Upstate NY Member Looking For Exhaust Advice

[getek20]

I purchased a beautiful '96 Trans Am WS6 on Craigslist. The car itself is flawless inside and out. Runs strong. I went to get the car inspected but a CEL came on just before arriving at the shop.

The previous owner installed Pacesetter long tube headers and off road Y pipe, Magnaflow exhaust, and removed the rear cats. The car was tuned by PCMforless. However, despite this the CEL is coming on. The shop said the two front cats are reporting "slow to respond" but both are working properly. The shop is stumped. I am thinking about putting rear cats back on and restoring the ECU back to stock settings to make the car legal again so I can pass inspection and hopefully eliminate any future cat related problems.

I purchased two universal Magnaflow high flow cats:
http://www.magnaflow.com/02catalytic_converters/02product/displayuniversal.asp?universal=59959
But, they don't fit. The passenger side will fit fine but the driver's side won't without hitting several parts underneath the car.

At this point I need to either look into a completely different exhaust setup or somehow find a way to get cats welded into my current exhaust setup. I need your help! What do you recommend?

[AdamG]

To be honest Im not sure i understand your problem. there should only be two cats if in not mistake you say there should be 4. Are you sure you arnt mistaking the o2 sensors?

[getek20]

To be honest Im not sure i understand your problem. there should only be two cats if in not mistake you say there should be 4. Are you sure you arnt mistaking the o2 sensors?

Whoops. I must have been distracted when I wrote this. I meant to say the cats have been completely removed, along with the rear O2 sensors. The front O2 sensors are still connected and functioning properly.

[getek20]

The shop recommended that I go with a different exhaust setup. They suggested Kooks headers and accompanying Y-pipe with integrated high flow cats. They'd reconnect the rear O2 sensors as well. This should enable me to pass NYS inspection without any problem. To me this seems like the best course of action.