Can A Catalytic Converter Be Cleaned?

NOTE: I need everyone to understand that I KNEW AHEAD OF TIME THAT THIS CATALYTIC CONVERTER COULD NOT BE CLEANED. This cat had a degraded catalyst. I could see that before I started. I was trying to go to the extreme with this little experiment trying to "clean" it to show you that it wouldn't work because the catalyst was already gone. I obviously should not have been so sarcastic in my tone because a lot of you didn't understand the entire point of this video. I get comments on alternative cleaning procedures and I get comments on how putting lacquer thinner in the gas tank did solve their problem. NONE OF THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED FOR THIS CAT. If you understand that, then I think you can enjoy this video for what it is. Not every cat will be like this--some cats may actually be dirty and perhaps other methods may be successful in cleaning them. Let us know in the comments if you've found success in cleaning your dirty cat. All that being said, hopefully you have learned something about degraded catalysts.
BE CAREFUL WHEN USING SODIUM HYDROXIDE!
I feel like I can't say that enough.
But that said, join me as I attempt to clean a nearly dead catalytic converter and see if that will get it to work again.
This video is for entertainment purposes only. 50sKid assumes no liability for any repairs or modifications performed by the viewer as a result of the information contained in this video.

[@davidandlaurablevins68]

I used one cup of liquid dishwashing soap and one quart of Harbor Freight heavy-duty cleaner as a cleaner and defoaming agent. "All the other cleaners were a waste of time and money". And a small pond pump and some rubber tubing to circulate the solution through the cats for about three hours each and used the garden hose to get out the residue. Host each cat down with one can of carburetor cleaner. It has worked great for three years now! Unless the internals of cats turn loose and renders them unusable all you have to do is wash them out they don't go bad they just get dirty on the inside.

[@chuckylee8812]

Lacquer thinner worked great on my truck. I poured it in the gas tank. Cleared my P0420

[@AlutiiqKid]

I followed Scotty's recommendation with the lacquer thinner to a tee, and it worked beautifully. Many people are not running their engines for 150 miles at high speeds and running that tank completely out immediately and then refilling it with a fresh tank and running it some more. Not doing these will cause the problems.

[@PatrickLarson]

Many people say the same thing, so I don't understand the hate!

[@STREETLIFE167]

It worked for me on a crown Vic, but I tried it last week on a 13 taurus and went to Atlantic city from NYC doing an average of 80 mph and the check engine came right back on. Ugh..

[@davidsimmons3844]

@@PatrickLarson haters hate!

[@anthonyiocca5683]

@@STREETLIFE167 unfortunately that means your cat had failed catastrophically. 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.

[@gweedomurray9923]

@@STREETLIFE167 ~ My opinion: Either the treatment didn't work or the washcoat is depleted to where even after cleaning there is just not enough catalyst material left to do a thorough job.

[@curbyourshi1056]

The soap is definitely making a difference. Water only wouldn't get into the hydrophobic fine carbon. The soap breaks the surface tension and helps break up the fine carbon particles. Just my 2c.

[@user-so7dj3tw4d]

I took off my o2 sensors before the catalytic converter and blew a can of that Seafoam Spray Top Engine Cleaner and Lube used about half each side. It cleared my codes and I haven't had them come back yet. It's been about 8 months since that treatment. I figured that spray is made for specifically for motors and it blows through the catalytic converter anyway so can't harm to much and if it does I'll just cut them out until I find an affordable one that is reliable. Luckily it seems to have worked enough to buy me another year to find one. I also soaked my o2 sensors in berryman b12 for like an hour which cleared 1 of the 2 codes related to that. This guy is experimenting with the CaT he plans on using when he should've used a dummy one just to test what effects it has on the metals. For all I know I could've just melted all the metals and blew them out my tail pipe but hey no codes right haha.

[@arxangelmixael]

The cover is aluminized (aluminum coated steel), which is why the Sodium Hydroxide was dissolving it; you can see that the finish on the heat shield looks much more dull after being soaked in it.

[@gweedomurray9923]

I am aware of mufflers being Aluminized steel but when looking at Cats online for possible future replacement I have seen that the "brick" is inside a Stainless steel case.

[@thesparksplug]

The cleaning videos, like Scotty, said, "...try cleaning the catalytic converter first to clear the p420 code." It's easy and cheap. Then they mentioned, if those techniques don't work, do the bulk work (remove converter) and bulk spending (replacing coverter). What is wrong with trying? It worked in many cases because most converters don't get to that state before throwing a code and the light amount of carbon dust in the c.c. will burn and blow out.

