Washing a Catalytic Converter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ค. 2014
- Washing a catalytic converter with soapy water to correct a P0420 catalyst system efficiency below threshold. Many people on TH-cam show this process but none of them show any real data one way or another to to show it working or not working. We did not have good results with it but we believe the theory behind this fix is sound and that it might work in some instances. If we get a chance we may experiment some more with it.
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I had the "low efficiency" code. Soaked the converters for 2 days in water with dawn dishwashing soap. Changed the solution a couple of times. Rinsed well and the code went away. But, this may be a special case.
The head gasket blew and several gallons of coolant went thru the exhaust. A few months after the gasket was replaced the code appeared. The converter on that side (V6 engine) was covered with a white layer. The other converter looked fine.
230k miles, original converters.
So, I can confirm that if the cause of the problem is coolant in the exhaust, soaking with dishwashing soap works.
Thank you for this guys...saved me a lot of time that would have been wasted
Washing it in cold soapy water for only a few minutes won't clean much of the deposits off. You need to soak overnight, and agitate (or shake) it periodically. Thoroughly rinse, then dry it out with pressurized air before putting the part back on. You'll get many more miles out of it.
I washed many DPFs on many semis it works!!!
Great job on the video. Firmly believe that more thorough washing would improve the efficiency to eliminate the P0420 code.
*Grabs Pry Bar*
*Begins to bust Honeycomb*
There it's unclogged.
I clean my bong with rock salt and rubbing alcohol. I think Ill try that
Bro lol. High five
Thanks for the info
I really thought you were going to end it with Myth Busted. Still, catalytic converters fail for two reasons (some stated below): 1) catalyst poisoning. This is chemical bonding of the metal coatings with other elements. Potential contaminates are removed from petroleum products, but over time, they can still do their damage, more so with cheaper fuels. This cannot be reversed. 2) Carbonized plugging, which you are trying to wash out. Soaking doesn't help. It's carbonized crust. It's formed at temperatures upwards to 1,000°F. You ever tried to clean you oven or grill with just soapy water? Yea, doesn't work. All you can do is displace it. As the video says, hit it on the outside and try to knock it loose. (Just remember that there are ceramic mesh pieces on the inside, so don't get too aggressive with it. Keep that pneumatic hammer in your tool box.) Rinse it out to get the rest. Chemicals may damage the coatings and won't affect the carbon. Honestly, that's as good as it's going to get.
They’re not trying to unplug the cat. They’re trying to expose the precious metals to the exhaust again. The metals are all there they don’t leave the cat. But if they have a film on them they won’t contact the exhaust
I agree with your comment. Cleaning a old disintegrated cat won’t change it condition.
I had the same problem on my duel exhaust. One cat cleaned up and passed within 5-10 miles of lacquer thinner in the gas. My other would not pass after many attempts of cleaning while attached to the car.
After I removed it to gain that empirical knowledge, I discovered the internal material had disintegrated. So I replaced both of my cats 3 years ago.
A few days ago I did a scan of my O2 censors and they was not preforming as they did when I first put them on. So 1 gallon of lacquer thinner in a quarter tank of gas cleaned both very well. My scan of the O2s shown great results.
I didn’t wait until a 420 failure, I do the lacquer thinner in the gas cleaning every 15,000-20,000 miles now. With my scanner attached so I seen it produce results in about 10 miles at 65mph with overdrive off.
