Catalytic converter cleaner??

[drifter420]

I was told by a performance muffler shop owner that I should run some cat cleaner thru from time to time.. I was like *** ?!?!?!

He says those emission pass additive you see at some auto stores ( that you pour into the gas tank ). Those are catalytic converter cleaner.. he says obviously it won't CURE a broken catalytic converter, but will clean a proper working converter though...

first time I heard of it.. so I thought I"d ask BITOGers' bout the validity of it.

On a side note.. I spoke to two different muffler shop owner before.. one says when a new cat is put in.. you have to baby it for bout 2 weeks ( no WOT runs ) to make sure it breaks in correctly, the other says.. BAAA.. throw it in and drive however you like, no break in process

 

[Quest]

LOL! Never heard of such thing called "cat cleaner".

Remember: catalytic converter can be perceived as an "afterburner" and all it ever takes is Oxygen and any unburned stuff (HC, CO, etc.) and burn them one more time.

Cat runs hot (really hot) and can burn anything so long as it doesn't comes with Magenese, etc. that will intoxicate the precious metal coatings on the cat core matrix.

Any over-the-counter cat cleaners are, IMHO, junk.

As for your 2nd question: a newly installed cat converter can and should immediately go into action the moment you put the car to work. No need to pamper it (never heard such bizarre claims before).

LOL!

Q.

 

[GMorg]

I have used a product that removed sulfur build-up from the catalytic converter. On the front of the can, it advertised "removes rotten-egg smell" I haven't seen it in at least 10 years. I don't recall the name. It was suggested to me in 1989 when I moved from Tennessee (no emission testing) to North Carolina (has emission testing). My pickup failed the test. I used one bottled via a fuel add. As per the technician's suggestion, I ran another tank of gas to remove/dilute the additive and then re-tested. Passed the test with flying colors. My guess is that newer fuel may have made these products obsolete in most places. I haven't noticed a foul smelling exhaust in a long time.

 

[Quest]

Most of the gasolines these days, inc. those that qualified under the BMW, Honda, Toyota, etc. "top tier gasoline", comes with reduced Magenese (commonly found it Ethyl corp's MMT), and reduced sulphur as well.

That also explains why most gasoline these days don't give you that rotten egg smell (H2S).

 

[Nick29]

I've never heard of cat cleaners or any type of break-in either. In fact, on the way home from having my Catco cat (which is said to be low quality by a lot of people) installed, I made at least a few full throttle/redline shifts to see if there was any difference in power (it's supposed to be a high-flow cat). 50k miles, a few track days, and 2 seasons of autox later, it's still working fine.

 

[Frank]

Nick 29, Auto-Rx after application done engine reduces load on catalytic converter.It cleans itself and increased performance will back that up.

See "Emmissions Testing" on www.auto-rx.com

 

[ziggy]

I used a few silver/metal cans, of catalyc converter cleaner... one time, in my gas tnak, other time, i poured it straight down my throttle with engine at idle. with it in my gas, i didnt notice anything, but down my throttle body, it caused my eninge to stumble a little, and a wierd/strange smell came outta my muffler. I feel very skeptical about it.

 

[Big Jim]

Most any injector cleaner will also clean up the cats.

 

[oil pan 4]

I cleaned my catalytic converter with a metal bar and hammer.
Might help explain why my old car get 25 up to 27mpg.
Gasoline can have up to 30ppm of sulphur.
WoW! Just saw oil is up to $77 per barrel!
That's going to suck/hurt at the pumps.
Any one else want ta knock there cat out to get a few extra MPG?

 

[simple_gifts]

quote:

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Any one else want ta knock there cat out to get a few extra MPG?

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No. Many states have emissions tests or inspections and money would have to be spent to get the car to pass.

 

[mburnickas]

I know in MASS if you remove the CAT, watch out.....

Not worth it in my eyes.

 

[87nissanKC]

Hey Frank not to be a pain or anything but i clicked where it says,

"Need Proof? Click here for the PDF file of North Carolina's testing results on a 1990 Chevrolet S-10 using Auto-Rx®. " and when i "click here" it drops me a an error.

"Not Found
The requested document was not found on this server.

Web Server at auto-rx.com"

 

[Gary Allan]

Just put "catalytic converter cleaner" into google and you'll get a few hits. One of them is by Lubegard ..under the Kool-it label ..but they no longer appear to be listing it on their web site.

 

[JHZR2]

try a steam cleaning.

Steam can often help remove sulfur from deactivated cataytic materials, if done in enough quantity, and the deactivation mechanism wasnt too severe.

Id also say to try and plumb some hydrogen in there... but you didnt read it from me.

JMH

 

[luvs2drive]

Try some Redline SI-1 in the tank.

 

[unDummy]

Kool-it catalytic cleaner is still sold through jcwhitney. It did not look like a Lubegard product to me.
Lubegard's Kool-it is their coolant additive that competes with 40below and waterwetter.

 

[carock]

I used to do smog testing in California. It is VERY clear to me what helps your catalytic converter, namely...speed. You want your cat to get good and hot for a significant period of time with the correct air/fuel ratio supplied by a working fuel injection system.You can only do that by driving fairly fast. I had a chassis dyno long before they were necessary and I got LOTS of PIA cars through the test by driving them for 10 minutes on my dyno just before performing the test.The results were stunning. Like they say, "nothing beats an Italian tune up".

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by carock:
Like they say, "nothing beats an Italian tune up".

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I concurr. Best cat cleaner around. Maybe we could box some instruction sheets and sell it at parts stores.