[@franksplace551]

I heard you can burn them out blow it out with the acetylene and oxygen after taking it out of car of course. You?😎

[@saxmaster45]

@@franksplace551 l assume you mean by lighting an oxy acetylene torch? I mean, the cat is designed for high temp.

[@anthonyiocca5683]

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.

[@kizito8888]

The lacquer thinner does fix the problem. Nothing wrong with Scott’s video.

[@johnnymapalo966]

Not on my car. Tried it on 2015 Nissan Altima with 277,280 miles..171 miles later, engine started skipping and misfiring until I drove all the gas and lacquer thinner out of it.

[@TheWilferch]

@@johnnymapalo966 ....did you use 1 gal thinner to 9 gallons gas?. For a small car like yours, that would be about 1/2 gal thinner applied to the suggested half-full tank of gas. Maybe you put in 1 gal to your half-full tank.

[@tomstulc9143]

​@@johnnymapalo966you put too much lacquer thinner in it. Try half as much

[@johnnymapalo966]

@tomstulc9143 I'm not trying that crap again. I put the whole gallon into half a tank of gas

[@mswerkmeister]

​@johnnymapalo966 read as... "I did it wrong but the problem was totally the lacquer thinner and not me! I'm the smartest boy in the land and you all are doo doo heads!"

[@redlineducks]

Thanks Fifties Kid! Your thoroughness and patient effort is much appreciated.

[@brigond1]

I didn't use lacquer thinner BUT I did use a store bought chemical specifically for this and it worked ! So, the lacquer thinner seems plausible.

[@tazman6483]

I am pretty sure he just had a bad downstream O2 sensor, seen it before and he never really tested to see if replacing the downstream sensor would have fixed the issue. Never used laser temp reading on upstream and downstream, yes the propane test showed that both sensors reacted, but still say a bad downstream could account for that.

[@PiRatZii]

under rated comment, the cat looked fine even before he cleaned it like ted kazynski.

[@greebuh]

Toluene is in octane booster and Toluol (Toluene) is a very fast drying solvent used for thinning paints, enamels, varnishes, and alkyd resins. Often specified as a thinner for specialty paints and coatings. Good general purpose cleaner and degreaser.

[@fieldsofomagh]

Very intensive practical tests and couldn't agree more on the drive cycles. The mil light governs the result, on, grand off,trouble. Increasing the engine speed shows the cat in its true colours.

[@Captain_Zero_]

My 2005 jeep TJ was showing the same codes. I put the scanner on it and the o2 sensors were behaving the same way. Thanks for the help. That confirms my suspicions of a shot converter.

[@qcsupport2594]

That oxygen storage test is gold! I learned something.

[@pedrogodoycruz]

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. 3k miles since the cleaning. Downstream O2 sensors are giving a flat (expected) output. So, I can confirm that if the cause of the problem is coolant in the exhaust, soaking with dishwashing soap works.

[@luciorob9936]

Crc emissions pass fuel additive worked for me from auto zone. My check engine light was on for about a year. Had already scanned so I knew it was a cat code but didn’t want to spend the money quite yet. Saw the product guarantee or double money back so I tried it on a full tank. Drove a quarter of it and parked my pathfinder. Next day I started it and the light was off. Awesome 👏

[@bigsparky8888]

INCREDIBLE INFO...THANK YOU!!!

[@morpar318]

I did this trick one time I use blue Dawn dish soap and a 5 gallon bucket build with hot water. Then I got my air compressor with a extended blower nozzle. With a restrictor at the end of the nozzle. Then I introduced air bubbles to the bottom of the cat. Then all of the built up suit and debris bubbled up through the top. Then I repeated the process five or six times and the cats were cleaned out.

[@cajememillan5800]

I'm going to try boiling water with soap. At $1200 a pop and I've got 2.

[@berniemac8413]

@@cajememillan5800 did cleaning your cats this way work for you?

[@cajememillan5800]

@@berniemac8413 no

[@pepsilove6306]

@@berniemac8413 best trick ive come up with because I absolutely refuse to drop 2k on a converter is, clear the codes, figure out how much driving you gotta do on your particular car to get the code to show up as 'ready' and just before it would normally come on. with the gas tank low, put a few gallons of naturalized alchohol in the tank, and it burns so clean it tricks the cat sensors into thinking its clean, shows up as ready, and you got about 30 minutes to an hour to get your butt to the emissions place to get scanned for your plates. It works on pre OB2 also for sniff tests also. Code obviously comes back later. but it buys you just enough time to get ya plates.

