thebeast85

I need to replace the front exhaust pipe. I noticed the flange where it is connected to the 'Y-pipe' (connects the front pipe to the headers) is also bad so I want to change the Y-pipe as well. However, when I look online I see that there are Y-pipes with catalytic converters, and y-pipes that are just pipes (and much, much cheaper). Is it necessary to get the cat y-pipe if I already have a catalytic converter attached to my muffler? Im so confused why they are there in the first place

PatHenry

If your Jeep doesn't have catalytic converters in the Y pipe then you need the Y pipe without cats, if your XJ does have cats there then you need the one with cats. Make sure it's the correct year since there were changes between 99 and 00.

IIRC the Y-pipes with cats are for the CA emissions version XJ.

fb97xj1

Just replace it with whatever it has now.

The dual pre-cat setup was a 2000-2001 only thing. A 2000 XJ originally shipped to and sold in California back in the day had pre-cats. A 2000 XJ sold elsewhere only had the single cat, just before the muffler. But ALL 2001 had dual pre-cats regardless of where they were shipped to and sold.

This is a precat setup.

PatHenry

Do bear in mind that if you DO have the pre-cat setup in your XJ you absolutely DO need to replace it with the same. It's illegal to do otherwise and beyond that there are extra O2 sensors as you can see in the excellent photo from fb97xj1 that if you don't have connected will cause all sorts of wonkiness with your engine operation. There is zero advantage to adding cats if DO NOT have the pre-cat setup. Some have argued that the extra heat will cause problems with the pre-cat setup.

If you're removing the Y-pipe, it might also be a good time to consider replacing the flawed 0331 head if you still have it on your 00 XJ. If you don't and your head cracks you'll be doing round 2 of removing the exhaust.

Waynerd

I have a 2001. With 210,000 plus on the clock it's inevitable that one day I will have to replace the exhaust. So I've been looking at my options. Only thing that confuses me is the fact that there are down pipes with the dual precats that are noted as 48 state. Anyone know the difference between the 48 and 50 state that both have precats? Is it lack of 02 sensor bungs on the 48? I can't seem to see a difference but there are a lot of them with the pre cats that are 48 state and only a few that are 50.

PatHenry

I'd grab a flashlight and look for those O2 sensors in the picture. I'd guess that the 48 state model just omitted the extra sensors.
BTW, what's the state other than CA?

Ralph77

If I understand your question. My understanding is that all '01's are CA Emissions. Some but not all '00's are. Some '00's are Federal. I own a '00 CA Emissions jeep. So If you do not live in CA or NY you can buy the 48 state dual cat pipe. They both have the bungs for 2 downstream O2 sensors. They both look exactly the same. The difference that I see when looking at the Walker ones is the CA version is almost twice the price of the 48 state one. It also comes with a better warranty. My theory is that a CA cat has more of the stuff in there that cats have to reduce emissions. I also believe you could run the CA cat even if you don't live in CA or NY. It would just cost more. When I replaced mine I considered the CA cat, don't live in either of those states, just because of the better warranty. Ended up buying the 48 state version though.

extrashaky

There's some confusion in this thread maybe I can clear up. In 2000, there were two versions of the emissions system:
You can tell which version you have by looking at the sticker in the engine bay on the firewall on the driver's side.
The differences:
The above applies to the 2000 XJ. In 2001 Chrysler just did away with the EPA version altogether, and all 2001 XJs had the California emissions setup.

That's almost but not quite accurate. Chrysler sold California vehicles all over the country. When I bought mine new, I had to turn down a couple the salesman offered me in Alabama because they had California emissions.

When Chrysler sold the 2000 model new, they marketed the EPA version as "49-state" emissions and CA as "50-state." This was a marketing ploy to get people to buy the CA version (because "50-state" is better than 49, right?) to help their aggregate emissions numbers.

So, outside of California, it doesn't matter where it was sold. You will find lots and lots of CA 2000 XJs that originated in every state in the country. You just won't find any EPA XJs that started life in California.

Inside California, you couldn't buy a new EPA emissions XJ, nor could you register a new EPA emissions XJ you imported from out of state. HOWEVER, if you bought an EPA emissions XJ in another state, registered it there and then moved to California, you could and still can register it there without it being a CA emissions vehicle. So if you have an EPA XJ, don't feel like you have to sell it if you want to move to California.

Yes! It's the CARB sticker.

Any aftermarket catalytic converter (and many other intake/exhaust parts) intended to be installed on a vehicle registered in California or New York has to have a sticker to indicate it complies with the rules of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). That certification costs money, so parts with CARB stickers typically cost more than parts without them, even when they're the exact same part.

