EcoDiesel DPF & CAT Delete Pipe: Which One Fits Your Ram or Grand Cherokee

No one gets into a diesel so it can spend the afternoon cleaning itself.

That is the part owners get tired of first. Not the power. Not the pull. It's the cycle that runs on its own schedule instead of yours, and at some point you stop working around it.

Here's the thing — the fix is smaller than the frustration. This is not the teardown you are picturing. Get under there with a light and you will see exactly what has to come out. Let's break it down.

What Is an EcoDiesel DPF & CAT Delete Pipe?

The DPF and CAT delete pipe is not a full exhaust system. It replaces only the section of the factory exhaust that contains the emissions parts. It pulls both the DPF and the CAT out of the exhaust stream and replaces them with a free-flowing T-409 stainless steel section. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L DPF/CAT Delete Exhaust covers the EcoDiesel engine from 2014 to 2018.

The section of exhaust this pipe actually swaps

Picture the whole run, turbo to tip. Now find the middle of it. That is where your afternoon is going to be spent, and nowhere else.

Plenty of guys brace for a full weekend because the word "exhaust" is sitting in the name. Wrong picture. You are working at one height, on one stretch, with a joint at either end of it.

Delete pipe versus full exhaust system

The two sit next to each other in a catalogue and they do very different jobs. One changes the entire run. The other changes a stretch of it and leaves the rest of your setup where it hangs.

That distinction is worth your attention, because the two are not interchangeable. Reach for the wrong one and you are back under the vehicle a second time, on your own dime.

The good news? The one you want here is the smaller and simpler of the two.

The same part, two vehicles

Same engine, two very different vehicles wrapped around it. That trips people up constantly. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L EcoDiesel DPF & CAT Delete Exhaust Pipe for 2014-2018 is the physical half of your delete: the pipe that replaces the factory Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Catalytic Converter (CAT) in your exhaust system.

Read the vehicle name before you read anything else. It settles more of this decision than the engine badge does.

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How Does the Factory Filter Work on a Modern Diesel?

In diesel engines, internal combustion results in expansion of high-temperature, high-pressure gases, which in turn move pistons, transforming chemical energy into mechanical energy.^[2] The exhaust system has a Diesel Particulate Filter to reduce vehicle emissions.^[1] The DPF cleans itself as part of normal operation.^[1]

What comes out of a diesel under load

Everything else starts here. Fuel and air go in, work comes out, and what is left over has to go somewhere. To operate effectively and safely, the engine must continuously deliver air, fuel and lubrication to the cylinders.^[2]

That is the whole deal, and every bit of hardware bolted around it is in service of it. Nothing on this engine is decoration.

Common rail fuel systems improve performance, fuel economy and emissions control in modern engines.^[3] In a common rail setup, diesel fuel is stored in a high-pressure rail that supplies fuel to each injector independently.^[3]

Precise fuel, precise timing. You already knew that part.

Where the filter sits in the exhaust path

The air side and the exhaust side are one conversation, not two. Ever wonder why an exhaust change gets talked about as a power change? Engines depend on turbochargers to deliver power, efficiency and emissions performance.^[4] That is the whole argument for a clean path out. It is also why this stretch of pipe gets so much attention from owners who have never touched anything else under there.

The filter also has company down there. Selective catalytic reduction systems that use diesel exhaust fluid can force a vehicle to drastically reduce speed or become inoperable if DEF runs out or if system sensors fail.^[5]

The self-cleaning cycle, in the manufacturer's own terms

Here is the part nobody reads in the manual until it starts costing them time. Avoid extended idling because the DPF system is not capable of self-cleaning at idle.^[1]

Read that line twice. The system was built around a duty cycle. Give it that duty cycle and it behaves itself. Give it anything else and it starts asking you for something you were never planning to give it.

Within the 6.7-liter Dodge Ram Heavy Duty exhaust system, particulate matter is reduced by a self-cleaning Diesel Particulate Filter.^[7] Fuel consumed, hours of engine operation, and miles driven are monitored by the Engine Control Module (ECM).^[6]

None of those inputs is your calendar.

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Why Does the Regeneration Cycle Wear on EcoDiesel Owners?

Under certain conditions, such as idling or very short trips, the self-cleaning process has less efficiency and cannot be completed.^[1] The DPF & CAT Delete Pipe for the 2014-2018 Ram 1500 3.0L EcoDiesel removes the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Catalytic Converter (CAT) from your exhaust path for good, ending the regen cycles and check engine codes that come with this engine over time.

