frado2jr

I have a 95 jeep xj my cat has been making noise for a year and im ready to get it fixed. I have little experince with working on cars but im wondering if it is a hard job to do. Should I go to a shop and have it done or install the part itself. If i install the part myself should I weld it or can I just use clamps. Thanx

93_xjcherokee

If your jeep is rusty than its a little difficult. Mine wasn't rusty at all so a little pb blaster and it came right off. I think its best to have the new one welded back on. Clamps will work but back in the day when I worked at emissions, you had to have it welded to pass. Not sure if that rule still applies or what the law is near you.

Firestorm500

Just go to a reputable muffler shop and buy the best one they have.

freegdr

Universal cat,sawz all and couple off clamps. As long as exhaust pipe is in decent shape.

Firestorm500

Yeah, the pricing on a factory one will make your eyes water.

mschi772

Performance-Curve.com has great cats for awesome prices.

Buy a cat from PC. If the one you buy is shorter than the factory one, buy a short length of pipe to fill the difference.

Have a dremel and or hack saw. Have a couple exhaust clamps and a wrench.

Cut your old cat off; sometimes you can cut just the cat and slide it off the downpipe and mufflers. If you have to cut straight through, that is fine.

Sell your factory cat to a scrapper. Depending on your area, you can get $30-50 for an OEM cat just as scrap metal.

Fit the new cat (and pipe if applicable) into place and clamp it with the exhaust clamps.

Done.

toasterknight

50 or so for factory replacement off rock auto. Just changed mine with the rest of the exhaust.

eagle11401

I had to do this recently, bought the cat w/ the flange connection and paid a local shop to install/weld it, whole thing cost me $130 including the cat.

Firestorm500

Not aftermarket. Call Jeep. MOPAR part.

Aftermarket ones are so lightly built the scrappers won't pay for them as salvage.

Aftermarket ones will last about 2 years in daily driver service. Then they will trigger a check engine light if you have OBDII or later on board diagnostics. P0420.

Personal experience.

mschi772

That's a bit of a gross generalization dontchathink? That hasn't been my experience in the past, and right now I'm using an 11" spun cay by AP purchased from Performance Curve. It is lasting and not only is it not throwing a CEL but my Ultra-Gauge can show my O2 sensor readings, and they're just the same as they were with the factory cat.

http://performance-curve.com/2goerli...08214-1-2.aspx

There are even more affordable options if you're on a budget. If someone wants to spend that much more on an OEM replacement, they're free to, but that's not for me and not my primary recommendation.

Firestorm500

Wife's 01 Seville STS. Threw the P0420 code a lot, even after replacing the converter twice. Second time I put the biggest one on there--from a Chevy truck. Would still throw the code occasionally when I sold it.

Bought an '06 Grand Cherokee for my daughter August 2014. Chased check engine light for 3 months. Ended up replacing both converters and all 4 O2 sensors over a period of time before I finally got the light to stay off. The converters that were on it weren't original when I bought the Jeep. In fact, they didn't look very old. They were aftermarket.

frado2jr

I live in michigan. Is it better to weld or clamps. We dont have thoes type of laws here

frado2jr

Whats the real benifit to using after market. Is it even worth it at all?

Firestorm500

Well, its cheaper. At least at first in the short term.

Cadillac didn't sell just the converter on my wife's STS. I would have had to buy the complete exhaust system from manifold back for $1200 plus tax wholesale. That's not installed.

93_xjcherokee

I personally welded mine but clamps are easier. As long as you get them tight, they shouldn'tleak