Note that the CARB sticker and CA emissions equipment are NOT the same thing. When we talk about a CA emissions 2000 or 2001 XJ, we're talking about a vehicle that had the correct equipment to be sold legally in California in 2000 or 2001 as a new vehicle. When we talk about a CARB sticker, we're talking about an aftermarket exhaust part that has been certified by the state of California to replace one of those original CA parts.

Therefore, if your CA emissions XJ is registered in California or New York, you need to buy the CARB version to be able to pass inspection. If you don't have the CARB sticker, you'll fail inspection and have to replace it with a CARB certified version. Police in the People's Republik of Kalifornia can also demand a roadside inspection and ticket you if they discover you have non-CARB parts installed, primarily to prevent ricers from installing aftermarket performance parts on their cars but swapping them back to stock only long enough to get past inspection, then reinstalling unsanctioned parts again as soon as they get home.

If you register the vehicle in another (friendlier) state, you can pay less and buy the non-CARB version. Remember what I wrote above: There are CA emissions XJs that were sold all over the country. But just because they were CA emissions vehicles doesn't mean they have to comply with CA's oppressive registration/inspection procedures. So in the other 48 states you can use a downpipe that is intended for a CA emissions vehicle but doesn't need the more expensive CARB sticker. Is that clearer than mud?

Nope, the sensor bungs are still there, because the vehicle still needs them. It's still a CA emissions-equipped vehicle and still has the original CA emissions system. It just doesn't need the CARB sticker on it to pass inspection outside of California and New York. In most cases, if you lay the CARB and non-CARB parts side by side, you won't be able to find a single difference except that stupid sticker.

Rather than develop their own rules, NY simply adopted the CARB standards in 2013. That's why you see "49-state emissions" on some of our Jeep literature from back in the day they were sold, but "48-state" on replacement parts sold now. There are other states that have also been looking at adopting CARB, so it may continue to drop to 47, 46, etc.

extrashaky

I seriously doubt it. I feel pretty certain the only difference between CARB and non-CARB cats is that one has the sticker, while the other doesn't. Why make people in more reasonable states pay for the stupidity and overreach of California's government? It makes sense for the manufacturers to charge the full cost of the certification to the people who voted for it, since they have no choice but to pay it anyway.

extrashaky

Just to add, when I say "CARB sticker," that can also be an imprint in the part itself if a sticker might burn off. Here are some pics to illustrate what you're paying so much extra for:

Cat with CARB imprint:



Intake with CARB sticker:

Ralph77

Anything is possible. Would be funny if it were true.

PatHenry

Of course the manufacturer is going to charge the full price to the consumer!
Why anyone thinks that a company is just going to "eat" the cost of gov't mandates is beyond me. This is particularly true of politicians -- "We'll mandate that health insurance companies can't deny people due to [expensive] existing conditions." "Why are premiums skyrocketing"...uh you just forced a bunch of extra cost - so that cost is passed on to the consumer.

It used to be years ago that MA auto insurance was outrageously more expensive than other states - why? MA mandated insurance and made it law that insurers had to provide you insurance no matter how bad a driver you were. Not a shock that meant high prices.

Auto parts are a highly competitive industry, in order to keep prices low they charge the regular part price to the majority and concentrate the carb cost on CA and NY (and rightfully so) since folks in those states can't get parts without the costly certification.

Waynerd

So it's just a certification? So is there any proof that the non certified ones produce more emissions? Because all that would really matter is if it would still pass an emissions test. So if the cheaper ones actually produce the same amount of emissions that the CARB certified ones do then I would buy the magnaflo. It's still pricy but it's labeled not for sale in CA.

Waynerd

The Magnaflo.

extrashaky

Pretty much. The testing is more involved for the CARB certification, and the manufacturers are required to provide a 50,000 mile warranty on CARB certified cats. Some of the manufacturers claim there are more precious metals in the CARB version, but like I said above, I really doubt that.

Not that I have seen. I'd love to read it if someone finds it, if for no other reason to prove whether they really do have more precious metals in them.

That's fine as long as you're not actually in California or New York. In CA and NY, even if your non-CARB cat reduces emissions enough that it would pass the emissions test, you'll still fail for having an uncertified aftermarket part installed. The People's Republik of Kalifornia government wants to control which car parts komrade citizens are allowed to use and which parts they are not, even if the unsanctioned parts are functionally the same.

Everywhere else, I can see no reason at all to spend the extra money on a CARB-certified catalytic converter. A non-CARB catalytic converter is still supposed to meet EPA standards and still has to carry a 25K mile warranty, so it should be plenty sufficient to pass in states that defer to EPA standards for emissions tests.