[@user-nv1gm2zj7y]

@@pepsilove6306 i got a problem where..... it actually is affecting car performance

[@jameznm]

Thanks for sharing this buddy, it's nice to see that people still post real things like when something doesn't quite work out. You win some you lose some. But if you don't try these things you'll never know if it'll work.

[@veronicawatson2525]

But if you lose some you can't afford to get something back because it's a heavy costly price which is why people don't do things better safe than sorry

[@jameznm]

Yeah but I guess you'd check out a video like this to assess the work and skill involved first to see if you can do it and if it's worth it.

[@tommymoch5683]

I tried pouring lacquer thinner into one half a tank of fuel and driving the vehicle non stop for 130 miles on the highway. After forty miles the symptoms associated with cat codes for front 1 & 2 cleared and acceleration lag that had been happening disappeared too (bonus)! Say what you want but my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder has had a cat code since 70,000 miles. It now has 228,000 miles and all codes clear. I am writing this a tankful of fuel and a week later. Seems to have worked for me and I actually tried it...

[@paulcampbell8696]

The "unbelievably stupid" lacquer thinner in the gas tank worked for me, and has lasted two years now on my 2008 Honda Element after it cleared the codes and allowed me to pass my smog inspection.

[@altpraize6708]

I've been an auto repair tech for 33 years. I specialize in drivibility issues. Be warned that lacquer thinner does bad things to fuel pump and pressure regulator. sodium hydroxide damages metal.

[@ua7pyro591]

🤣

[@howardblasingame7961]

Excellent tutorial. Camera work, editing & narrating is smooth & entertaining.

[@xg5zm]

That is exactly my theory as well I have a P0420 popping up every three times in the last 3 years or so, done 20k miles in that period. Every time it appears I delete it )without doing any repair) and it takes several months to come back. If I have done any cleaning I could have mistakenly understood it was successful.

[@punker4Real]

u can get a p0420 code from a faulty thermostat code or ECT sensor

[@kucickula]

@@punker4Real really how did you have that issue ?

[@SamBould55]

2 bottles of oven cleaner , washing up liquid, and a pressure washer worked for me ! Amazing the amount of crap gets blown out !

[@wildthoughts6959]

Hi Paul, can you please describe details of your process , especially the use of pressure washer . Did you unmount the converters ?

[@SamBould55]

@@wildthoughts6959 You need to remove the converter from the car , stand it upright and block the bottom hole up ! I used duct tape and it worked fine ! There are a couple of holes on the side that need to be blocked up as well . Support it so it stands up on its own then I used liquid oven cleaner , about two bottles just pour them in and fill up to the top with warm water and leave for about 2 to 3 hours ! Then remove the tape and let it drain then squirt about half a bottle of washing up liquid down there , lay it on its side and use the Jet wash and blast the shit out ! Make sure it's fully dry before re fitting !! I used a heat gun for about half hour then re fit . Worked for me .

[@SamBould55]

Don't forget to clean the sensors as well as the code can sometimes just be because of a dirty sensor ! Joy can clear the codes with a scan tool or like me wait till the car runs a re gen cycle on its own and that should clear codes .

[@YogisGarage]

You saved me a few hours and about 50 bucks in solvent. Thanks!

[@luedog8385]

lol he could have just soaked it in gasoline

[@anthonyiocca5683]

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.

[@JR-kk6ce]

You might think it is stupid to pour a gallon of lacquer thinner into the gas tank, but I did it, went for a 7 hour round trip drive at highway speed, and the cat code went away and never came back (9 months ago), plus, my engine seems to run a lot smoother (2010 Nissan Sentra with over 247,000 miles on it. )

[@josephp749]

“It’s not the soap” and “water bubbles “ had me dying

[@ravraid]

I really appreciate this kind of video in an area where there is so much hype and misinformation. Here, there is a thoughtful methodology and an honest attempt to test. It's important to note that this was a single data point and it doesn't cover all cases but it certainly confirms the negative - i.e. not all failures can be fixed by cleaning.

[@Berlingo1234]

I cleaned my catalysator it worked 🤗

[@floridagal4life]

@@Berlingo1234 I believe it works too, he has to let it sit for for a while 3 hours is not sufficient in my opinion. I saw someone soak theirs for 10 hours overnight in soap and water and it worked.

