Cleaning Catalytic Converters with Sodium Hydroxide -EricTheCarGuy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- Let's face it, replacing a catalytic converter can be expensive. So if there's a way to clean them, I'm sure you'd rather try that first before paying good money for a new one. After 2 other attempts to clean my catalytic converters I've decided to try sodium hydroxide this time. In my previous attempts I did not follow the recommended procedure for cleaning. In this video I make sure that I follow a procedure that will hopefully yield a result and allay any concerns about my cleaning methods. Let's face it, catalytic converters can be expensive, very expensive. If there's a way to clean them over replacing them, I'm sure you'd want to give that a try before you shelled out the big bucks for a new one. So in this video I show you another possible method of cleaning your catalytic converter. Remember this isn't even worth trying if your catalytic converter is physically damaged. Also, be sure to fix the underlying problem that caused the catalytic converter not to function in the first place. If you have a misfire or an engine that burns a lot of oil, be sure and address those issues as well, if not, you'll likely be right back where you started in short order.
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I know this video is old but I thought I would share some insight. I am the operations supervisor for my company's Cogeneration power facility and we have a large natural gas generator with a huge catalytic converter. In order to meet EPA regulations, the CAT must be cleaned regularly. The cleaning method that we use on site that was provided by the CAT manufacturer is step 1. Thorough rinse with water (DI or RO is preferred but not always practical, especially at home). 2. Sodium Hydroxide 10% bath with recirculation across the substrate for 4 hours. Step 3. thorough rinse with water. Step 4. Acetic Acid 10% (vinegar) bath with recirculation across the substrate for 4 hours. Step 5. Thorough rise. Step 6. Air dry or use 15 psi compressed air. The Sodium Hydroxide removes oils/greases and the vinegar removes the ash build up. You were on the right track with the sodium hydroxide but should have taken it a step further. There also comes a time when the catalyst is fully depleted and needs to be replace. Hope this is informative. I enjoyed watching the video.
Thank you so MUCH for posting this. This is exactly what I needed to do my own research. Your comment is pure gold.
I will be trying to clean mine in a 2002 corolla with one added step.While soaking in the cleaning solutio I will have it in my ultrasonic cler tank, if you do not have one strap a vibratory sander to side of tank/bucket to aid in circulation of chemical and vibratory loosening of oils clogging the converter
Catalyst cant be depleted but probably is damaged and blown away or removed with debris.
I'm also an operator at a 2x1
Thanks for sharing this.
Got a 1994 MR2 Turbo, not burning oil but failed emissions, for the last 5 years its taken more and more attempts to get it through, recently rebuilt engine, new seals, rings turbo etc, still failed using original CAT so bit the bullet and thought sod it new cat if i kill it cleaning, I used brick cleaner on exhaust valves to clean them up and it worked brilliantly, very impressed, when I rebuilt engine so i stripped the cat off (it has a top elbow, middle and bottom bend) midel is the metal part that holds the substrate and once top is off its fully visible, i poured brick cleaner in a bucket and dumped the chunk in it, left it for 20 mins like I did with the valves, the cat went in a sort of browny black colour, left it for the 20 mins it came out near white after good rinse, the brick cleaner was clear when new and was dark brown almost black, rinsed it off and dried it, put back on and car back together, poured the dirty brick cleaner through a rag to filter and see if any metalic sheen was left (disolved / dislodged metals) but no just chunks of soot / carbon, took car for long run then put it through emissions passed, was giving results like a new CAT, the garage were like what have you done and could not believe the results, so a 25 year old cat is back to near 100% did lots of short journeys before, now does longer ones so that may also help.
Kudos for your efforts, Eric. They may not have been successful, but I applaud your efforts. While some of your viewers have the finances to instantly repair problems with their cars, many do not and appreciate whatever savings can be found.
I second you on that.. Thanks for trying.
I work at a Ford emissions lab. We do a in vehicle cat clean-out where you wide open throttle to 70 and coastdown to 30(No brakes during this whole procedure) 20 times. Now that's if you have the time and space to do that.
