clogged catalytic converter

other than hollowing/gutting out a clogged catalytic converter, is there another way to unclog a cat? could it be taken off and chemically cleaned or would a shot of compressed air do the trick.

There is no way for a cat. converter to be "unclogged" by anyone. The construction is such that it consists of a ceramic matix, coated with a layer of platinum/palladium rare metals. These metals react with the exhaust gasses to reduce the emissions. The process of this reaction slowly consumes the rare metals, and in doing so, also contributes to the clogging of the cat.

The ONLY way for anyone except the cat manufacturer to "rejuventate" the cat is to install a replacment.

Of course, I must mention that chopping out the core of the cat to remove the restriction is illegal under federal law, as it defeats an emissions control system.

Some states also have laws pertaining to this as well, and in any place that does emissions testing, removing the core of the cat WILL cause you to fail an emissions test.

FWIW...........

thanks for the info.

A peice of rebar will "unclog" a cat but that is against the law.

Never mind, I just finished reading the post by AZ Jeff. Good stuff.

technically, its not illegal to not have a cat on your car (at least in my state) but it IS illegal to remove it, in case anyone cares

Actually, the old pancake converters had a port built into them through which the catalytic beads could be removed and the converter refilled. I have an 76 Eldo convertible and the FSM explains just how to do it. Neat, and absolutely undoable today. As AZ Jeff points out, the new converters have a ceramic core. Once they fail, break apart, or plug up, you trot down to Kragen and buy a new one. Are you sure it's your converter that's clogged? Many times the ceramic core will break apart and be blown into the muffler where it clogs everything up. If this is the case, you may be looking at buying a new muffler as well. If you have one of those high temperature handheld infrared thermostats, scan the muffler intake--a high temperature similar to that of the converter likely means that some of the ceramic material has blown into the muffler.

Hope this helps.

Erik
88 Comanche

homey_15 said:

technically, its not illegal to not have a cat on your car (at least in my state) but it IS illegal to remove it, in case anyone cares

Click to expand...

If it is illegal to remove it, I don't understand how it isn't illegal not to have it. However -- regardless of what a particular state may or may not require or allow, the basic fact is that it's against Federal law to remove, alter, or tamper with any required emissions equipment. Period. The fines for violating this can be extremely high.

In practice, it's not likely that the Feds will come down on an individual for violating this law -- they are more interested in going after the shops who routinely violate it. The "gotcha" is that shops don't want to get whacked for this, so once you f**k with your catalytic converter (or other emissions equipment) most reputable shops won't touch your vehicle because they don't want to get blamed for the illegal tampering. That doesn't mean Jiffy Lube won't change your oil, but it means Midas or Speedy Muffler probably won't replace your tailpipe, since that interfaces with the system that has been illegally modified.

And now for the standard disclaimer: does not condone or advise altering or disabling any required pollution or safety equipment on any vehicle. Any advice you may see on these forums to the contrary represents solely the opinion and advice of the person making the post and does not necessarily represent the position of . Violate the law at your own risk, and if you get caught don't blame it on .