Really disapointed with Doug's cutout
I bought Doug's cutout because I was tired of the drone that inevitably comes from any (or any that I have tried) aftermarket exhaust system. From my '69 Mach1 with cherry bombs, '89 5.0 stang, '03 Mach1 to my '10 Shelby, they all created annoying reverberation with aftermarket exhaust. So, I figured the way around that is to install a cutout to give it a meaner sound, but still have the ability to flip a switch and voila...stock exhaust again! Well, I installed a Doug's cutout last month and it worked perfectly...the truck sounded great with the cutout open, but when I wanted to lessen the "in cabin" noise I just flipped a switch. I took a 200 mile trip to Tampa, and while on the highway I kept it closed and really enjoyed the lack of exhaust noise. Like I said, to me it was a perfect solution. Well, exactly 2 weeks after installing the cutout, it quit operating properly, it would only close about 1/4 of the way. Fortunately, I bought it from amazon, so they promptly swapped it out. At first I didn't open the faulty cutout since I didn't want Doug's to deny my warranty claim, but after I received the replacement cutout I went ahead and took the old malfunctioning cutout apart. I didn’t know what to expect…warped plate, stripped gears all sounded probable. Well what I found was, I think, even worse! The inner plates that hold the “tension” balls (ball bearings on springs) are RUSTED!! I was thinking WTF, this thing is only 2 weeks old and the insides are rusted. This is VERY POOR design and manufacturing to say the least!!!
Here are some pics…
The valve wouldn't close all the way
RUSTED internals!!!
I have the replacement cutout installed, but I don't expect it to last too long!
I could remove it and try to use some sort of rust inhibitor, that might delay the corrosion some, but I shouldn't have to do this to a nearly $300 new piece of equipment from a reputable manufacturer!
