Episode 663 – Your Jeep’s Catalytic Converter

This Week In Jeep

Is It Too Good To Be True? Deep Discounts On New Wranglers!

The latest version of the Jeep Wrangler has a mysterious discount worth as much as $4,000. According to the latest incentive bulletins sent to Jeep dealers, higher-end versions of the 2023 Wrangler have what is called a “Sold Order Select Inventory” bonus. What’s more, even the range-topping Rubicon 392 has a rare rebate deal.

The discount in question is unlike any we’ve seen before on a Jeep Wrangler at this point in the model year. The offer is being called Sold Order Select Inventory bonus cash and is available on specially-tagged 2023 Wranglers. 

However, only certain styles are currently eligible for this unusually generous mystery discount, and not all of them get the maximum discount. 

$2,000 off 2023 Wrangler Sahara 2.0L 4 cylinder

$4,000 off 2023 Wrangler Sahara 3.6L 6 cylinder

$2,700 to $2900 off 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 V8

So why is Jeep doing this? We don’t know. Jeep doesn’t disclose information regarding dealer incentives. They just push them out, and it’s up to us to figure out the reasons why. For now, what we do know is that there’s up to $4,000 in savings to be had on the 2023 Wrangler and that it’s available in most parts of the country based on a recent analysis of dealer incentive bulletins in 8 different Stellantis regions. We also know that the 2023 Wrangler discount can be used whether you plan to buy or lease. If you happen to have a reservation or have a sold order in place, it may be worth asking your dealer about the incentive. Although we suspect that the deal is only available to a very limited number of Wrangler buyers, these represent unusually big discounts for configurations that are almost always excluded from incentives. In rare cases, mysterious-looking discounts can be connected to issues much more significantly. For example, earlier this year, there was a $5,500 Cadillac LYRIQ EV discount that was later confirmed to essentially be a payment for signing an NDA consenting to allow GM to track the movements of early buyers. Yea, deep discounts for deep state operations? No thanks, I’m good. On the surface, these new discounts don’t seem to have much if any strings attached other than the limited trims, so if anyone out there took advantage of this, we’d really like to hear from you. 

Just For The LoL’s

So there’s this site that pops up in my weekly searches every so often, and usually, they have decent reliable content. However, this week, this unnamed site released a story that HAD to have come from their April Fools Day file, as it just doesn’t make sense.

From the headline to the last period, the whole thing leaves me shaking my head, and I bet you’ll feel the same. Here it goes… “What’s the best off-road SUV on the market? Here are six reasons to consider the 2023 Mazda CX-50 over the Jeep Wrangler!”

I used a silly voice because there’s no way in hell you can take that headline seriously.

But let’s see what this clearly inept story written by what we can only assume is a think-tank of comedians. 

1. The 2023 Mazda CX-50 has a better price. At the base model trim levels the Mazda does come in $3k less than a Wrangler, but I guarantee you that a base level Mazda cannot and will not be able to go where even the most base model WRangler can, has, and will be able to go, and come back from, do it again, and still not get stuck or be broken. A claim I don’t think the Mazda would be capable of making. In fact, if you ask me the only thing that a CAR is capable of making is a trip to the mall or soccer field. 
2. The CX-50 has more seating. Well when you compare a four-door Mazda CAR (which, again, is what the CX-50 is…) to a two-door Jeep Wrangler, well then maybe yes. But if we compare the 4-door Wrangler to the same vehicle, a more fair comparison, again, the nod goes to Jeep, but I fail to see what seating has to do with being the best off-road SUV on the market, as per the point of, and title to this article.

3. The Jeep Wrangler has worse fuel economy ratings. Well, that claim really depends on whether or not you factor in the availability of the Wrangler 4xe, which the writer of this story FAILED to consider, then this too is a moot point, and again fails to have any bearing on the capability of the vehicle off-road.