Very interesting! The wide open throttle acceleration to heat up the catalyst from the rich air/fuel ratio and blow out contaminants makes sense, but what's the theory behind letting it coast down before repeating? I assume this has something to do with exposing the hot catalyst to fresh air and excess oxygen during coastdown in decel fuel cutoff, but I don't think the catalyst would react with atmospheric air on its own?
I applaud your effort in finding a inexpensive resolve to this problem. My son tried 1gal. of acetone in a full tank of gas, then run the car for 100 miles after the tankfull, he then reset the code and it worked. it passed inspection with no recurring engine light.
worked for me also
Here's another possible option if you have a P0420. Cleaning Catalytic Converters with Sodium Hydroxide -EricTheCarGuy
EricTheCarGuy
Why you never shake catalytic with liquid?
I was always told that you couldn't clean a cat and once it failes/gets clogged you should just replace it with a new one
Thank you for your hard work in determining what works (and what doesn't) by way of cleaning catalytic converters!
fyi. Sodium hydroxide, also known as drain cleaner, is safe to use on pretty much all metals. It doesn't react with any of the catalyst metals that are used in catalytic converters. Sodium hydroxide is a base and not an acid. If you don't want to dissolve it in water, you can dissolve it in ethyl- or methyl- alcohol (isopropyl alcohol that is 97% pure will work fine, so will a high proof vodka).
"Drowning" the catalytic convertor in a bucket of sodium hydroxide that's been made into a liquid by adding water or alcohol, and using an aquarium air pump to blow bubbles to agitate the solution for a few weeks might help break up and dissolve into solution any impurities.
Edit:
It was brought to my attention that aluminum is very reactive with sodium hydroxide. I forgot about that. Be careful and test for aluminum.
EricTheCarGuy Thanks for revisiting. Is there a possibility of getting a catalytic converter manufacturer or distributor to provide a cat in exchange for an ETCG video showing it's replacement and post install testing?
The infrared thermometers of that type typically measure in a conical distance/area ratio. Ex: 1" sample diameter @ 12" away, 2" @ 24", etc. Just trying to help. Many folks don't know about it. Thanks for the video. Very insightful.
You deliver excellent content to your audience. It's very interesting material. All of your effort put into creating this video is much appreciated. I'm truly grateful for your help!
i think the soapy water actually helped a lot. you had soap in the exhaust when you took temps last time. after it dried (beginning of this video) you got 460->430 degrees. before the soapy water you got 350->250. i’d say that’s a huge gain even if the cat can’t be saved
Eric i noticed you have allot of channels in your honey comb clogged "with carbon", it looks to be 20% clogged. now i have a way to clean carbon that you may be able to perform in your shop, you can do this with a propane torch and oxy acetylene torch . step 1 heat up catylitc converter face with torch until red hot, next blast with oxygen from cutting torch, this will burn out the carbon turning it into a gas, this will also uncover deactivated service areas and i guarantee this will work
Thank you for all your test runs and your time in doing this to show what will work or not work. It's very helpful for ppl like me
really appreciate you doing all these experiments. From the lacquer thinner to soap to sodium hydroxide.
you should retry the lacquer thinner again, now with 1:9 ratio.
or try that on another car?
thanks for the attempt
Thank you for the insight and efforts with the catalytic converter cleaning.
I drive a 2000 Ford explorer that does not show codes but displays all the symptoms of having one of the three catalytic converters plugged or partially plugged.
Unfortunately these are all in a welded system so all I can do is access the O2 sensor Port before the cat for cleaning.
well , despite the result wasn't of that what we want , .... I really believe that you gave me a lesson of how to be patient with car issues until it consumes all the available troubleshooting . thanks very much again Eric , you've done a great effort .
Hey Eric, what about ultrasonic cleaning? That's supposed to loosen all surface deposits and leave the base material undisturbed, so I'd imagine it's perfect for this.
As my car has a code for cat efficiency I watched quite a few of these videos. I believe Eric gave the best info. My conclusion... Without tearing the cat apart there is no way of knowing what is going on inside. If you can save a few bucks with some cleaning method go for it. But I can't say cleaning is a guaranteed fix.