The duty cycle the filter was designed around

Think about how your rig actually spends its week. Short hops around the property. Long stretches sitting and idling while you do something else. Backing a trailer a few feet and shutting it down again.

None of that is what the system wants from you. It wants long, steady, uninterrupted work, and it wants it on its schedule rather than yours.

The DPF will clean itself if the vehicle can be driven for about 30 minutes.^[6] Ram's diesel guidance is not to operate the engine at idle for prolonged periods.^[8]

We get it. That is a strange thing to be told by your own vehicle.

What a regeneration feels like from the driver's seat

You do not need a scan tool to know it is happening. You can hear it. During self-cleaning there will be a change in the exhaust sound and engine idle speed.^[1]

Then it either finishes or it doesn't. That second outcome is the one that eats your day, because the whole thing starts over from further behind next time.

Why short-trip vehicles feel it most

If that is your week, you already know how this goes. The cycle starts. You shut down before it gets anywhere. It starts again the next time out, with more ground to make up.

If the vehicle is idled or driven on very short trips with the DPF warning message on and the exhaust filter is not cleaned as required, the malfunction indicator lamp will display.^[9]

Stack enough of those together and you are chasing codes instead of doing the work you actually got up for. Deleting the filter without sorting the calibration side is like fixing a leaky roof on one half of the house and leaving the other half open. Fix both or fix neither. This is the platform's Achilles heel, and it has almost nothing to do with how good the engine underneath it is.

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Which Delete Pipe Fits Your Ram or Grand Cherokee?

The DPF & CAT Delete Pipe for the Dodge Ram is listed for the EcoDiesel engine across the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 model years. It fits 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Ram 1500 with the 3.0L EcoDiesel, pickup models only. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L DPF/CAT Delete Exhaust is listed for the EcoDiesel engine across the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 model years.

Reading the engine and model year off your own vehicle

Two things decide this, and both are written on the vehicle itself. The year sits on the door jamb. The engine is the one you already know. Ram offers a full lineup of on- and off-road performance pickups and commercial vehicles, including the light-duty Ram 1500.^[10]

That is the family your truck sits in, and it is the half of the answer most people get right without thinking about it. The half they get wrong is the body.

The pickup-only line on the Ram record

Check the body style before you check anything else. Not sure which side of that line your setup sits on? Call (888) 830-2588 and have the year and the engine ready when you do.

One call beats a return shipment and a lost weekend. Nobody enjoys unboxing a part that was never going to hang where they needed it to.

Where this fitment list stops

Compatible with Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L models only, across the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 model years. So read the jamb rather than trusting memory, and rather than trusting whatever the previous owner told you when you picked it up.

Outside that band, this is a different conversation entirely.

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What Is the Pipe Made From, and How Does It Mount?

The pipe is built from high-quality T-409 stainless steel with OEM-style hangers and clamps, so it bolts into the factory mounting points with no cutting, welding, or fabrication. The high-quality T-409 stainless steel is built for long-term durability, and shipping is included. The delete pipe is the same diameter as the factory exhaust system.

Why T-409 stainless is the material called out

You are going to be wrestling this thing overhead, with the vehicle up on stands and your arms above your face. Finish and weight matter more down there than they ever do on a spec sheet.

Stainless also means the part you put on this weekend still looks like a part several winters from now. Nobody wants to do this job twice.

Factory mounting points and the hardware that reaches them

Here's the thing about a real bolt-in: it is the hardware that makes it one, not the pipe. Hangers that reach the factory points. Clamps that seat without a fight.

Lay everything out on the floor before you lift anything and count it against the guide. Ten minutes on the floor beats an hour on your back.

If you own a welder, leave it where it is. You will not be needing it for this one.

Matching the diameter of what came off

This is the quiet detail that decides whether the job runs short or long. Match what came off and everything lines up on the first try. Miss it and nothing does. That is why a vehicle-specific part beats a generic length of pipe every time, and it is the reason two listings exist for one engine instead of one listing for both.

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Where Does the Delete Pipe Sit in the Exhaust?

The front end of the delete pipe connects to the down-pipe and the tail end of the delete pipe connects to the tail pipe, just before the bend over the rear axle. The two barrel shaped parts sit in the exhaust near the middle of the truck. Your factory muffler stays right where it is.

