Good question. I do see that the PCM for California cars is different. This is undoubtedly due to the differences in emissions standards. The exhaust that gets to the upstream O2 sensor may have the same content, and may not make a difference there, but the downstream sensor might start over-riding the upstream if the input is too far outside of CA spec's. I believe that the downstream O2 sensor in ZJ of earlier years, may not have had any control over the fuel-trim adjustments, etc., but in the '98, it holds some sway. I'm no expert here, but would err on the safe side and get the CA cat. Others with more experience with such things will hopefully contribute something more definitive. Good luck.

 

Regardless of possible pcm differences, the federal cat cleans the air the same as the carb compliant cats. They just dont have the carb # stamped on

 

When I bought my jeep the po had a federal cat converter on it, unbeknownst to me, and when I took it to be smogged it failed. Well, it actually passed every test, with flying colors, except visual since it didn't have a carb number on it. So I'd say you'll be fine.

 

Damn, musta sucked to shell out $185+ plus install just to get a carb number

 

Reminds me of installing a new Fed standards SS cat on my son's 96 4.0 XJ. Six months later he moved to SoCal and had to go through the inspection & smog test. He failed since someone had "tampered" with his exhaust and installed an aftermarket non-CA compliant cat. No chit, that would be me, and what a waste when he had to go to a shop to have a new CA cat installed!

Contact Kolak and his info is in the below post. He should be able to set you up with the 3" high-flow Fed Magnaflow cat. Good luck.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/wj-short-arm-control-arm-discussion-3071761/index2.html#post28980321

 

While it may be true that the CARB certified, or Executive Order exempt, CAT's don't perform any better than the 48-49 state versions, there is something else to consider. After reading through the Executive Order that Walker/Tenneco has for it CARB-marked products, I read that in order to get that stamp, the manufacturer must give a 5-year warranty. Contrast that with the warranty on non-CA units. When I did, I saw that in the case of Magnaflo, they only gave a 25,000 mile limited warranty. That probably equates to about 2-2 1/2 years for the average driver. It looks like Magnaflo does offer extended warranties, though surely not for nothing. So while the CA catalytic converters may not do much more with the exhaust, they do get you a better warranty.

It may well be that the main difference between 50-state and 48-49-state, outside of the CARB stamp, is the warranty, hence the higher cost. I'm not happy, but not quite as irritated either.

The only other thing in the Executive Order verbiage, is a reference to that the CARB cat was tested with a certain process, and was shown to NOT throw any false CEL's. That may not say much, if anything, but it's somewhat noteworthy. Based on what I've read, I wouldn't worry about installing your non-CARB cat on your ZJ. Good luck.

http://ssl.arb.ca.gov/PartsSearchTool/ExecutiveOrderPDF.aspx?AEON=D-182-60

 

As someone previously said, contact Kolak and get a cat from him. He has great prices.
Another thing I like to add to these posts when I see them since I recently had this experience is that even if you have a Cali legal cat, that doesn't mean it is approved for your vehicle and you will fail the visual in California if you don't have an approved cat.
I bought a 3in highflow magna flow but what I didn't know was that it is only approved in Cali for the 4.0 engine and not the 5.2

Sent from somewhere

 

You need a new smog guy

 

Ya I know, they went by the book but I didn't have much other choice at the time. I have 2 years now till the next smog.

Sent from somewhere

 

The only real difference between CA and Federal emissions in the 1998 ZJ is that CA has a leak detection pump for the evap system. The PCM has to cycle the pump.

As for the converter, if you don't live in CA, no need for a CA converter. PM me if you'd like pricing or have any other questions.

 

I purchased a 77 5.7 Sprint in Washington , in which the seller had a new EPA cat installed , I than brought the vehicle home to California , having to smog it will I be required have the EPA cat replaced by a CARB cat ?

 

You'll get much better answers for your 77 if you start a new thread in a more relevant section. This is specifically the ZJ (93-98) Grand Cherokee tech section and this thread is 10 years dead.

 

Or perhaps a GM forum, or a CA emissions forum, or frankly a CA emissions tester...

Anything other than a 10 year old jeep thread

On the upside, got any pics of your sprint? (Aka Chevy elcamino)

Hoss