Nice test. I think you've found the answer, no more precious metals left to provide catalytic conversion. With the price of these metals (platinum & rhodium) being much higher than gold, I think we can be sure that the coating thickness's are pretty minimal. That equates to two possible things, one they will be eaten off through normal operations soon enough (less than 200,000 miles), if any soot producing malfunction comes up it could further damage the coating (especially if the soot contains acids), and attempts to clean could be moot because they either further erode the coating or cause delamination of these metals from the ceramic substrate.
Good job Eric. Thanks for the taking the time to redo this and take the comments from the previous video in to account. My 2003 A4 B6 has a cat that is just starting to fail, so I might give this a go.
A couple of days ago I did a temperature test on a 4.6 ford and found pretty much the same thing you found here. Previously I had swapped the left and right sensors to see if the code would switch to the other side; it did not. Then I tested with a scope and found that the rear sensor was pretty much mirroring what the front sensor was doing. If this converter became ineffective it would be the first of this type I've seen (I've seen it plenty of times on the old pellet types, but never on a ceramic), so I took it out and cut it open. Although it looked great when looked at from the inlet and outlet side, it had disintegrated at the gap between the two elements inside and had clogged itself just enough to set a code but the truck still ran well. I have no idea why they put two elements in that converter when the rear converter has a single longer element. The only thing that comes to mind is that they want it to fail so they can sell another down the road. The two elements were mounted on soft material, touching each other on the inside and pretty much guaranteeing that they would chip away at each other.
I guess sometimes they just can't be cleaned!
I've used CataClean on a couple cars which were borderline and it seemed to work. I've never tried pulling one off and cleaning mechanically.
I had a car with a bad coil pack which ruined one cat. both cats were on the same Y pipe and replacement was something like $500 for just the parts. I couldn't swing that. Since you can't buy used converters in NY for legal reasons, I was left with the only choice of spacing out the o2 sensor and tricking the car into thinking everything was OK. it still ran fine, and because of that spacer it passed emissions inspection.
Can you tell me how the bad coil pack messed up the converter please, as i once had a catalyst code, and now i have a cylinder 3 misfire code, most likely coil pack, and trying to figure this thing out ??? Thanks!
Jason Pearson bad coil means no ignition and combustion so an excess of unburnt fuel goes to the catalytic converter which has to combust it all, causing it to overheat
Thanks Al !!!
@@poiiihy what overheat means ? Overheated can't ve cleaned etc ? Theyre completely Done ?
You explain everything perfect, great job as usual.
Very helpful. I'm going to buy an infrared thermometer to see what the temperatures are pre and post. Will at least let me know if I should try one of these cleaning techniques or not.
as a silversmith, I cleaned gold and silver jewelry sometimes using equal parts of alcohol, ammonia, and water in an ultrasonic cleaner.
you seem to haphazardly use things that you've heard work.
Agitation of the solution in the cat unit should help any cleaner to be more effective.
I'm glad that you rinsed the cleaning agents this time also.
In science, a "failure" is as good as a "success". Thank You! JD
I just cleaned two of my cats on my 2005 TL using purple power. I found you have to soak a good 16 hours to get good results. Definitely worth it! Car is running a lot better with a lot more power. 209k miles
Hi, how did you clean your cat?
Whats purple lower ?
@@davidmazel5949 purple power its a degreaser. I let my cat soak in it bout 16 hours total. Worked well but a new cat would still be better.
@@mikerogers4327 hey great to hear this worked, I’m a fan of purple power has been great for me in past. I will attempt to do same with my 2 cats, thanks for posting it worked… I’ll try and remember do the same for others. Thanks !
from the beginning of your first attempt although not getting the rear hotter than the front, the rear temperature did increase by almost double
thank you for the video. man of integrity, great job....
I would have thought a complete emersion in the cleaner for at least 24 hrs would be better. A great video nonetheless Eric and very informative! 👨🔧
Eric, 2007 Honda Accord began burning oil @100k. Seems to be due to sludge as we got it to stop by using marvel mystery oil in the crankcase. Had the P0420 code for 4 years. When the oil burning issue was solved, the converter must have cleaned itself, because the code went away on its own after a month. The commercially available catalytic cleaners do work, as early on, I used some and the code briefly went away (3 weeks). It's been 7 months now so perhaps the code has gone away for good?
