03' seems a bit sluggish....plugged exhaust?

Seems when I want to giddyup a bit my 03 seems sluggish. Can a stock, 18 y/o exhaust get plugged up after many years and create that feeling? Looking to get a DD exhaust soon...Thx

 

Doubtful that would happen, the diameter is a good size and I can't really see the baffle pipes in the muffler getting plugged. You could try unbolting the exhaust right after the resonator to find out.

What state are you in? What is the condition like of your truck otherwise? All maintenance up to date? MAF clean? Spark plugs recent? Tires up to pressure? Trans fluid good?

 

Also, did you scan for diag codes? Just b/c there's no CEL on, doesn't mean you don't have codes stored. Almost every auto parts store will check codes for free.

Usually when someone tells me 'sluggish on the giddyup' I'm thinking fuel delivery or air delivery. Spark delivery issues tend to show with no-start/chunky run symptoms.

When I say fuel delivery, the things I gravitate towards are inadequate fuel pressure due to line blockage or more often a failing pump, fuel filter clogged (if present), etc. Chances of all injectors clogging at once are super low, so I wouldn't even go there. But running the tank down to 2-3 gals and dumping several ounces of SeaFoam in the tank, then taking a few small 3-5 mile trips and letting the truck set for 10-15 minutes between can't hurt to clean fuel delivery out.

When I say air delivery, I mean air filter clogged, rats nest in the air box or intake tube, MAF shitting the bed, bad throttle position sensor (TPS), etc.

But clogged exhaust? Naw. If it was something upstream of the muffler, if your O2 sensors are working, it'd have thrown a CEL + code already. I think you'd be seeing other symptoms if it was from the muffler to tip.