4. The Mazda crossover has more cargo capacity. Well, when you compare a hatchback CAR to a Jeep, a vehicle that has over 80 years of heritage and is known for not having a gigantic amount of storage space. So what? That’s what roof racks and bungee cords are for. 
5. The CX-50 produces less cabin noise. This depends on the way the vehicle was configured of course. What they fail to mention is the particulars of this comparison, but reference that the data came from Consumer Reports. Looking that review up, we see a base model Wrangler with a soft top was used. Comparing the cabin noise of a four-door car or crossover to a Jeep with a soft top is like comparing a ninja to a fat man wearing corduroy. One is going to sneak in silently, but the other is going to start a fire with the friction going on between his legs before he gets to the end of the hallway. Once again, this comparison utterly fails to grasp the concept of what ((QUOTE)) 

“The Best Off-Road SUV On The Market?” might actually look like.

6. The Mazda CX-50 has superior stopping distances. The article in question claims that according to Car and Driver, the Mazda CX-50 can brake from 70 mph to 0 mph in 161 feet on dry asphalt. The Jeep Wrangler brakes from 70 mph to 0 mph in 176 feet on dry asphalt. A difference of 15 feet exactly, or just under one vehicle length. Note that the Wrangler does weigh a good 1500 pounds more than the Mazda. So I think if we were to add that much weight to the Mazda, to make the test more even, the little crossover would fail here too. But dry pavement braking doesn’t really have anything to do with being the best off-road SUV on the market now does it? Let’s see how well that Mazda brakes down a steep gravel grade with those street tires and an extra half ton of weight on it…

Look, it’s crappy comparisons like these that are the cause for a lot of people to have a negative view or opinion of the Jeep Wrangler and vicariously any other Jeep for that matter and probably by extension off-roading as a sport altogether. You, the listener of this, may not be able to do much, but I will absolutely take on the responsibility for calling out BS like this any time I see it, using this platform to do so. Anyways, I hope you got as much enjoyment out of this crap as I did. 

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

TOPIC/QUESTION: Catalytic Converters

So the check engine light came on in the daily driver earlier this week, code P0420. 

“A low catalyst system efficiency.” Or basically, the catalytic converter is on its way out. It’s probably that and not an O2 sensor, as the car has nearly a quarter million miles on it and I’m pretty sure the cat that is under there is the original. Catalytic converters or CATS for short, are used to clean up the exhaust emissions on gas-burning engines. Earlier two-way catalytic converters are used to combine oxygen with carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). That’s why you’d see a big stream of water come out of the tailpipe in some of those older Jeeps when they take off from a stop light. In 1981, the two-way converters were replaced by three-way converters that also reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx). Although technology and manufacturing have come a long way since 1981, even the newest catalytic converters will degrade over time. So it’s not uncommon for higher-mileage vehicles, including Jeeps to have catalytic converter issues. So why do cats go bad? Well, the insides of the catalytic converter not only degrade but can also become damaged over time. This can happen in a number of ways. And the more the materials inside the cat degrade or break down, the more the exhaust flow becomes restricted. Catalytic converters are pretty robust, they have to live their whole life under YOUR Jeep, so they’re made to withstand the harsh environment, but they’re not indestructible. For instance,  if the converter gets dented too many times from too many 3rd dates with large rocks, or gets banged around too much from hard impacts… you could easily start to see performance loss. Let’s say your O2 sensors are going out or you (or the previous owner) didn’t take care of the regular maintenance very well. If there is an overly rich fuel condition, or if the engine is excessively worn or tired and allows oil to blow by the cylinder rings or valve seats, the catalytic converter can start to get plugged up and cause all kinds of problems. Even if you frequently use leaded aviation or race fuel. These burn differently in the engine than what it was engineered for, and although may provide added performance, they may cost you the longevity of some of your exhaust components. Sometimes the cat is just plain and simply worn out, seen too many miles, and just needs to be replaced. If too much fuel, oil, or the incorrect fuel is pushed through the converter for long enough, the honeycomb of materials inside of the steel shell can get so hot that it literally burns up, or even melts in some cases. Inadvertently banging on or denting the converter can cause the material to break apart. This is doubly true for when the converter is hot.

