then i wouldnt change it. i would just find another 3" muffler that would fit your liking. i think the new thrush mufflers are pretty good ( i assume) but there are other types to look at and they are super cheap like 37$ each. i cant believe what some ppl pay for a muffler like borla etc its insane.
it really depends on the muffler as far are the crackling. glass packs usually have a perferation on the inside... looks like tabs bent out but they are cupped and only face one way, if the perforation "cup" faces the exhaust flow then it will catch some of the gases/sound and will change the tone slighty and act more like a muffler by passing the catched gases/sound and putting it through the fiberglass packing. this will give u the best tone IMO. but switching it around so it faces the other way will give u slightly better flowing but it will prob have that "crackling" sound that no one likes. ive only had experience with glasspacks so idk bout the spiral flows.
you could have a custom peice bent from 3" tubing for like 60$ and then buy a muffler and it would be less if the pipe is fine that fits to the cat and runs to the axle where u hacked it off. theres a place near me that uses 14 gague THICK tubing and they are cheap
if u want a new catback then get the cheapest 3" kit u can get. then i would choose the muffler i wanted. honestly i love my FORCE muffler but they are no longer offered, if i want to replace them i will prob go with the new THRUSH ones. i still have my AFTERBURNERS by flowtech and they where AWSOME!!!! i loved them too but i didnt like the case design (had a lip that would catch on stuff) but they are great sounding mufflers and were cheap like 37.
if its rusted out its prob bc of water sitting in the muffler thats why if it sits take it off or heat it to evaporate the water out. all the 3" kits are basically the same aluminized 16 gauge exhaust tubing.
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/30416/10002/-1
ive used jegster exhaust kits before they are great quality. and u can delete the muffler if you want and put in one that you want or make it a single.
this is the one u had and the one i have on my dads 86 307.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Flowmaster/389/17151/10002/-1#