If this works it is just coincidence. Catalitic converters fail because contaminants make it into the exhaust. They get to the converter, coat and encapsulate the many precious metals the different catalists use. The metals are contained in a mixture suspended on the substrate or surface on the inside of the catalitic converter. This contamination is called poisoning. When the inside of the converter is poisoned the material and gasses they usually burn pass right through or build up even more inside. This is because the catalitic converter wasn't designed to burn some of these these contaminents. When they contact the 2200 degree material in the converter what is left is silicone from coolants and, Zink and phosphorus from additives used in engine oil for lubrication. They stopped adding some of them to the oil formula in 04 adapting the api sm iliac gf4 designation. Zink, mmt recently and, lead a while back, also have been removed from fuels. MMT that used to be in fuels, turns into sulfur manganese when burned that can smell and insulate the potential to burn any dirt left over or soot from diesel fuels too. The washing you describe may work temporarily but I'd be surprised at all. If someone puts leaded fuel in, the wrong fuel sold to you in the pump (which rarely happens) you put the wrong or old oil in, you have a mechanical problem dumping massive amounts of coolant, fuel or, oil into the exhaust, washing the converter will not remove lead or any of the other elements I described that are considered poison for the converter. The reason the dirt you can wash off is there is because it no longer gets to the temperature needed to burn them off. In a gasoline engine if there is dirt there then there is a bigger problem that either has been fixed or needs to be before it will pass an emissions test.
Low octane fuels like 87 are not dirtier or better for the catalist unless the higher compression engine which creates more heat requires higher octane or slower burning fuel. If lower hotter burning fuel is used in a high compression engine, it will produce more NOx. If the engine does not burn 87 octane rating too hot then it's better for the catalist and that engine. Higher octane fuels have additives in them that make them burn cooler. Those additives need to burn completely too. The performance engines that mechanically compresses the air fuel mixture more create more heat and tend to burn the low octane fuel early. This causes incomplete combustion, knock or ping, more NOx, and loss of power. It's not dirt or cheap gas. I guess you could get cheap gas like a no name pair of sneakers that is inferior but again, that's so rare, the regulations that are out there now would heavily fine those refineries if that "dirty" fuel ever made it to the pumps. It's not like it would be like brown water from rusty pipes in your house, it would be like the wrong level of additives or incomplete refinement of the raw oil.
For this wash you described, to work on the heavy buildup or diesel soot, you have to make sure the repairs or bad gas, oil, coolant leak or mechanical repair was done. No check engine light for any other failure then, you can run a heavy load or high temp burn cycle with the catalitic installed. This would be like driving up hill heavy on the gas for a few times for at least 10 minute trips. This will heat the poison in the converter up enough to burn off. 2200 degrees, something degreaser wouldn't effect. Then it may be partially what may solve the problem.
None of this will work if the converter is just worn out though. What happens just like an O2 sensor the metals sort of wear off. It's not like they are blown away or burnt up. What happens is more like an attraction like a magnet. They tend to migrate rate together and no longer coat the whole surface inside the converter. Therefore It doesn't have enough surface to do it's job right. Kind of like a dead battery.
I learned all this because I had the pleasure of owning an auto shop next door to a guy that made catalitic converters for all kinds of engines. We used to re-coat converters for my customers when they failed for being old and worn out. I never "washed" one though.
Remember we are talking about cooler exhaust Temps to cut down on the formation of NOx. EGR helps lower temps by replacing some oxygen rich air with unburnable air volume. It's definately a lie or attempt at brainwashing the public when they say the EGR valve makes anything more efficient that the catalist at burning NOx. It does lower the air pressure difference between the intake and exhaust valve in some older engines making less resistance on the downstroke of the piston but, it doesn't compare to the power lost in horse power and fuel economy that can be gained if we had a different way to measure or burn NOx more accurately.
Hi, can we use Throttle cleaner spray or engine degreaser..?
Cleaning a old disintegrated cat won’t change it condition.
I had the same problem on my duel exhaust. One cat cleaned up and passed within 5-10 miles of lacquer thinner in the gas. My other would not pass after many attempts of cleaning while attached to the car.
After I removed it to gain that empirical knowledge, I discovered the internal material had disintegrated. So I replaced both of my cats 3 years ago.
A few days ago I did a scan of my O2 censors and they was not preforming as they did when I first put them on. So 1 gallon of lacquer thinner in a quarter tank of gas cleaned both very well. My scan of the O2s shown great results.
I didn’t wait until a 420 failure, I do the lacquer thinner in the gas cleaning every 15,000-20,000 miles now. With my scanner attached so I seen it produce results in about 10 miles at 65mph with overdrive off.
question...What did you use to clean the cat with?