… the purpose for this as stated, makes this effort very worthwhile… educational and informative… thanks for sharing your effort.
Thanks for your honesty! Keep up the good work!
Great effort Eric, obviously seems to be a pain to try and clean it... Are you ever going to open up the cat by cutting it and showing us if it has actually worn out as you're suspecting? Thanks!
I second this :D
third on my end
Whether it works or not, the experiments are fun to watch!
Beautiful sky view during rinse.
Eric I like your videos
my question is a have a 98 Avalon wich is giving me the p0420 cat converter didn't pass smog
I also have a 96 Camry v6 with the same engine. this one runs perfect, no check engine light on.
Can I just swap the cat (camry to Avalon)? And give it a try at the smog test?
A+ FOR EFFORT, THANKS FOR UPLOADING
Hi Eric, I can't understand what the problem is. Your temps look normal.
In many late-model engines with multiport fuel injection, combustion is so clean that the converter has little to do and the difference between the inlet and outlet temperature may only be 30 degrees F at 2,500 rpm - which is a lot less than the old rule of thumb that says a good converter should show at least a 100 degree F difference fore and aft at cruise. At idle, the converter in many late-model vehicles may cool off so much that there's almost no measurable difference in fore and aft temperatures. So checking exhaust temperatures fore and aft of the converter at idle and 2,500 rpm is NOT an accurate way to determine if the converter is working properly or not. Your mileage may vary. ☺
Eric, even though you weren’t able to achieve what you wanted from that CC, i still enjoyed watching this video and was hoping at the end that the CC would be cleaned. I was really pulling for ya!!
Man good on you for acknowledging negative comments from a previous video. All part of the troubleshooting process.
Could try using a steamer machine and steam clean it.
No residue.
if you want to try it again you might consider using MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). this is something I was taught to use when I took a course in aircraft fabric covering. We call it the magic solution. We use it to clean residue and even glues in fabric covering. I used some one time to clean some black tar on my truck door. Within seconds it not only cleaned off the tar but it ate the paint down to the bare shiny metal. We use it a lot on polyester fabric so I doubt if it would do any damage to the converter.
+Tommy Thompson how about summers eve
+Tommy Thompson HIGHLY Explosive.
Hi Eric, do you think that cleaning/de-coking the engine top end by tipping water in the carb throat had something to do with the blocked cat?
Have you heard of Terraclean as an engine treatment as used in the British tv show Wheeler Dealers on their Jaguar XK?
Do you think the reason a cat went bad would vary the results? I had a coolant leak and put probably a quart of radiator fluid through the engine before I found the leak and stopped it. Pretty much the next week I had P421 (cat not heating up quick enough). Do you think in my case cleaning it would be worth a try? Mazda 2002 160k.
Eric your videos are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to learn us!
John Lauer teach us?
Yes, my way of having some fun.
John Lauer Well, that ought to learn ya, durn ya! :-)
I think yer sure, haha ;)
Lol, durn Tutin!
I know some people who cut the catalyst out of the converter and then space the rear O2 sensor out of the exhaust flow. Totally illegal but works like a champ lol
Do seafoam spray would work to clean the catalytic converter?
Hi Eric A new company in Portugal just open cleaning regenerating catalytic converters and particulates filters for diesel engines, the process takes about 24 hours soaking in a lot of chemicals then gets flush whit a very large volume of water, they came with 1 year warranty, so you nearly got the right
I guess it makes sense that cleaning is not so easy. After all, if it worked regularly, aftermarket companies would rejuvenate converters and resell them at autoparts stores.
Good point. If there is money to be made, companies will sell it.
it is federally illegal to sell a used cat. so even if you can clean then they couldn't be resold
spelunkerd not 100% true CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK are not allowed to do that. In addition your cats have a 5 year warranty
Why would you even try to clean it? Do you even understand how and when it starts to clog up? Chemicals stop working and it becomes a bare unit with nothing but a damn mesh inside that is so small and obviously will clog up now..
so when are you goin to do a video on how to fix somthing on a diesel?
andrew anderson I was actually on the lookout for a diesel vehicle when I found the Fairmont. At some point I hope to get one to play with and make videos.
