check engine light p0420 catalytic converter bad

i bought this 1996 2.7 liter 5spd tacoma with 145k on it a few weeks ago knowing theres some issues with it. had the check engine light checked out and it came up p0420. took it to my mechanic and he said the converter is bad and i should replace my o2 sensors also. well the thing is im not made out of money so i was going to get the magnaflow converter its 145 on Amazon to see if that fixes it. should i just wait out on the o2 sensors. also my mechanic said i have 2 converters pretty sure there is only one correct?

 

bump just mostly want to know if anyone has used the magnaflow converter and how it turned out and wanted to make sure its only the 2001 plus models that have to converters.

 

I used a Cat co. high flow cat and have had no problems.

The magnaflow will work, but you may throw a CEL because its higher flow than OEM.

You can use a URD O2 simulator to fix that problem.

I had a CEL for the longest time because I had a high flow cat, then for some reason after adding an LCE header it went away.

Also check for exhaust leaks (esp. an cracked manifold) because IIRC the 0420 code can also be tripped by an exhaust leak upstream of the 2nd o2 sensor.

 

i had the same code and it disappeared when i replaced the fuel/air ration sensor (infront of the cat) then it came back a year later and i replaced the 02 sensor and it has not come back since

 

yea i hope this cat doesnt throw the code still i also ordered two o2 sensors so this should fix the problem the shop said i should replace the o2 sensors when replacing the cat.