I was going to try this on my Ranger but when I removed the catalytic converter it was hollow. You guessed it, the muffler was full of the ceramic chunks.
so, are all cat. converters able to be washed? Would this work for a 2002 yukon denali?
Did you guys test the O2 sensor??
can i use power washer to add more pressures on cleaning my catalyst? im planning to wash it.
You guys should have soaked it over night in turpentine/kerosene or similar material then wash it off with soap and water. Soap and water alone won't get the grime and buildup out of the catalytic converter.
Yep... Did that and IT worked
I had the same
With soap.. use Mineral Terpentine ( paint cleaner ) IT removes Silicone from gasket and other plastics and rubber.
The Cat gets up to 1200 degrees not sure how common chemicals are going to clean deposits that are literally welded to the metal. Great video by the way!
Hmmm? I'm thinking it is carbon and Ash similar to shooting Black Powder fouling? Maybe gun cleaner? Ballistol devolves these things readily on a Black Powder fire arm and is 100% environmentally friendly and water dilution is recommended?
Wash it with lacker thinner and you will be good to go👍
What type of soap did you use?
Could you take some carb cleaner or brake cleaner or speed 500 and just let it sit 5 minutes then hose it out?
Should give MEK a chance cleans egr passeges of carbon deposits in 4.3vortec pretty good. With the intakes off of course.
how about paint thinner? soak over night
If you can clean up carbon deposits on pistons by spraying short spritzes of water through the air intake why couldn't you do the same by drilling a small hole in the exhaust pipe right before the cat? Better yet, use compressed CO2 like in keyboard cleaner. What happens is that the cold liquid causes a rapid shrink in the metal and the carbon-being a hard mineral-can't contract or expand at the same rate and cracks off. Hopefully, the catalytic bonds with the substrate don't shatter too. Wouldn't even have to pull the cat...
So what I'm really hearing amongst the collective so far is that it likely wouldn't be a one time it's done fix but that likely a periodic repeat might prove more effective... The real question perhaps being how many times would it take, just as was the pun on the getting to the center of the "Tootsie Pop" of yesterday? Still the result that most stands out to me as it being a good process (albeit one perhaps more for the private owner like myself who simply doesn't care how long it takes nor how many times) is the reading that showed improved outflow to inflow... So if you got the money and just need the real fix quick make that play but otherwise turn on your best romance music and give that car the time and focused attention it deserves and who knows the car might not run but the women might flock to you and surely one of them will have a car while you busy fine tuning yours...😂🤷♂️😎😉
"Do or Do Not, there is no try." - Yoda
Hi. This happened to my 2003 Saab 9-3 2.0 Turbo. Got a P0420 code. Always fueled the car with high premium 102 Octane super Fuel. Drove it almost 1/2 a year every day on a 7 mile highway drive to work and back, added catalyst cleaner additive and some stop oil leak additive because I have a leaking oil level sensor, and I didnt want to change it because you would have to drop the oil pan. Anyway It seemed that i overfilled the car with new engine oil and my PCV seems to be bad as well. After 1/2 a year the P0420 came back and now it would come after every 5-10 mile drive. The repair shop took off the old cat and replaced it with a good working used one. No more P0420 till now. Anyway the took a look at the old cat. The ceramic inlay wasn’t damaged at all and they have been wondering why it got clogged with some whitish kind of sand or so. Almost 70% of the cat got clogged. I noticed that the engine valve cover and even the oil fill in cap got so dammed hot and now I know why. The cat was so clogged that the exhaust gases couldn’t pass through just enough so that the car still had power and drove 130 miles per hour though the cat was clogged. I do hope that the Turbo and the valve shaft seelings are still good. When the cat clogged there was coming white Greyish smoke from the exhaust sometimes which really did smell bad... I hope my new used cat will be more reliable. Before I changed the cat I did drain the oil and made 1 oil change with filter to flush the engine, and after we mounted the new cat we changed the oil with premium 5W-40 C3 Oil again including the oil filter. I will never put any additives in my gas tank as well as in my engine oil again.
what code will show if Catalytic Converter is bad?
Lacquer Thinner is what you should have used SMDH!!!!
