Originally Posted By: Loobed
I was reading somewhere (?) that it is possible to clean a catalytic converter (cat) by getting it hot enough to boil off any metallic contaminants. Lead is not a problem because there isn't any lead in gasoline. Zinc and Phosphorus contaminants are what I would like to remove. A modern cat's running temperature is 1200 to 1600 *F. Phosphorus boils at under 600*F, and Zinc boils at under 1700*F. Both of those boiling points are for the substance in their elemental state; In compound form (ZDDP) them may have a higher boiling point.
Does anyone know what I could do, or maybe add to gasoline, to raise the temperature of the cats, temporarily, above 1700*F? I know running the engine hard under load can do it, but I don't have an area (open highway) available where I can do that. I read that increased amounts of fuel in the exhaust can cause the cats to get very hot (and melt). I was wondering if I could set up a propane torch, not lit, near my smog air pump inlet, and then turn on the air pump manually to pump unburnt propane into the exhaust system and into the cats? Propane seems like the cleanest fuel to add to the exhaust. will Acetone, MEK, Toluene, or some other chemical added to the gasoline make the cats run hotter?
My Tracker failed an E-test, so before the retest I took it out on the highway and just hit the throttle WO from 45-60mph about 2 dozen times in top gear. WO makes the ECU go into "open loop" mode which pulls some timing and goes rich so the cats will see more gas and heat up converting it. After that "treatment" the car passed the retest easily. I now do this before every E-test and even my Neon passes easily.