96 Gt check engine light

my 96 gt 2.5 has had its check engine light on for over a year. dealer wants huge $ to replace catalytic converter. My local mechanics dont think it needs replacing. could it be something else? should I try a cheap after market catalytic?

head over to a pep boys or autozone, they should be able to read the code for free.

A lot of the time its an O2 sensor which goes bad. Usually that will give you bad gas milage, and eventually ruin your cat.

If it is the Cat then your exaust will smell like rotten eggs. In that case I would just get any cat you want, although it might cause problems with the O2 sensor.

I just had my cat replaced on my 97 with 260k. The check engine light was on with the cat code for 100k. I noticed poor gas milage and loss of power when excelerating in 4th and 5th gear. Since replacing I notice lots more power....my garage installed after market cats which cost me 800 dollars with installation. That also included the two oxygen sensors. My milage has improved. They had me accelerate in Neutral as the rpm's increased there was less pressure coming out the exhaust. The engine wasn't breathing properly with the clogged cat. Not sure how many miles you have on your GT but it was 100k on my Legacy Brighton before I noticed a power problem. I needed to change because soon I will have to go thru emmission Testing. Hope this helps .

please let me know the code that was set.the o2 sensors must be inspected for proper readings.you need to measure the exhaust temperature before the convertor and after on a warm engine.hold rpm at 2k .if the exhaust temp should be higher on the outlet side than inlet on convertor.its usally the convertors thou from those i have replaced.check that you can still get the o2 sensors out.many times they are frozen in convertor