Well i hope you get one lol. Switch things up a bit. Good job on the videos btw
I disagree a civilian grade diesel engine such as in a vw car or powerstroke are simple enough for the weekend mechanic. Now a large engine in an excavator will need specific training.
so is 100f a good temp differential in most convertors
Hi Eric, I have a 2002 Ford Escape with misfire which ending up replacing all six plugs and coils. It runs strong with no lights on but Nox failed. Limit is 2.00 mine is 2.4. CO is within the range. any suggestion? Thanks
I found the best way to avoid dirty cats' is to just not have any in your exhaust setup :)
cant do that in California ive been stressing lol in Louisiana you can do that i did it to two vehicles so far
yeah fuck the environment :)
+dimmacommunication I'm not a greeny but we should probs start taking care of our earth a bit more....
Luke M
i was ironic,i have cats on my car.
The only stupid thing is the dpf on diesels,it produces more pollutant than without.
+dimmacommunication Not a fan of DPF. Not convinced it actually solves any real problem either. That being said Cummins engines are not using DPF I heard.
The back of cat was roughly 200 deg hotter than before - no this isn't fixed but is a damned significant result! Plus what was the difference in Carbon monoxide, to Co2, Sox Nox...
Watching this I was wondering if you could use ultrasound to clean the catalytic converter,they use ultrasound to clean jewelry? Any thoughts on that?
I remember chunks blowing out every time i stepped on the pedal on the bronco....no amount of soap was going to fix that. I replaced the whole exhaust setup and it runs like a champ.
Eric, your best chance of restoring a chemically contaminated cat is to abrasively remove the contaminants by stripping off the outer layer of active material to expose good catalyst underneath. Put some fine blasting media in it, plug the ends, and put it in a shaker for short while. I think it is your best shot and I haven't seen others on TH-cam do it.
how about salt and alcohol or seafoam?
....looks like it's working fine, spitting plenty of water there.
Is the one hundred degree variant a general rule, or one for this specific cat? They work different ways, for different applications.
Has this thing actually failed a sniffer? Or did you just decide it's not working because of the temperature? I don't see anything that would conclusively tell you it's not working....
dav3fk P0420 How To Diagnose A Bad Catalytic Converter -EricTheCarGuy
EricTheCarGuy Yeah, pretty sure I've seen it.... and regardless of that, temps are not always going to look that way.... If it doesn't smell like rotten eggs and it does make water, it's probably fine - water is a product of it's functioning (or, invisible steam, once the whole exhaust is too hot for it to condense).
dav3fk The rotten egg smell is actually from the sulfur in the gasoline and not the catalytic converter.
Water is a direct product of combustion. look up the chemical reaction. Any time your burning any hydrocarbon you will produce water vapor. The hydrogen and oxygen bond to form H20 and CO2.
lkjlkjlkkj
They sure do.
Largely in your catalytic converter.
Take out your cat - your tailpipe won't get wet. In my experience, anyway. Maybe I'm full of it.
was thinking of taking converters of cuttn em open and brake cleaning em. then weld em back together. or spraying brake cleaner in the sensor hole while running the car.what u think
Eric you and Scotty are great mechanics and problem solvers. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Kilmer is a drunk. At least 50% of his statements are either intentionally false or too vague to be remotely useful. Shame on that guy!
The converter may not work , but it is probably the cleanest one in the state. lol
😂
Leave your cat inside if you don't want it to get dirty.
I wonder if a good ultrasonic cleaner will all this stuff would work? Obviously depending on if the screen isnt damaged or gone etc...
Two questions...will complete immersion with sodium hydroxide and an overnite soak harm the cat itself...and...will the laquer thinner harm the internal seals or any other fuel system parts?...jeep 2004 wrangler 4.0...thanks ...very informative
Great video. Now that it seems the cat is beyond repair, why not open it up and inspect the interior to verify the surface is worn away? This would be useful to know since many people have had positive results with various cleaning techniques. Knowing that the catalytic surface was deteriorated would help to close the book on the topic. Run that cat through a band saw--let's take a look inside!
Robert Eich Fabricating Exhaust Parts -EricTheCarGuy
I used Blinker Fluid to clean my Cat. Worked great 👍
Yep, gonna ask my daughter to go buy me some blinker fluid.