Sodium hydroxide NAOH is good to clean catalytic converter ? Does it react with minerals inside catalyst ?
Naoh proven doesn't work
I don't think that SLS based detergents are really ideal for removing ash. I would say that this could possibly be viable if you have oil in the catalytic converter, but then, you have more problems than just a bad catalytic converter...
I'm gonna try this and before I get it off the car I will have to snap one of the bolts and go get a torch to unstick one (or both) of the O2 sensors. Oh yeah...after I drive to the parts store for the loaner O2 sensor tool.
Did you measure the voltage of secondary O2 sensor. What was it. If it is more than a volt it is pointless to clean it. The air ratio sensor ( closer to the manifold. I think its called the bank 1 sensor) can only allow a 5 percent tollerance.
That’s not right. The point here is to expose the precious metals to the exhaust again. If you do that the rear o2 will show lower readings and switch less. It’s front vs rear sensor. Bank indicates which catalytic converter it is.
Wash well
Rinse it well
Dry it well. And you will get good results
why dont use gasoline to clean?
bad smell goese away or still there is?
Why not washing the CAT with a water pressure machine?
Too much pressure
0⁰
It would literally destroy that cat the pressure from the power washer. It would break it disintegrated
Take that power washer and wash your wife with it and see what happens. Just make an example what you see happens they’ll be nothing left the bones.
does someone tested ultrasonic cleaning?
Hey I've heard if you piss in it, it will also clean it out..... hahahahaha. The "crud" in the sink was all of the PGM's (platinum, palladium, & rhodium) that you successfully got rid of, which acts as the chemical reagent to clean your exhaust correctly... it does not matter about heat or sensor codes when you get it smogged. At least in California.
How about a pressure washer with soap ?
The other "possible" is: "Is the Engine Running Properly?" Given the mileage on that engine, it may not be running that great at least when you compare it to a new or rebuilt engine...... The Engine is putting out poor emissions and you have a catalytic converter that is not running at its full potential. As time and mileage on vehicle progresses, the engines emissions increase as the catalytic converter efficiency decreases to the point of where the check engine light comes on. If the engine is running poorly in the sense of emissions - putting a new converter may NOT solve the issue.
Does anyone know what that yellow/orange crud is on the flange faces at the 6:40 - 7:10 mark? Is it bad? I found some on a used cat converter I bought and it's like powder so I doubt it's rust. Thanks in advance :)
Likely sulfur deposits from gasoline.
I did this to my 2000 4Runner with great results!! No more code.
I'm going to try it on a 2002 4Runner tonight, with dawn dish and a little ammonia. We shall see!
TheEpmedia did it work?
How if use the acid with low concentration ? What the inner catalytic converter material made from ?
Really bad idea since the precious metals inside would be destroyed making the cat useless or worse.
You're right tamrin. Naoh (base) does not work by 2 in depth yt videos. Google citric Oxalic acid catalytic converter. dissolves contaminants coating the previous metal
just removed Cat last night. 2008 toyota corolla 1.8! left it inside night in soap and water. Rinsed it out blew it out! drove car! can you say that P0420 code came back VERY FAST!!! Yes I added seafoam in fuel tank! nothing. I did do seafoam in a Nissan Versa and that worked on a P0420 code!!
I wonder if you leave it in vinegar all night
I have the same year make & model van, I did this bubble bath test as well it didn't work for me either I was told if it's baked on the internal screens like roof tar junk it ! 🚐💨
They should have put a flashlight in the end of the cataylic converter so the camera could see light 🙄🙄??
five gallon bucket. add 2 gallons purple power. dip c c into bucket. fill remainder of bucket with water. sit 4 hrs. rinse. good to go.
try shining the light in one end and look through the other 👍
I think this really could work under the right circumstances. Based on my experience I think that most of the time this code sets because of ash buildup in the substrate. The key is just finding the right stuff to remove the ash.
What are your thoughts on spraying it with engine degreaser and washing out with a pressure washer?
Could those damage the substrate?
