Mine is in need of replacing....could it be the cause of a random engine sputtering after starting it ? The sputtering goes away after accelerating a small distance.

The service engine soon light came on one time it happened. When I got home I cleared it and it hasen't come back on yet but the engine sputter still happens now and again.

I'm wondering if it can also be an efi coil going bad. Thanks guys.

 

Usually(but not always) a bad converter will show signs of poor acceleration,and cause the CEL (Check Engine Light) to come on.Im not sure if you had a CEL,or just service engine soon light appear.In some cases they are completely different.
Typically,when a converter goes "South" it develops an exhaust restriction resulting in poor acceleration,and fuel economy in the dirt.Ive even heard cars/trucks that pass me by sounding like a runaway air hose.
If you indeed had a CEL,have the code read, and post it and im sure further assistance will be forthcoming.
Intermittent stumbling can come from any number of sources.

 

ok, thanks for the quick reply.....I will get the catalytic changed and go from there. Thanks again

 

You could have an "issue" getting it replaced...especially if you are shootin for an OEM converter.Not sure,but last I heard Ford was having problems supplying converters.If however you decide to go "aftermarket" im sure there are plenty of muffler shops that will cut the old one out and weld a new one in.
Dont ,however be surprised if this doesent fix your problem.
You seem to be determined to replace it,and it may well be bad,but your intermittent stumble issue could be caused by anything from garbage on a plug,to an intermittent wire,and virtually anything in between.Good luck!

 

I doubt the Cat was bad. I pulled mine off with 210k on them and looked inside. They looked like brand new. NO deposits or cracks or anything.


I would get your codes scanned and see whats really going on.

 

I know the cat is bad as it's starting to sound like ****. If I do get any codes codes afterwards I'll see what's up. As of now any codes have been cleared.

 

Well, finally got time to look into what I thought was a bad cat it was simply a split in the pipe between the cat and the muffler. Fixed that. I changed the fuel filter and it looks to have resolved my random spuddering issue I was having.

 

What happened to ("I know the cat is bad") ????

Sorry,,,I just couldn't help myself...lol
Glad you got it fixed up.

 

lol yeah I had that coming.... I took the muffler repair shop's word for it when I replaced the muffler her told me the cat was on it's way out.

Good guy though cuz I brought it back in a month or 2 later to get the cat changed and he's the one who found the split in the pipe rather then just charging me for a new cat also.

 

You know your cat is bad cause you are running a sputtering engine, which dumps excessive fuel and air into the exhaust causing them to overheat. Don't replace the cats till you fix the cause of the problem.