Pypes Street Pro Cat-Back Exhaust (97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ)

Video Review & Installation

This Pypes Street Pro Cat-Back exhaust is for those of you that have a 1997 all the way up through the 2006 TJ that are looking for a cat-back exhaust system either because you want some additional sound because yours was crushed on the trail or because it's simply rotting through. This is going to provide a little bit of a deeper and louder exhaust note and it's going to be a very high-quality material, so you're not going to have to worry about rust in the future. This is something that's going to install on your Jeep very easily. I'm gonna give it a one out of three wrenches, but we'll show you how to get this installed in just a second. So, when you're looking at exhaust systems you can really find a couple of different things. The way that the TJ is set up with where the muffler sits, most exhaust systems are going to be a cat-back system.You have a pipe that comes from the collector to the catalytic converter, directly after that is the muffler and then you have this over axle-pipe. So, if you are going to be changing the muffler out, you're most likely also going to be changing out this over-axle pipe, so again most kits are going to end up being a cat-back system, that's exactly what this is. This is by Pypes who are known for building some pretty quality systems, but also at the lower end of the price point even for the materials that they're using here. Most exhaust systems are going to vary wildly in price depending on the materials that are used. You have aluminized steel 409 stainless, 304 stainless, 304 is going to be the most rust and corrosion resistant and that's what this is. So, this is a very high grade of material. You're not going to have to worry about this rusting through even if you live up in the northeast or somewhere else if you use a lot of salt on the road like they do up where we are here. So, what you're going to get with this system is the new muffler here that is going to give you that lower and louder exhaust note, you're going to get all the couplers and everything you need to attach this on to the catalytic converter, which is the part that's going to be existing on the Jeep after you get your factory exhaust out of the way.And then as I mentioned before, you're going to have this over-axle pipe that's going to go from the muffler to the back of the Jeep where you're going to have this turned down too. Now, something that does make the system a little bit different and one of the ways that they are able to save a little bit of money here is that this isn't a fancy polished tip, it's not, you know, big 3-inch tip that slides over the pipe, it's none of that. This is simply another mandrel-bend like the rest of the bends in the tube. It's a little bit of a turndown and it's cut off here. So, maybe not as flashy maybe not as fancy but it is going to save you some money. This kit comes in at right around that $300 mark, which I do think is very fair for a system of this cost. If you were looking to replace your entire exhaust system, you can do that for about 320 bucks in and around there but it's not going to be this great of material. And if you step up to a MagnaFlow or Flowmaster one of those bigger name brands in the exhaust space, you can expect to pay sometimes almost double what you have to pay for this system and you're not getting a higher grade material. So, I do think this is going to be a pretty good bargain for a high-quality exhaust system made of some really nice material. So, let's go ahead and show you how to get this thing installed. Tony: Tools used for this installation are as follows. A ratchet, a 15-millimeter socket, a 13-millimeter socket, and a small pry tool. Now let's begin the installation of our new cat-back exhaust with the removal of our original cat-back exhaust. Now, we're gonna use a 13-millimeter socket to disconnect the clamp from the catalytic converter. Now, this vehicle is a little old, so it's got a little bit of rust on it and it's probably gonna put up a good fight, but we're gonna get this off at no problem. Now, we're ready to go ahead and get our hangars disconnected now that our clamp is disconnected from the back of our catalytic converter. Now to do this, I like to use a little bit of spray lubricant on and around the hanger just to make it easier to slide the rubber hanger off of the steel rod that comes off of your exhaust. With our small pry bar, we're gonna go ahead, get this hanger off. After that one, we're gonna go ahead and get the one that's on our over-axle pipe. Now, we're ready to go ahead and start getting on our new exhaust up in place and we're gonna begin with the muffler. We also have to add the small adapter that comes with our kit. Now, this is gonna take it from 2-1/4 up to 2-1/2 to fit our new exhaust. Now the kit does come with many adapters depending on the year of your TJ. The earlier years, you'll have to use this adapter, later years you're gonna have to use the adapter for the two-bolt flange that comes in our kit. I'm just gonna go ahead and slide that in our muffler all the way down and bottom it out. Then we'll go ahead and add our clamps to that. Then we have a smaller clamp to go there. And slide your muffler up in the place, make sure you got your orientation correct. Then we're going to go ahead and just leave everything loose for now. We're gonna get our tailpipe in place and then we'll go back and tighten it all up. Right now we can go ahead and slide our tailpipe up in place and hanging on hangers. All right. Now, with everything installed, we're ready to go ahead and tighten up our clamps. And we're gonna use a 15-millimeter socket to do so. And normally when I tighten up my clamps on my exhaust, I like to work my way from the front of the vehicle to the back, so follow along we'll get everything tightened up. All right. Now, with everything lined up and tightened up, you are ready to go with your new cat-back exhaust on your TJ Jeep Wrangler. Now, I'm Tony. And thank you for viewing. And for more parts and videos like these, make sure you give us a visit at extremeterrain.com.