Ronald van Kemenade Engine degreasers work well for oily and greasy residues and that's not what you have inside a cat. thinks using mild organic solvents like throttle cleaner, brake cleaner, carb cleaner work well on sticky and oil residues but that's not what we are dealing with. I don't think most degreasers would hurt anything, I just don't think they would clear the ash. Something made to break up the tightly compacted ash deposits, and clear them out would be the key. Plenty of chemicals out there would probably do this but whether or not they would damage the coatings of the substrate, who knows. I will continue to experiment with this idea and if I find something that works I will post it.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Citric and Oxalic acid. Google it with catalytic converter
And it's not ash. It is most likely phosphorus that is bound to the precious metals and the acid can dissolve it away exposing the precious metal to catalyze again
What about hot tanking it?
I have same problem with Chevrolet SPIN. Anyone know how to fix alarm causing by CAT?
Gasoline or Diesel?
In my professional shade tree opinion, I've tried everything y'all can imagine to fix a cat and my conclusion is that they were designed as a throw away part and the only thing you can do is just that to do the job that.
Did you ever try citric and oxalic acid soaking at 160F?
You guys should have used lacquer thinner instead.
when you soak place it down horizontal and shake the hell out of it, also let is soak in Kerosene for 48 hrs
I just put a cat on my 2000 accord the OE cat went for 300k miles and a bad o2 caused it to run rich and it died. a new cat and 2 o2s ran me about 185$ shopping is key
My 1997 accords cat would not clean up Napa Auto parts sells a mid quality range new cat for just under $100
my 95 acura integra has 160k miles on it one day i started the maintains light came on and flashed 10 times and it makes a pop sound when it revs to high and one time it died when i was going up the hill please help me find out
***** Check engine flashing meaning engine failure or catalytic converter problems. In this case you heard a "pop" that means there may have been a back fire or engine missfire
Check engine light flashing is telling you your car is misfiring.... Dying while climbing a hill is also a cause to believe that it was misfiring
What were the temps before the washing?
That's a good question that I can't answer precisely but I can tell you temps were taken when this cat was first diagnosed and replaced about a year before this video was made. At that time the temps coming out was cooler than the temps going in. This tells me that our wash worked somewhat, just not well enough.
I washed my cat last night..she scratched the crap outta me
con que productos lo limpiaste amigo gringo
As long as its unclogged
CAN SOME BODY LET NE KNOW IS BEST TO CHECK A CATALYTIC CONVERTER WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT OR COLD THE GUY IN THE GAREGE SAID WHEN ITS COLD.
Once it's red hot it's ready to remove
Need a new one
You should have tried pressure washing it, Ive had loads of success doing that.
People try all sorts of DIY shit to keep their cats going. Best thing to do when the Cat starts dying is just be prepared to buy a new one. Don't risk damage to your exhaust system and other parts doing shit like this.
You should see how good they run with out that Thang ....
ya consegui el hidrixido de sodio cuanto. lo dejo remojando y nadamas lo sumergo por un lado oke
Mee to
I put mine in the washer machine
Not the dishwasher?
U need to use Sodium hydroxide. But carefull, it eats aluminium
Let it sit in there a couple hours
What could be wrong if code 320 shows up?
I was told to just soak it over night....
Camara man kinda annoyed me I feel bad for the man cleaning the cat
420 likes...nice.
I’ve seen this wash trick work on one video and the guy had to let it sit for three days. I don’t think they done this and he showed before and after and when he was washing it out there was quite a bit of carbon that come out on this test they did not show the procedure or tell you what they were using or how long that cat actually set in the solution they used they could just be using water Carbon will break down and come out. I’ve seen it done they’re there just to make people think it doesn’t work it does they just want people to buy the high dollar cats they don’t want you to do this more likely they might be paid by these companies they say this test didn’t work. You have to buy a new cat don’t do this at all because they’re losing money.
Did you guys soak it for 12-24 hours?
Apparently not...And that is why it failed...