[@mwilson70201]

I'm surprised no one has tried an Ultrasonic cleaner on the dreaded clogged catalytic converter. I know they will remove every speck of powder residue which is baked on much like the deposits in a clogged CC. Just a thought from some one with ways but no means to try it myself.

[@fixyourautomobile]

My thoughts as well. However a catalytic converter sized ultrasonic cleaner can get expensive. Almost to the point of where if you're not doing it weekly, it'll cost you more than the replacement catalyst.

[@rdaleyj1]

Hey thanks for the video and the thorough cleaning with testing.

[@rustynail7866]

A Subaru technical service bulletin suggests using lemon juice. It works great on soot and oil fouling.

[@brockbaker3able]

I have cleaned my civic cat and it worked great. None of the crap this fella tells you to try will work. There was an old article in scientific America that talked about this. You have to use a mix of citric acid ( same stuff you buy at Walmart for canning ) and wood bleach. ( oxalic acid ) I can’t remember the exact formula but you mix it up in a vat or water and submerge the cat in it for a couple hours while heating the water to 150-175 degrees. I used an old gas grill to keep the water hot. It worked perfectly and didn’t eat up the cat. The water turned green and nasty but I never got the converter below efficiency threshold again. 35 k miles later

[@asherweck]

brock baker wow I want to try but I’m scared

[@1oneguythat]

nice 1

[@Wijak.M]

Could you tell the name of that article?

[@brockbaker3able]

@@Wijak.M I went digging and found a posting of the original article. I also found a video of someone doing it in practice which I’ll try to post a link to that as well. Again, I have done this. It works.

[@brockbaker3able]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGWuqIOCZbV7pbs here’s a video.

[@socalcraigster]

I did the paint thinner trick and it worked on my 04 Sedona. No way I’m paying $1,600. It runs fine.

[@ashleylipa2244]

Why does this freak me out so much if I keep seeing that it worked for people?

[@dwpwdlgovasitsb4id13orlife2]

@@ashleylipa2244 it's hard to put faith in internet advice when you're legitimately concerned that it could cause serious damage to your vehicle. Especially considering there's people that talk down on things they haven't tried. Anymore I keep digging until I'm satisfied, then make the decision as long as my intuition doesn't slap me 😂

[@elsieolsa557]

That exactly what my car doing dealership told me my transmission I new there were trike thanks good video

[@georgemercado7160]

Thanks for the time and the tests.

[@SantaClaw]

Particulate filters can be cleaned however. Proper cleaning of those requires soap and high pressure water. It can be done professionally.

[@glocksp80smd]

Glad someone said it

[@JamesAutoDude]

Just so everyone is aware, Catalytic Converters were designed to last the life of the vehicle. The reason why they "go bad" is because of contamination (such as misfire or burning oil), damage like hitting it on a road bump, things like that. It doesn't just "wear out". so, if you need a new one, first fix the problem that caused it to go out in the first place. Otherwise, you're gonna need a new one once again in the future.

[@50sKid]

Sometimes there is no underlying cause, such as road damage or running rich, and the catalyst just deteriorates over time. It's true that a catalyst doesn't get "consumed" during a chemical reaction, it merely accelerates or allows the reaction to take place much quicker, however the catalyst metals are deposited on an aluminum oxide layer inside the honeycomb and those metals can flake off due to too many heat cycles or the underlying oxide layer can deteriorate, taking the catalyst with it. Which is what I believe partially happened with the particular cat I was testing. Nothing is perfect, you know? Everything wears out. However, you're right, if there ARE carbon deposits, absolutely fix the cause of that problem otherwise it will happen again.

[@zackthompson2505]

So wait... The catalyst metals are deposited onto an aluminum oxide layer, and ppl are telling others to dump them into a lye solution which eats aluminum??? If this is true, then it'd destroy any catalytic properties it has left.

[@izuzan7419]

James Erikson that all depends on what the "life of the car" is designed to be. Is the life of the car as long as you can keep it running and repaired? Or is the life of the car 75,000 miles? 100,000 miles 200,000?

[@deanbudgell6220]

Some modern cars with direct injection are “designed” to allow oil consumption. I’ve had a few newer fords with cat codes before 100,000 km

[@Woodscraps-lr5vz]

Many things are designed to certain parameters but don't live up to the intent of the designing engineer.

[@authorsauditions]

You tried everything that I wanted to. Thank you for saving me the trouble! Great video!

