Exhaust- Cat, muffler, tail pipe

Looks like time for a new catalytic converter, muffler and tail pipe. '98, 150,000miles. Core in cat is all broken up and muffler sounds loud. Cat prices are all over the place..$60 to $300. Any advice as to where to look. I live in NJ. Should I stick to stock sizes or go to 2.5in all the way out. I would like something that can take a beating. Those Pennsylvania rocks take a toll. I only have about a 2 inch lift. The cat must have the fitting for the oxygen sensor, the muffler must be legal in NJ, but the sound doesn't matter to me. I hate it when I enter all my specs at a site and they show me stuff of all sizes and shapes and say they fit my XJ. What BS. Any suggestions would be appreciate. TIA

im in the same boat as you, so i picked up the dynomax catback and ill be looking into a new cat. the dynomax is quiet (just a tad louder than stock on mine) and it was $80 shipped after mail-in rebate from JEGS.

im not sure about the cat, but ive found magnaflow to be good quality in the past, and they're not too expensive on summit:

http://www.summitracing.com/search/?keyword=jeep cherokee catylitic converter&dds=1

Advanced Auto: Walker Catalytic Converter, <$150 Part No. 15820 for my 1997. This unit bolted right in since it has the exact OEM dimensions. The dealer unit (albeit a much more rugged unit) costs >$700.

I to am running the Walker converter and Dynomax cat back,Fit was perfect on my 96.
try here for a cat-- www.ecatalyticconverter.com

Wayne

My 87 xj I used a catco cat and dynomax catback both from summit. Worked and fit perfect and sounded nice too. Passed nj inspection with it.

On my current 92 I have a magnaflow cat and dynomax catback also purchased from summit Cost me under $200. The cat fits perfect and I passed nj inspection just fine with it. The exhaust doesnt fit right. Somehow I ended up with a dynomax for a 93 and up xj. While the muffler fit ok. The tail pipe length was wrong and I had to use a piece of pipe and modify the hanger also. I didn't have time to ship it back and get another one so I dealt with it. It was on sale and summit had a rebate at the time so I really didn't care anyway. It is not as loud as my 87 4.0. Iirc 87-92 dynomax exhaust are 2.5" from the muffler back and 93 and up are 2.25".

Today I had a muffler shop cut out the old cat and weld in a new Catco for $190. $90 for the 6" flex coupling.

If you're worried about the cat getting hit, shouldn't you also be worried about the force that transmits to the header and the head? That's why I got the flex coupling.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1007316

Thanks for all the help and good ideas.

Walt

I just got a cat for my 97 from Quadratech, it was $89 - magnaflow. Stock exhaust upstream and downstream, sounds a bit louder, but it does the trick.

Mark