More details please about the blinker fluid.thanks
Any thoughts on what made the cat go bad on your particular car, because I own a similar vintage Nissan Almera (6 months younger) and its cat still works fine... in fact, I'm looking in to upgrading it's emission standards so as to possibly still be able to use it past 2022, when where I live will become part of a "low emissions zone" in my city.
I used black harpic in catalytic converter and it worked awesome !
do you have any trees dying nearby?
Why? do you want to hug them?
Modus Operandi Studios
What?!
Look at all that green!
no.
🤦♂️
It's plant food. Makes trees grow better
I think you're right Eric. After awhile it seems most catalytic converters don't have enough catalyst to function and replacing is the only option.
I wonder what causes the platinum to disappear over time because the act of catalyzing exhaust shouldn't actually cause a chemical change to happen to the platinum.
You think maybe after many cycles of heating and cooling that it becomes brittle and just comes off little by little?
aspade01 In fact, that's what I think happened. As things heat and cool they expand and contract. As a result, I think over time the catalyst just flaked off and is no longer there to do any work.
EricTheCarGuy Have you considered the possibility that your random attempts at cleaning the cats, which apparently were not based on any specific knowledge of the chemistry involved, may have already ruined an otherwise salvageable cat?
Seems to me just throwing cleaners at the cat is a rather haphazard way of doing it, and one that is almost guaranteed to cause the situation to deteriorate sooner or later, if it wasn't already too late.
Also, it seems like you are using operating temperature as a measure of success or failure. Since there is no testing of the actual content of the exhaust gases, pre and post cat, there is no way to know if any of the procedures actually worked to the point of restoring the cats to their original performance.
If I have missed something, such as you are starting out with a new cat each time (new in the sense that it has thrown a code but not been processed by any other cleaning cycle), or you have some research data that shows that emissions efficiency correlates directly with catalytic converter temperature, please post it so we can see it.
Or if not, please consider that you are encouraging people to just take a shotgun approach both to cleaning cats and to evaluating the result of those efforts.
Not trying to shoot you down or belittle you, just trying to understand if there is any science to your methods, or if you are just trying to use a bunch of household and/or industrial cleaners to try to solve the secondary problem of cats overheating.
What you think about down pipe removal, pouring sea foam into exhaust robolt downpipe let it soak in. It should clean exhaust carbonize, and catalytic converter
I know that cheap distilled vinegar works for rust removal. I wonder if a good vinegar soak overnight would help get the gunk out?
You got it all wrong maaaaan. Set up an electroplating bath with a chunk of poladium, a chunk of platinum and throw a emerald in the mix for luck. A good 20 hours session should have encrusted thousands of dollars to the substrate and if it doesn't work you can still scrap it for all that precious precious metal.
I removed my cat, no issues at all now.
No high fuel consumption?
And the sensors? Did you remove the O2 rear sensor?
The check engine light runs full time now ?
I have always been amazied that one person can make something work and NO ONE else can duplicate it. But I have seen this first hand work, and I think it has something to do with the model.
could driving on a single bad knock sensor (out of two total) for around a year cause the catalyst to go bad?
Eric, I have a "poor man mod" that can get around faulty cats, or lack of faulty cats. I have done this trick on numerous cars, that dont have any cats and they pass inspection, i should have the video uploaded in a week or two for you to see :D
here is the video i am talking about, i just uploaded it
$4 Catalytic Converter P0420 "code" Fix | Trick your ECU | Pass Emissions
such a great thing to tell all of the internet. your breaking federal laws dumbass
Emission standards dont apply to everywhere in America. Cat-delete is pretty common in the countyside since emmision checks arent required for state inspection.
I am sorry to say that your sloppy in your cleaning of cat's. IT takes time for water and chemicals to pentrate through baked on carbon dust. The cat's should have been put into container that allows them to fill the entire inner sufaces of the platuim plates. Soaking for 2-4 hours. and agiatated ( shake it every 15 mintues or so.. Sodium hydorxide is an organic caustic ( base) compound, IT will eat you alive but not do a thing to metals. IT is used to clean clogged sewer pipes clogged with organic matter such as food, hair and etc. IT will not dissolve carbon away. IT may help loosen it up. Dawn detergent will do just as good a job or better without the hazard. Try both methods if you must. RINSE by immersion in clean water Several times. SHAKE out and let air dry standing on end.The real test if the CAT is "CLEAN" is to put a bright lite at one end and look through the other end. Doing this in a dark room will reveal if the honeycomb plates are open.