[@jamiemciver2326]

Very informative video. I appreciate allthe details of how it works and how to test it properly not just looking and saying its plugged. I could see that this one didn't look pkugged but still explained a lot of why you may be getting a code and how to diagnose that without putting in a downstream spacer.

[@goldenjeru]

Pixie dust worked great for me. Tough to get though. Fairies only give you some at high noon on the summer solstice in the forest.

[@ashleylipa2244]

Was it blue?

[@louismartinez8962]

I think it was a great video. Thanks for the info!

[@danielrowan2854]

I have a 2004 ford focus my catylitic converter is molded in with the header and it wasnt heating up so I took it off and I soaked it with engine degreaser for a few days and washed it out and what an amazing result and its heating up nicely and working good no problems

[@lightmodifi]

Friends, its simple: 1. Take the converter off. 2. Seal one end with rubber bands and plastic. 3. fill it up with apple cider vinegar or dish soap and water. 4. Let this sit 24-48 hours. 5. Optional: Then use an air compressor to help blow out the debri. Lastly, hold your converter up to a light or the sun to see how many light dots shine through. Repeat this process, until you see 50% or more light shine through.

[@blk95gsrt]

I’ve successfully gotten them to function better, confirmed by watching the data stream (watching the switch rate of the catalyst monitor/downstream 02 sensor) by running sea foam really heavily into the intake through a vacuum hose. You have to be very careful to not hydrolock the engine and it will ping and the converters get really hot but it works. You’ll need to flare the throttle many times to keep the fluid from puddling in the intake but I’ve had it work countless times now in the last 20 years with no comebacks for catalyst efficiency codes.

[@frankabarca209]

How much sea foam exactly? I have a car that needs both cats and they are 4k I ran some cataclean and it kept the light from coming on for like 2 weeks but it came back

[@blk95gsrt]

@@frankabarca209 What I do is just something I came up with in the shop. There is no exact amount necessarily. What I do is disconnect the vacuum hose from the vacuum booster (if it goes to the intake manifold, if yours go to a vacuum pump you have to find a hose that goes to the intake manifold). I get the motor up to temperature before I start any of this though. Once it’s fully warmed up I then get a friend to help or I put a throttle holder on the gas pedal or I wedge something against it to hold the rpm around 2500. I then star slowly pouring the sea foam into the vacuum hose for about 2 seconds then give it about 3 seconds of a break then do another 1-2 second pour and I repeat that for about 1/4 of the can. Then I go get in the car and hammer the throttle to blast air through the motor and help clear out any sea foam that may have puddled in the intake. Then I go back to the pour stop pour stop. If at any time the motor starts to misfire and chug I let up on the pouring because that was a sign the pour was too heavy, and I go flare the throttle to clear out the motor. Then go back to pouring. I usually use one whole can.

[@blk95gsrt]

@@frankabarca209 this only works on dirty converters that are coated in carbon. Some cars about their converters breaking apart and nothing can save a converter that’s in pieces. What kind of car do you have.

[@user-cg3oe4nq4y]

@@frankabarca209 l

[@jvst20051]

Thats what I want to try but have them removed and cleaned them i always use seafood to clean car parts and it dissolves carbon like butter

[@Haider9292]

I'm so happy to watch all the procedures done scientifically - you made an hypothesis, tested it and proved it and used reliable evidence tool and scientific method ... applauds

[@wildthoughts6959]

No man, it does work very often . Worth trying at first , if you plan to take them out to replace them. The difference in money is huge.

[@anthonyiocca5683]

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.

[@fiachramacaodha1260]

That is not what you saw. He used a cat that was not suffering from the issue cleaning was meant to solve so he failed the scientific method at the very first step. Still waiting on someone to prove this theory conclusively one way or the other. It would need all other potential problems ruled out first to confirm dirty cat was causing inefficiency, removal and visual inspection of cat before hand and after to confirm it was cleaned and then all the data to track the change.

[@justsaiyansteve]

Great experiment. Suggest people go with cat delete, or just replace the whole thing.

[@girohead]

I'm back, this time with my dad's P0420 code. I looked at this for my Toyota, sure that it wasn't a faulty cat. I tried everything and finally bit the bullet and all was fine. I still think that one was poisoned from a rich condition that I let go too long. Now I'm on my dad's, which has no other issues or the graph output as you show. I'm convinced it's from his seldom driving and never on highway. This happened last inspection and I got it to go away with good cleaner, lots of driving, and luck. This time it's not resetting. I think these cats just wear out, even for Honda. I'll follow up if the G2P cleaner works again (I'm one and one).