Finding the two barrel shaped parts

Get the vehicle up, get a light on it, and look at the middle. You are hunting for two bulges in an otherwise straight run, and they are not subtle once you know what you are looking at.

Everything ahead of them and everything behind them is staying. Only the stretch between is going in the scrap pile.

The two joints the new pipe lands on

Front joint and rear joint. That is the whole map.

Soak both of them in penetrating oil the night before, not on your way under the vehicle. Rusted hardware is the most common reason a job like this runs long, and it is entirely preventable with a bit of planning the evening before.

Work front to back and support the section as you free it. It is heavier hanging there than it looks.

What stays on the vehicle

Your factory muffler stays in place. So that question is already answered for you before you start, which is one less decision to make on the floor.

Plan for a difference you can hear. Some guys are pleased with it and some are surprised by it, and both reactions are completely normal.

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What Should You Expect During Installation?

Depending on your truck bed, you may need to cut your pipe to modify your pipe length for fitment. Make sure to measure twice before cutting. A muffler can be placed anywhere along the system as long as it makes sense to you.

What to have on hand before the old section comes off

You get the delete pipe, the OEM-style hangers and clamps, and an installation guide in the box. So the parts side is handled before you start.

What is not in the box is the rest of your afternoon: jack stands, a decent socket set, penetrating oil, a cutting tool if your setup calls for one, and a second set of hands for the lift. Get all of it out and within reach first, so you're not scrambling at the parts store mid-install.

We send a step-by-step guide and have a full-time support staff for install questions. Read the guide before you lift anything, not while you are lying under the vehicle with a wrench in your teeth.

Bed length, pipe length, and the one cut you may still make

This is the one step where a mistake costs money instead of time. Everything else on this job is reversible.

Mark with tape rather than a marker. Cut square, deburr the edge, and dry-fit the whole section before you tighten a single clamp. If the tape line and your gut disagree, trust the tape and measure a third time. Nobody has ever regretted the third measurement.

Placing a muffler if you are running one

Some guys want the tone knocked back down. Some want none of it at all.

If you are keeping one in the system, put it where it clears everything and where you can still get a wrench on the clamps later. Access matters more than position here, because the day you need to get back in there you will not be feeling patient about it.

The tune that has to go with the pipe

A compatible delete tune is required alongside the pipe to keep check engine codes from setting after install. This is the step people skip, and it is the step that sends them straight back to where they started.

A compatible delete tune is required to disable regen in the ECM before you install the pipe; the pipe alone won't remove emissions codes. Handle the calibration side first and the hardware side second, and the job ends clean.

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Which Pipe Should You Buy, and What Does It Cost?

The DPF & CAT Delete Pipe for the Dodge Ram 3.0L EcoDiesel is $489.00. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L DPF/CAT Delete Exhaust is $709.00. For a 2014-2018 Ram 1500 with the EcoDiesel, the DPF & CAT Delete Pipe for the Dodge Ram is the part that fits.

What each pipe costs

Two vehicles, two listings, two prices. There is no bundle to work out and no options list to get lost in, which is a rarer thing in this category than it ought to be.

DPF & CAT Delete Pipe | Dodge Ram 3.0L EcoDiesel 2014-2018

This is the pipe for a 2014-2018 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup. Get it up on stands and work front to back. It goes quickly. Bang for your buck, this is about the easiest afternoon you will ever spend on the platform.

Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L | DPF/CAT Delete Exhaust | 2014-2018

For a 2014-2018 Grand Cherokee with the EcoDiesel, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0L DPF/CAT Delete Exhaust is the part that fits. It's our best-selling Grand Cherokee delete pipe. Take your time on the rear joint. Give yourself room to work back there.

The vehicle decides, not the price

You do not get to choose between these two. Your vehicle already did that for you.

Say it plainly, because people do wonder about it. Each pipe is shaped for what it hangs under, and that shape is the entire reason there are two listings here rather than one.

After you order

Shipping is included and orders process within one business day, with standard delivery in 8-10 business days and express in 5-8. So plan the weekend around the delivery window rather than the other way about.

Exhaust systems and DPF/CAT delete pipes are final sale, but a faulty or wrong product gets a replacement. Check the year and the body one last time before you commit, because that last check has saved a lot of people a lot of grief.