When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I had a rotted out exhaust pipe from the cat back to the muffler. Ordered a Walker 46669 pipe and my mechanic who installed it said was easy to install and everything fit just as it should.
Walker does have intermediate pipes in 3", but they're made for 4th gen cars. I used them for my exhaust and the fitment was good, just had to massage the hanger with a BFH. Part numbers are 53061 & 54064.
The confusion comes from the size of pipe GM used. Walker's 46669 is a nearly exact copy of the factory high output 3" exhaust pipe. Just like the OE part, it's mandrel bent and about 2.75" in diameter, and like the factory pipe it necks down to 2.5" diameter when it enters the muffler. So then do you consider it a 3" pipe because a quarter of an inch is insignificant? Or a 2.75" pipe? Or do you advertise it as 2.5" because thats the size that slips into the muffler for the last 3"?
Nothing wrong with the 46669 aside from most aftermarket thirdgen style mufflers are a true 3" inlet. That and the 46669 was not available for awhile... For that matter, the Walker 2-piece 3" intermediate pipe they offer for fourth gens is hard to come by too.
I had a hard time finding the pipe and was glad to get it, I have a Dynamax muffler that was put on the car right before I bought it and am amazed they didn't replace the leaky pipe while at it. The car is much improved with the new pipe. Thanks Drew for the technical assist on the description.
The confusion comes from the size of pipe GM used. Walker's 46669 is a nearly exact copy of the factory high output 3" exhaust pipe. Just like the OE part, it's mandrel bent and about 2.75" in diameter, and like the factory pipe it necks down to 2.5" diameter when it enters the muffler. So then do you consider it a 3" pipe because a quarter of an inch is insignificant? Or a 2.75" pipe? Or do you advertise it as 2.5" because thats the size that slips into the muffler for the last 3"?
Nothing wrong with the 46669 aside from most aftermarket thirdgen style mufflers are a true 3" inlet. That and the 46669 was not available for awhile... For that matter, the Walker 2-piece 3" intermediate pipe they offer for fourth gens is hard to come by too.
Interesting Drew. I passed on that pipe a couple of times because I assumed it was a 2.5" pipe.
Just an aside, the low po factory 2.25" IP necks UP to 2.5" to slip onto the muffler.
Sounds like the L69 intermediate pipe that I once swapped into my car—huge compared to the LG4 pipe.
JamesC
the walker replacement I pipe for the L69 was 2.5" all the way. At least the one I put on my Pontiac several years ago was. It has the four bolt flange for the cat. Probably of questionable sustainment these days as the four-bolt cat is likely to become a hard to find item...BUT if you have the L69 y-pipe and want to keep it, that's probably your only option.
The fourth gen two-piece I pipe was 3" all the way. I installed it with a magnaflow 3" input muffler. Only had to readjust the hanger location slightly with an additional hole on the frame rail. It has a slip fit connection to the cat instead of the later thirdgen two-bolt ball socket fitting as shown in the photo above.
the walker replacement I pipe for the L69 was 2.5" all the way.
The aftermarket catback I initially swapped into the LG4 system was 2.5, which, of course, was larger than stock. The OE L69 system was 2.75—larger than the above aftermarket catback. L69 Y-pipe below for the sake of comparison with the LG4.
the walker replacement I pipe for the L69 was 2.5" all the way. At least the one I put on my Pontiac several years ago was. It has the four bolt flange for the cat. Probably of questionable sustainment these days as the four-bolt cat is likely to become a hard to find item...BUT if you have the L69 y-pipe and want to keep it, that's probably your only option.
The fourth gen two-piece I pipe was 3" all the way. I installed it with a magnaflow 3" input muffler. Only had to readjust the hanger location slightly with an additional hole on the frame rail. It has a slip fit connection to the cat instead of the later thirdgen two-bolt ball socket fitting as shown in the photo above.
The 4 bolt flange is also on the '85 TPIs. The '85 LB9 was essentially an L69 with a TPI intake.
It's crazy how many variations GM went through on thirdgen exhaust. From the dual resonator Silly-Straw system early on, to the wide mouth converters, TOTL V6 systems, single 3" cat setups, and two different dual cat setups... Then things got really goofy with the fourth gens before coming back to a single 3" exhaust that mirrors the 92 dual cat system.
The aftermarket has had to deal with producing parts that address as many configurations as possible. Walker did their best to interchange with stock, meaning you can take a single pipe out of the stock system and replace it with a Walker part and it'll bolt right in. Other companies offered one crossflow muffler and tail pipes to replace everything from the V6 to the 350 V8. Then you've got the aftermarket performance systems that use a true 3" pipe, or smaller pipes to mate with the LG4 or V6 converter... It's a wonder any of these parts work together at all.
Short question on an older Thread: Will the Walker 46669 fit my 92 5.0 TPI with single cat setup? I have a local offer fot that pipe. I know it would fit on my Magnaflow muffler, only question is, will it fit on the original cat converter? I have the Walker 15735 cat and it fits my Walker 47638 intermediate pipe, but it is old and I need a replacement.
It's technically for single ~3" cats. It won't fit dual cats without mods, and the inlet may be too large for the smaller single cats. 92 tpi with a single should be the tiny 305 cat. 50/50 chance.
so i just found this thread- sorry im late- Ha. I run the AP X5500 I Pipe, works great. I had to have the front end opened up a bit to slip fit my 3" test pipe inside the front end, and then had to move the bracket a bit to hit the original mount on the pass side.