[@ryansewell5878]

50sKid, I love your channel, tons of great information. My recommendation on how to clean a cat and what I call the best way, is to use steam. How I did mine was I took a pressure cooker and put a 1/2" NPT fitting on the top of it and then took a piece of plywood and threaded an identical fitting to it and then attached that plywood to my CAT, connect the two fittings with a piece of hose and put the pressure cooker on a hot plate outdoors some where and set the CAT leaning against something so that all the carbon water will drip out the bottom. Periodically remove the cat and splash around some clean water in there to break up large pieces of debris. Let this run for a good while. It works great and you don't have to use any solvents. Enjoy!

[@hellohello8556]

Cool idea. 🤔👍

[@petepenn1]

Best Idea by FAR!

[@renejacques8288]

Do you mean cut a little piece of plywood just to cover on end of the cat and a fitting in the plywood to inject steam in the cat, and the other end of the cat open?

[@taggartlawfirm]

The online videos talking about cleaning a cat, say that sometimes it can work, and it doesn’t hurt to try, if your cat is at 94% it will throw a code. So this is a good data point of one, so let’s do this about 50 more times, and see where we are at the end of the test period. If there is a 5% of saving me $1300 I’m not opposed to trying.

[@ezekielmartinez1424]

Thanks 50s kid! My brothers 98 Toyota is running rough due to a bad cat 🐈. Thought we could save some money by giving it a good clean. Now I’m certain I would have wasted time and money and eventually having to by a brand new cat. Thanks so much

[@ColinMill1]

I think the best solution to a less than efficient cat. (unless it's been poisoned or cooked to death) is the Italian tune-up. I had a 5 Series BMW that failed the MoT emissions test on CO by some significant margin. On the recommendation of the MoT tester I took it to the motorway and gave it serious grief and brought it back to the test station where (once it had cooled down a bit!) it flew through the emissions with no issue at all. I suspect the success of some of the commercial cat. cleaners is the way an Italian tune-up is included in the instructions.

[@farquadshmoogle9120]

gotta like it. he kept saying he going to leave it in the bucket for a few hours, an hour later says, ok, no point keeping it in there. Says he gonna leave it overnight, takes it out 3 hours later.

[@timrichardson9208]

My first time watching any of his videos. I found it annoying that he couldn't just leave it alone. Kinda like watching a 5 year old.

[@scorpionkingggodson5507]

Bro cap one end!, fill it up let it sit. Less waste on solvent

[@toddlerprodigy2061]

What u mean cap one end my Cat is BAD IM TRYING CLEAN IT HELP

[@juanpena9386]

@@toddlerprodigy2061 put a cap at one end so it can be filled, it would require a lot less of liquid. Is it the same? Idk but that's what he's saying

[@Alberrttoo]

Very informative. Thank you for sharing.

[@larryreno8293]

Solid information, thank you.

[@tommy35ss]

The bubbling was the acid dissolving the galvenization on the galvanized steel. The galvenization is the reason that piece wasn't rusted either, it will rust now most likely

[@christianbuczko1481]

It's a base not an acid fyi.

[@mommapickles7251]

Thanks bill nye

[@ChrisJones-kf1li]

I concur. For someone with all of the acid/base knowledge he did a bunch of things you should not do if you want to keep such an expensive part. (In my humble opinion, of course). 😢

[@macelius]

I've tried on a few cars, and the only thing that really worked to clean the cat out and get the car going was a good ol' broom stick.

[@xxxnonamexxx5615]

Lol

[@adamhonda98]

More than just a broomstick I use a pry bar and a hammer

[@danielcastro7104]

I used digging bar

[@timex8321]

@@danielcastro7104 a diddo

[@vipereavp]

😂😂😂😂😂 straight through that bitch

[@vernonbosshard9317]

Lye is my fav for cleaning steel and iron engine parts, its fast and it cleans like no other. That shield has a coating that is getting etched off.

[@pjwoo276]

So informative. Thank you !

[@Johnathan_Waters]

Thank you so much for doing this! Much appreciated. I also live in socal (downey) I think i've seen you at pick your part!

[@mmontgomery7069]

added laquer thinner to my gas tank and my 2003 jeep liberty runs great. cleared my codes too. may not work on every vehicle, but I will use it again if needed. weird idea for a cleaner, but definitely not stupid!