Paul i try it and it work..save me alot of money...i didnt leave it for 12 to 24 hr..i just did what the video show and it realy work..thank for that video
LET's pretend that that will work, or some other more aggressive "treatment ", the metals will also be removed along with any ash, I dont know how much catalytics a converter have, but it will be pushed trough the exhaust system overtime, I've seen many attempts to clean the catalytic and so far all have shown little to no improvement at all. So a failing "cat" can't be cleaned.
Google citric Oxalic acid catalytic converter
If the reason is to clean so clean it well not like......
?degreaser?
try neat truck wash that stuff cleans more or less anything
Yall used the wrong soap that's why 😆
And why don’t you guys pronounce it right? It’s not a Cadillac.
With all that water it will attract rust.
Once P0420 shows, the precious metals have deteriorated inside the Cat. No washing will clear the code imo. Replace the Cat or just buy the $5 spark plug non-fauler fix
0.1M Oxalic and citric acid soak at 160F can restore the catalytic sites on the precious metals
Gowdaflow..... Not all error codes of p0420 are from deterioration. You can have it deteriorate, or also clog. Clogging of it will create the back-pressure which damages engine eventually. Deteriorating precious metals just lower the efficiency of it reducing NOx but flow through is not effected. If it's deteriorated, use an O2 anti fowler or buy new cat. If clogged, try cleaning with oven cleaner soaked for 1 week. Shaking it often and medium banging on hard surface daily to force the poison off the metals. Repeat this and be patient and it does work, as long as not deteriorated inside. People remove these and want to clean and replace same or next day. Not happening and being effective. Take your time. 1 week, soaking. Use oven cleaner and/or turpentine.
I think you need bleach, actually.
really, really, what a bunch of malarkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually talk to someone who deals with catalytic converters before trying something on a public site... 15 years in the business of handling cats and I've never seen so many people try to "clean" their cat on TH-cam. Thats like trying to buff your transmission to see if it'll shift better....
+James Pelton is that supposed to be a genius analogy? your talking about cleaning something that gets dirty vs a component that fails due to part degradation.
Well, here's another analogy for you. Doctor, the expert, tells patient you have six months to live. Patient gives up, resigned to dying soon. Another patient, similar diagnosis, disregards the expert, and makes a determination to live, trying different treatments to extend his life. How would you prefer to go? Ok, it's not life and death here, but it is real expensive, so why not try to save the cat? Extend its life. This is America, man! Free to imagine, innovate, and explore. O, ♪ say can you see...♪
Yes, they done it wrong
Wrong way and chemical to wash cat and dpf!!!!
რით რეცხავს
What happened to buying new cat for couple of hundred dollars and be 420-free for 100+ thousand miles? I understand about being smart with spending, but this video is outright about being a cheapskate.
Two ways Cats die: One, is because Cat medals were meant to wear out eventually after 100 thousand miles and so, and two, is because your cheapskate-ness (the same reason you're washing a dead cat) to begun with, using no-name gas station's 87 regular. Fuels (specially) gasoline are refined differently therefore burn differently some burn clean, some (from your favorite gas stations) burn dirty. Everything you burn will eventually end up in your cat, think of it as your liver, all fuel-treatments, cheap gas, burnt oil, misfire, foams, etc, cats must clean them, and once it had enough it will kick the bucket. The End.
Your first point is a good one. If you get a P0420, just buy a new cat and you will be good to go. If you mess around trying to "clean" the old cat you might just be chasing your tail. However, this test was to see if a cat could be washed out to correct a P0420 just out of curiosity, or in the name of science, or whatever. We had no interest in being "cheapskates," we just wanted to either prove or disprove a theory. As far as things that render a cat ineffective, ash accumulation from engine oil is definitely proving to be a problem in the long run. Ash comes from minerals and things in the engine oil that the engine slowly burns over time. The theory is that physically removing the ash can make the cat work again. However, talking about ash removal and actually doing it effectively are two different things. This is why your first point is spot on, just get a new cat and forget about everything else.
wwccauto Thanks for being sport. lol
You're right on that one, but the fact still remains.
***** Yeah, they will fail eventually
Sorry to hear that I know it can hurt man
that not the way to cleanning
Wash it with lacker thinner and you will be good to go👍