Catalytic converter needed

rightseatsis

NAXJA Member #953
Location
San Francisco
Seems the catalytic converter on my 2001XJ is starting to go. So far the dealer is quoting me $1,400. for the part. Anyone know of a better deal, somewhere in the Bay area. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks
Mary
 
You can get an after market one for cheap but they tend to go out more often then the factory ones do. It ends up being the same cost over the years of use. The nice thing is factory ones bolt in and out and you can do those at home, of course if you go to a muffler shop you can have one put in for 200-300 bucks or less and not worry about it for another 2 or 3 years and not have to cough up 1,400 bucks. Is there any particular reason you think its going out?
 
It barely passed its smog test and I have a check engine light that keeps coming on. Today I took it into the dealer today to have it checked. They found several fault codes which some they could clear, they uploaded some new software and then jeep did run better on the way home. But the mechanic seems to think it needs a new cat. conv. 1400. seems a little steep. I figure someone on here might know of something less expensive. They are trying to say it is a dealer only part.
 
OBDI is not cheap, like older stlye OBDII cats.
 
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Even the OBDII cats can get about 3-400$ installed at an exhaust shop. Dont bother with the dealer.
There are links to some lower priced cats as well. Just search.
 
You can get an after market one for cheap but they tend to go out more often then the factory ones do. It ends up being the same cost over the years of use. The nice thing is factory ones bolt in and out and you can do those at home, of course if you go to a muffler shop you can have one put in for 200-300 bucks or less and not worry about it for another 2 or 3 years and not have to cough up 1,400 bucks. Is there any particular reason you think its going out?

New CA emmission laws make all aftermarket cats 49 state legal. These cats will not pass smog. I would go to an exhaust shop to have it done. They are the cheapest and will have the right part.
 
I would make sure your O2 sensors are up to snuff first. 50 bucks apiece and could easily solve the problem.

If it doesn't, you can keep the old ones till you actually do need an O2 sensor and then put them back in.
 
You can have a new CAT welded on but Cali requires it to be registered now and supposedly they will know if that part number installed on your car will work for that engine. But thats all the job of the exhaust shop, the customer just pays for the part and service like always. You can check your o2 sensor as well. If your Jeep has high NoX I would say the CAT probably is going out, you have to figure its almost 10 years old anyways so its about that time. BUT if the rear o2 is faulty it could make it seem like a failing CAT when its not. Most likely if you paid for diagnosis and the dealer said its the CAT most likely I'd go with that BUT if you just had them scan it real fast and they said "oh the computer says this" then I'd definitly take a second look. But yes, o2 and CATS are the highest failure items for sure.
 
I just checked and thier are no aftermarket cats listed for that year XJ that are Ca. legal, so unfortunitly you are stuck at dealer priceing
There ARE 50 state/CA legal cats but they cost a bit. Seriously, pretty much any exhaust shop in Cali will have/can order what you need.
 
Well according to the mechanic I spoke with at the dealer the O2 sensors were working fine. I will check some local exhaust shops and see if they have something that will work.

Everyone thanks for all the suggestions. That is what is good about this club, lots of advice.
 
k so Jon has a cat and 02 for sale, might want to grab that, it will work. finding a shop to put it on can be tricky. pm sent!
 
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