Ever tried to find a Cherokee XJ that’s bone-stock and in great shape? That first bit of criteria will take up page after page of internet search results, but those last two have become nigh impossible to attain in 2015. Here in sunny Southern California, we have the luxury of not having to deal with lots of rust (thankfully), but there’s no shortage of modded-out, lifted Cherokees roaming the streets and trails.

The Cherokee gets prepped for the install.

Finding this 2001 4×4 model was no small feat, and we intend to treat it with the utmost care and concern as it moseys along through its upgrades over the coming months. In the meantime, however, we can take care of at least one small nagging issue thanks to Gibson Performance.

Remember what we said about rust and sunny Southern California? Well, we should have put an asterisk on that sentence, because while it doesn’t tend to affect body panels as much, it can still get around to affecting the undercarriage. Our first-hand experience with that happened as the Jeep was hoisted on our Bendpak two-post lift, and the ugliness was right there in our faces.

As you can see, the tailpipe (top left), along with the muffler and resonator (top right) are in less than stellar shape after 14 years of being exposed to the elements (bottom).

And it wasn’t just the oxidation that afflicted this poor Jeep. From the factory, the exhaust was not designed with much emphasis on performance, but more on noise level, and so came with packing material in the muffler, as well as a resonator to drown out “excessive” audio.

The Cat-back Stainless Steel Single Exhaust kit (p/n 617201) will go a long way toward improving overall health of our project XJ.

Gibson’s Cat-back Stainless Steel Exhaust (p/n 617201), by virtue of its design, has neither of these issues. Its stainless steel composition isn’t as susceptible to oxidation, and every joint in the kit is intended to reduce backpressure and turbulence, making for a better performance curve over stock.

We’ll be giving you all the full scoop on this install soon enough, including dyno tests before and after, and shots taken out on the trail. In the meantime, have a look-see for yourself by checking out Gibson Performance online today.