So i just got my alta catback and i couldn't wait to get it installed. i googled around and went to this "muffler" shop near me. when i arrived he wasn't even that busy. just one mechanic with one lift in his shop. anyway, he installed the catback for me. however though he used a torch for about 10 to 15 minutes to heat up the flange between the cat and the midpipe so that the old oem set up would get loosened up(sparks flew all over the place). in the end he ended up drilling out the old rusty bolts from the oem exhaust. he also used a hammer to bang on the oem catalytic converter and kept rocking the header back and forth harshly so that it'll loosen up the the exhaust(while the o2 sensor is still attached).

when i drove home with the new exhaust for about 10 miles it was fine until this morning... i started the car up and the check engine light just stayed on and turned out to be the p0036 code. do you guys think that when he heated up the flange between the catalytic converter and the midpipe he somehow damaged the o2 sensor(maybe from the torch's sparks burned the wire)? the clip to hold the sensor's wire also broke, it was too rusty and one touch it just came off. maybe the wire got close to the cat and got too hot? any pointers on where i should pin point this out?

 

have you looked up what p0036 is?

 

That code is for HO2S B1S2

You might not have anything wrong with sensor itself but with the wiring. You'll need to trace the wires back (or judge shop do it) and see what part of the loom is damaged

 

If the wires are burned at the sensor, It was probably Torchy McBurnalot at the shop that cooked them. You should safely get under your car and check the sensor which is just before the flange that he had to get medieval on to remove.

 

As Helix and Spencer said, definitely inspect the sensor for damage. Some good info on the P0036 code here. Some good possible solutions here.