[@brembojoe]

lacquer thinner in tank works!!! Also it passed catalyst on drive cycle monitor. Sorry Charley myth not busted.

[@kennethhedden1846]

Laquer clears my sinuses everyday,why not my trucks.

[@kennethhedden1846]

He probably halfass melted his draun pipes as well as violated some epa laws and killed wildlife.And still bought a used cat.

[@boogyman4108]

Hi mmontgomery, from the time u added Lacquer Thinner to ur car's fuel tank, did any other components or codes get disturbed or busted?

[@charlestilley2576]

Assuming it works, don't want to do often, as this will cause damage to fuel lines & maybe the pump. Once cleaned, use a 20 ounce bottle of Red Line (60103) Complete SI-1 Fuel System Cleaner at last fill up before oil change. This will get rid of any lacquer thinner residue & clean the fuel system well, has a high amount of PEA. I run a bottle just before every oil change. About the Catalytic Converter, one can take steps to ensure a longer lifespan. Do not idle a long time to warm up engine, only when very cold a couple minutes is necessary, otherwise 45 seconds to a minute is fine. Lots of stop & go driving w/out any on the highway is bad for it, take a 100 mile round trip on the Interstate at least a couple times per year with overdrive off. Yes it uses more gas, yet heats everything to get rid of deposits. Lastly, it's best to use Top Tier gas, often this will be displayed at pump. Major brands such as Shell, Exxon/Mobil, BP, Chevron are Top Tier, as well as Costco, which has 5x the minimum amount of detergent in both grades. Not all gas is Top Tier, example, Sheetz, although popular, has just the minimum amount as required by the government. The reason why Top Tier is important, although a few cents higher (or maybe not) per gallon, has more cleaning power & therefore, less deposits on sensors which causes the Check Light to be displayed. Some of these components costs over $1,000 for repair at a dealership, yet usually less at a local mechanic with a good reputation. It's good to know a mechanic before needed (just as a doctor), like when getting brake pads changed & performing State inspections. I change my own oil, so know what am getting, yet when something major needs fixing, have a reliable mechanic to do the job. Fortunately, even though my Toyota is nearing it's 20th birthday, have had only two check engine light popups & repairs were minor, maybe because have always ran Top Tier gas before I knew of the term. Pinching pennies on gas weekly can cost thousands of dollars down the stretch.

[@bwagenberg]

I subscribed because of this very objective video. Many more please!!!

[@Haider9292]

I immediately subscribed just to give a little push for your channel to reach 100K mark.. well deserved..

[@danashay]

Bravo! Intelligent, timely piece. Thanks for saving all of us the effort! 😎

[@anthonyiocca5683]

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.

[@jeffreystroman2811]

Newer wood stoves have a type of honeycomb catylaitic converter. There are cleaning procedure for them and I'd imagine would work for these just as well. You must be careful not to destroy the extremely thin rare earth coating if the honeycomb surfaces. Basically heating in a pot of white vinegar

[@enriquelopez9124]

Awesome information & tutorial 👏 👌🏼 👍🏿 😀 🙌

[@albertomorales9761]

Thanks for the video. Much help

[@nickmatte4508]

To say that " whenever you get a 420 or 430 there's no if ands or buts, the cat needs to be replaced" is a bit close-minded. Sure, it's very unlikely it can be cleaned, and unlikely the downstream 02 sensor is reading falsely for some reason or other--but both are still possible. Also, most basic code readers come with I/M readiness to verify the cat monitor is through. Numerous times i've seen a P0420 turn into a downstream 02 sensor code after dumping cataclean in. the 02 sensor would then be replaced due to fouling from using the cataclean, and the Cat monitor would eventually read ready--without a P0420. It doesn't always work, but I just thought it inaccurate of you to say the cleaning methods "never" work, based off of your one thorough experiment.

[@anthonyiocca5683]

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.

[@Morenitto89]

Chemistry 406: Sodium Hydroxate with Palladium(rare metal in Cat) will do more Damage than acetone based thinner

[@DrSAM69]

hydroxide* But yeah, NaOH will eat up some or most of the metals

[@yogamon]

Not true. These precious metals resist oxidation from base (naoh) or acid. That is why palladium is used in an exhaust that is subject to oxygen and 1600F

[@viktorwaltenrath4328]

thanks for share your expirience with that.

