Ok, I've owned my '96 since December. When I purchased it the MIL was on and the owner told me it was related to a recall. I was aware of the emissions recall affecting many '96 Maximas. So, I took it to my friendly dealer and they confirmed the MIL was related to the recall. Before I was on my way, they warned me my cat had a hole in it (I can hear it too). Apparently as a result of the 02 sensors causing the engine too run rich for so long.

So...what side effects will I notice? The dealer told me I wil notice a lack of power. Should I see a decrease in gas mileage?

I owned a 3rd gen before my current max and that one had lots of low end torque...not so with the VQ...but it could be the plugged cat...

What do you guys think? I believe the dealer, they didn't even try to push me to have it fixed there...

 

Maybe this will help? I got it off of Warpspeed Performance's website:

http://www.car-sound.com/05converter/05reason.htm