If you want to check for broken plates of the CAT on the car. Take a rubber hammer and hit CAT and listen for a rattle. DO the same to the mufflers. PLates can bust off and clog the CAT or pieces blow through to the muffer. The plates are made of PLATIUMUM.... they do not rust or corrode .The old CAT has a lot of valuse since the platimum can be recovered.
Laquer thinner works well to achieve a higher tempature burn internally. CATS will not fail if you use high octane gas and keep the motor tuned properly. Todays gas Tanks are made of PLastic with a special coating inside the tank. Impervious to inogranic solvents such as Lacquer thinner. One gallon of LT to 10 gallons of high octane gas is proper ratio to achieve a HOT CAT when driving 150-200 miles at 75-80 MPH. Be sure you run the gas tank to empty on this first test if possible.. 9 out of 10 times you will see improvement in efficiency. TAKE a long trip. YOU will be cleaning your injectors and total fuel sysem out at the same time. YOU could theortically do the laquer thinner clean out every 100K on a well tunned car and the cat should last longer than the car. Carb and injector cleaners are solvents.
BEST brand is Chevron injector cleaner ( google it)
IF you can unblot at CAT that has flanges on both sides. I would take it off and clean and check for broken plates(shake it also). Than install and run the LT test.
I am retired hot rodder 75 years old and have never had to BUY a CAT for any of my cars. Hope this helps everyone out. DO it right or don;t do it all !
Caustic soda is also highly dangerous to the eyes, anything with sodium hydroxide in it should be used with high amounts of caution. The slippery oil like substance it produces when mixed with water makes for cleaning off of skin and eyes quite difficult people!!! Leave it for the water irrigation.
The slippery oil like stuff when you get it on your fingers is soap made from the oils in your skin by the NaOH. Acids, particularly sulphuric, give a grippy sensation on your skin. Worth knowing if you work with these.
Hi mister. nobody saw what you say.interestin. this is like motor on water, nowone is listenin. thank you man greatin from Serbia
Doing it wrong makes it last longer. Throw some firecrackers in to clean a cat out sparkly.
I ran my accord on a bad battery and think i overworked my cat. Wonder if this trick will work
Eric, love your video. Have you try soaking the cat in lacquer thinner directly overnight? Just a thought.
I think you were pretty thorough. The only things that come to mind is did you make sure to neutralize the chemicals on the ground? And I know you must be careful with chemicals and platinum, but did you consider neutralizing the chemical left in the cat between rinsing?
Have anyone ever heard of cracking open catalytic converter, replacing membranes inside and welding it back. As I heard there are shops that do it and it works.
Yes it works
Yeah but the cost to do all that might add up to the same price as replacing it
You didn't stand on one foot with a dead bird in your hand facing east while humming happy birthday. Maybe that will work!
Was there any drivability problems? Like stalling or losing power? I have a problem with my 97 Mazda 626 v6 MTX
Hey Eric. I think you are correct that there is just not enough catalytic material left in the CC. However, if you want to give it one more shot I would try a strong (7.5%) solution of white vingar. I would soak the CC in a bucket of this stuff for 48-72hrs.
Well you've proved to all of us one thing eric, it's best to just replace it rather than take the risk going through so much trial and error.
Well if its already dead, it doesn't hurt to try these methods....
yes it does hurt. Sodium hydroxide is very expensive, and just the fact you have to take the catalyst on and off is already a ton of work under a tight car without a lift.
Sodium hydroxide isn't expensive, its just lye. And to replace the converter you need to lift the car anyways.
Most people don't replace their own converters... The product he's using is about $50 a gallon.. Also most people want a surefire way to get it fixed. It's a pain to take it out constantly..
That cat is probably in perfect condition.
I tried to clean one on my old truck once. Before I could clean it, a long metal rod fell off of my bench and damned if it didn't fall in one end of the converter and come out the other. This happened about 8 times, what are the chances?