Once either of these scenarios happens, the dislodged bits and pieces of that honeycomb of material can get turned sideways and start blocking the exhaust path.

Over time, if left unchecked, the blockage can become so severe as to prevent the engine from running at all. The more you try to rev the engine, or the more gas you give it, in an attempt to overcome the performance loss, the more air the engine tries to move. Since the ordinarily free-flowing exhaust is blocked, the now blocked exhaust causes the motor to struggle. Higher rpm will appear to make less power. Think of how well you’d perform at a marathon if you had to breathe through a sock the whole time, you’d struggle too! There are all kinds of symptoms of a catalytic converter going bad, and some may appear before the computer sends you a code. Signs your cat may be going bad would be things like sluggish engine performance, reduced acceleration, dark exhaust smoke, excessive engine temps, and a build-up of heat under the vehicle, and arguably the most common symptom of a bad catalytic converter on a Jeep is the smell of sulfur or rotten eggs coming from the exhaust. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms on your Jeep and it’s 10 years old or older or has 100K miles or more, then likely you need to look into replacing your catalytic converter.

Which can be expensive. Catalytic converters can cost as much as $2500 to replace depending on the Jeep model and labor hours involved. That is clearly out of reach for a lot of people so here are some alternatives. So yes, there are fixes, hacks if you will, and hopefully, you do something about your bad cat before it gets too late. Now, in a pinch, I have seen people remove the catalytic converter and knock the bits out of the steel shell using everything from a broomstick to a section of rebar, essentially creating a new exhaust path by punching a hole through the middle of the honeycomb.

Not easy, but doable. I’ve even seen one Jeep owner cut a large hole in the converter, temporarily bypassing the rest of the exhaust. Not exactly the go-to option if you know what I mean. You have to be careful if you decide to go this route, as you don’t want the hot exhaust directed at fuel lines, brake lines, wiring, or the transmission for that matter. Not to mention this is going to drastically change how your Jeep sounds and drives. This should only be used as a temporary solution to get you home where you should replace the catalytic converter immediately before driving any further. Despite what your thoughts are on climate change, and the effects your Jeep’s exhaust has on it, catalytic converters are becoming more and more of a requirement on vehicles that go offroad, even if they’re not street legal. Besides the tree huggers and eco nuts feeling better about the tailpipe they’re sucking on, (because even a Prius has a catalytic converter) a catalytic converter also doubles as a spark arrester. All it takes is for one little piece of burnt carbon buildup to flow through a set of straight pipes and hit that summer air, only to ignite the grass on the side of the trail starting a massive forest fire. So it might be a legal requirement to have a well-functioning cat under your Jeep depending on your state requirements. This also raises the point to check where you’ll be wheeling if you’re going out of state. Your exhaust may be just legal enough in your hometown, but two states over it may be illegal as all hell. Oh, and if you’re looking for a great source for parts to beat those repair shop, dealership, and parts store prices? Head over to Rockauto.com and I guarantee you will be able to save some cash on that replacement cat for your Jeep, or your daily driver. And to be honest, they’re not that hard to replace. The worst part may be having to cut the old one out, and having to use clamps to put the new one in. I’d also be amiss if I said in this day and age of tweakers lining our streets in homeless tents and squalor, catalytic converter theft is at an all-time high. So it makes more sense from a security standpoint to have that replacement cat welded in, vs clamped in making that much harder to steal. That’s not to say it still won’t get cut out, but at least it’s one more thing in the way of a thief’s easy payout. I could go into detail about anti-theft devices for catalytic converters, but to be honest, most of them are just gimmicks, and the best anti-theft device is called a garage.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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