Gentlemen,

I did search the forum and couldn't find any reference or answer to this dilema. The exhaust pipe off of my manifold is 2-3/4" OD leading to the cat and is original. This is my mothers car that I inherited and is all original. All of the OEM direct fits are 2-1/2" OD and the Magnaflow 94800 is 2" ID which will make welding it in a pain and why would the pipe size reduce so much? I couldn't even convince the auto parts store that the donut gasket was too small until I brought the original in along with the original cat. They can't figure it out as with 4 other auto parts stores. I tried a Walker 54413 direct fit but the flange bolt holes are 4" on center and mine is 4-3/4" on-center. My cat also angles up to the exhaust manifold slightly to the passenger side. I really didn't want to have to take this in for a custom cat & weld job, but is that what I'm left with? The reduction of 2-3/4" down to 2" ahead of the cat is my biggest concern. Any ideas? Thank you.

I bought a direct OEM replacement cat for my 2001 Bonneville. I didn't have the time to put it on, so I went to Velaquez muffler, a larger chain of deep discount muffler shops in Illinois. They took a look at my direct OEM replacement CAT, and mentioned something about it likely would not work because it would have a seal problem. I paid $200 for the CAT at Rock Auto.

They ended up selling me a generic CAT for my Bonny, installed for $100. It has worked fine. It was half the cost, installed, of the OEM part. You may want to see if you have a local deep discount muffler shop that will install a generic CAT for a super low cost.

I haven't had to replace the converter on the Park Avenue yet, but Magnaflow does offer a direct fit converter that wasn't available the last time I checked: http://performancepeddler.com/catalo...er-p-3499.html

It might be worth a look, if you haven't already done so.

Thanks for everyones reply. So this is what I've learned...My car was manufactured on 02/95 and is considered a 94/95 cross-over vehicle. There are no direct fit cat'* available, so a friend offered to weld up the holes and build up the thin spots. He is a really good welder and we spent a few hours fixing things up and it'll last another five years or more. The OEM alloy cat'* last a lot longer than the replacements, so it should be a while before I need to have a custom exhaust made. Now for another dilema...I cant find the 2-1/2" ID exhaust manifold gasket/donut at any of my local autoparts stores. They don't even have one listed. Has anyone had this problem and is there a replacement availble from a different model/year that will fit? My friend who did the welding use to work at a muffler shop and he suggested going to one and having them find a replacemet by size. He said it wouldn't be cheap, but I don't care, I just want to get this thing put back together and running again. Thanks or everyone'* help.

Maybe you can look up a GM replacement gasket here: http://parts.nalleygmc.com/

Once you have the part#, you can call the local dealers in your area.