Well I still couldn't afford a new one so I put the old one back on and forgot about it.
hi erick ...do you recomended the catalytic converter fron ebay...for civic 2002
I am a catalytic converter core buyer out of Sacramento CA. I can give you $150 for that cat.
James Pelton i am sure he will find a price better thanor at least equal to yours. He is a mexhanic and knows who will give him the most for cats and other recyclables.
James Pelton Will you buy my catalytic converter? I live in Oakland, CA.
Shit! I only got 30 bucks for my old Mazda 6 converter
@@jamesmedina2062 certain cars cats are worth more than others
I am a chemist.
The NaOH that your adding is fine but keep in mind how you want to clean.
If you really cannot get deposits removed from your cat with any other method (i.e. breaking them up), you are going to have to remove the deposits by removing a couple molecules thick of the Pt metal alloy inside of the cat. Now I will say that I am not a mechanic and I am not 100% on how this will effect the cat itself. but if you really want to remove the deposits you should place it in aqua regia it is a combination of NO3/HCl. DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR LONG a couple of minutes should be good. Watch for the bubbles-that means the acid is eating the metal with you only want it to do VERY shortly.
I will say that you need to do this in a hood or a really well ventilated area with gloves and goggles on!!! It is highly caustic, toxic, and a very serious inhalation hazard.
But if that doesn't work then nothing will.
+jsmcrawler heh, etcg meets nurdrage x}
jsmcrawler lol aqua regia is going to attack you noble substrate not the organic and nitrogen byproducts you want to target. I think piranha is the way to go here but it would attack the steel as well so really it's best to stick with solvents or plasma as others have suggested.
jsmcrawler Aqua regia is going to attack your noble substrate not the organic and nitrogen byproducts you want to target. I think piranha is the way to go here but it would attack the steel as well so really it's best to stick with solvents or plasma as others have suggested.
what about pre and post O2 sensor response? I'm always wary of the pyro-temp-sensing as a stand alone proof. Surely looking at pre vs post cat O2 response with O2 storage would be more conclusive....
A wise man once said, "I learned more from my failures than from my successes." EtCG breaking it down for the common man!
try cocacola haha
I take the cats off and hammer out the insides vehicles run great hey like your videos
Have u tried one of the cleaners for your valves. Carbon is nearly impossible to clean. We tried everything from acid to caustic on a carbon coated pump at work.
I am curious on how this method may clean or better yet clear a plugged cat...
Just cut out all the cats. Works great
+damon cree except for the code
punch through the honeycomb and say F-You to the feds.
I know I know it's a federal crime ot cut a cat off a car. But honestly if it looks like it is in the car and like my state your exempt from emissions test prior to 1996 or the car is 25 years old and therefore exempt then why the hell not. Just one of those useless things placed on a car by tree huggers same as an EGR valve (the mileage gain per gallon is negligible and is better left off unless you like your intake to look like an exhaust.)
Ive lived in california for almost all of my 53 years.. and in the early 70s the smog in the LA basin was so bad you could cut the air with a knife. Pollution control equipment is a GOOD thing.
FuckGoogle+ just a ignorant person who hasn't seen the need for emission control devices or what the actually do
Gas is a dirty sooty smoggy fuel and is the reason we need egr and cat converter. Ethanol fuel is cleanest burning fuel you can get the good news is any car built since '85 can be converted to flex fuel
evilcowboy
New cars with a gutted cat probably run cleaner than a 70s turd with a cat.
Your results will vary....I did this to an 83 escort and removed the smog pump belt and saw a huge improvement in gas mileage. Years later, I tried it on an AMC Eagle and saw my mileage go to crap. The better the computers get in these cars, the less likely this is to work.
Love your vids man keep it up I'll keep watching
I have an rx300 that I had to replace the engine two weeks after I changed the oil because it ate five quarts. I had to replace the engine and now the new one is doing the same thing.
I found that one of the primary cats blew out into the secondary cat. I took it off and blew it out. I'm sure its still clogged up because its still eating oil like crazy.
do you think I'm headed down the right path? can a clogged cat make your engine eat oil? the pcv is brand new.