1998 Ford Taurus How long can the cat last

Tiny
DN4192
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 FORD TAURUS
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 129,000 MILES
Presently my taurus has a misfire in the no. 1 cylinder which I have been told will cause unburnt fuel to get to the cat and damage it. Fixing the misfire is to expensive, so I was wondering how long can the cat last with this mifire before it becomes ineffective and at some point causing the car not to operate? I have already that I am aware put almost 3000 miles on the cat with this condition.
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 AT 3:17 PM

10 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
No telling! Gas could get into it on your next start up and sit in it until it heats up and ignites it, then the cat is dead! What is the misfire problem and how much to fix it? You surly wont pass your next inspection like this.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 AT 3:21 PM
Tiny
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I am looking at over $1200 to fix the engine and then there is no guarntee that it won't still have issues. I bought the car at an goodwill auto auction back in July for $450 and use it just to drive around town. It is getting about 20 mpg right now with no operational issues except what happens when you have a misfire. I live in a state with no inspections so I could be bellowing black fumes from my tailpipe and no one would care. I am just going to drive this car till either the engine goes or the cat stops it from working, donate back to Goodwill and go buy another car.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 AT 3:37 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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Well you could unplug the injector to #1 and it wont squirt gas into that cylinder. What was the diagnosis on the misfire?
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 2:22 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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  • 17,250 POSTS
I didnt know any states were like that Fed highway dollars are usually cut off to those states not in Fed compliance!
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 2:23 AM
Tiny
DN4192
  • MEMBER
  • 86 POSTS
In Indiana they don't care what the car is like, as long as you have insurance you are good to go. The misfire is due to the car overheating at somepoint and causing the exahust valve to become burnt and damaged.
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 8:46 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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So I guess you did a compression check? Unplug the injector to save the cat!
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 3:20 PM
Tiny
DN4192
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  • 86 POSTS
I had a compression test done and a leak down test done which showed air coming out the tailpipe and the radiator resivor.

Won't unpluging the fuel injector cause the computer to sense that and in turn increase the fuel flow through the other 5 injectors which would cause even more unburnt fuel to get to the cat and have all the cylinders misfiring? The reason I ask is this is the one question I can't seem to find any kind of concesses on. I have been told by a few people that the car's computer will sense the misfire and shut off gas to the misfiring cylinder, others have scoffed at that and said if I unplug it more fuel will go to the other cylinders making the matter worse and others like yourself advising to unplug the fuel injector. All the opinions I have gotten was that unburnt fuel will damage the cat, but I can't get agreement on how I can lessen that damage.

Why is this such a tough issue to address?
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 3:33 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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Unplugging the dead cylinder will not increase fuel to other injectors, if that happened, it would cause the engine to rev faster. Not true! That cylinder is getting gas! If pressure is reaching your coolant tank, you have a cracked head! Keep an eye on this, if it cracks more, oil can be forced out of the crack, and onto the hot exhaust, possibly causing a fire, also the extra pressure in the rADIATOR, CAN DAMAGE IT!
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 6:19 PM
Tiny
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How do you unplug the No. 1 fuel injector? Also what would cause the head to crack farther? What signs should I keep an eye out for?
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Sunday, November 8th, 2009 AT 5:54 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
If the exhaust valve is burned, it has a small area on it's face thats missing, so the shear force of the pounding of the valve against the seat will crack the head if it isnt already cracked. Locate the number one plug wire, follow it to the cylinder, unplug the injector connector.
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Monday, November 9th, 2009 AT 2:52 AM

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