[@shaneburke4863]

cleaning it didn't help me but for the 0420 code there is a spacer for the O2 sensor and that worked and is easy to do and cost less than 5 bucks. you take the sensor off connect the spacer to the sensor and screw back on

[@looncraz]

Citric acid is the best wash for a cat. Takes a good long while, but it worked wonders on my 96 850... same cat six years later and still no more P0420 code. 8 years later: cat still going strong! Car has 260,000 miles on it and the original cat, though I sold the car.

[@gabrieldusk]

looncraz how much did you use and how long ?

[@matheous77]

Put 4 litres of lacquer thinner in half a tank of fuel, drove it hard until tank empty... No more PO420 code for me

[@8207joe]

Where would I get Citric acid? Do they have 100% citric acid? I guess I could squeeze a lot of oranges. Because the cleaners are always mixed with it not 100%?

[@JA-rn5qv]

@@8207joe Either home supply store or amazon

[@dushk0]

@@JA-rn5qv also the grocery or pool supplies

[@cconnon1912]

The lacquer thinner is flammable solvent same as acetone. It will not hurt your engine. First thing is you should be sure to run fuel injector cleaner. And make sure you have no coil/spark issues or fuel issues. If your engine is missing it will dirty the cat. Fuel injector cleaner is also just a solvent like acetone and lacquer thinner to clean out your injectors. You Cat looks so good you may want to check O2 sensor. In vechile like a Jeep, the cats cannot be removed without removing the entire one piece exhaust “Y” system. Sometimes you take these off and chunks of honeycomb fall out. FYI - lots of water is in exhaust at startup, So you shouldn’t worry about submerging and water for a few minutes.

[@wbwills2]

Might need this knowledge one day but have used some other videos.very helpful.thx.like & subscribed

[@sakerarab9894]

So thanks, great video and lots of info

[@audunjemtland8287]

Amazing video. Thanks Could oxygen sensors be cleaned? Why/why not?

[@n54glo]

Hello, @50sKid you should pump more e46 content that you havent went over, for ex Replacing fuel injectors and which ones to recommend, on the 330i , thanks

[@fernandomaldonado4153]

Un poco complicado, lo importante es su efectividad.Muchas gracias.

[@thecrankster4162]

Awesome video, and experiment.... congratssss..

[@tinderboxcreations]

Sodium Hydroxide would most likely strip some of the micro metal (Platinum, Poladium etc) from the ceramic. It eats most metals.

[@ir8d8rads]

Not noble metals like platinum, palladium, or gold,

[@buscador2007]

@@ir8d8rads Are those part of a new hero's Justice League I didn't know anything about?

[@zash008]

I agree, he may have dissolved the catalyst metals with the acid so he would be left with just a cylinder with ceramic honeycomb

[@jpadilla0515]

Should add a aquarium air bubbler to the bottom to mix things up a bit Your supposed to let it sit over night or longer the 30mins

[@poiiihy]

he did several hour

[@littilant121]

Great test

[@avijithalder3511]

Very honest experiment.

[@skonkfactory]

The bubbling is the zinc electroplate on the heat shield getting eaten the same way aluminium or magnesium would.

[@scrappydogfinance8434]

Regarding the Zinc Coating you dissolved in the Sodium Hydroxide bath... zinc is know to damage catalytic converters if it gets into the exhaust (particularly from engine oil pcv blow by vapors etc).

[@larryreno8293]

Yup, phosphorus and zinc are catalyst killers.

[@Jeff_Seely]

Thanks for the informative video! You definitley had me brushing up on old, lost-forgotten chemistry knowledge! And I know that I wasn't the only guy that was thinking of all the times that we may have prematurely replace our cats on his vehicles. I have always just checked and trusted that I needed to replace my cats off of scanner data and a good IR temp reading. I didn't know about the propane saturation test.I agree that you can't revive an old depleted cat by washing it, however you can revive your performance and economy by flushing out solids that restrict exhaust flow and It would buy you some time before having to replace them in order to pass any required emission tests in your area. Unfortunatley, in the county I live in, there is no emission testing so many guys just Illegally take them off and knock the substrate out with an air chisel to maintain performance and breaking federal laws in do so.

[@wernerswanepoel5898]

We used a little degreaser and rince with alcohol

[@skipkot5821]

Pur some chicken soup in there too , cauae maybe caty not feeling good .

[@tqdinh2]

Skip Kot 😀

[@jmatt98]

It is for your car"s soul

[@marklokken1378]

Has to be Campbell brand. Others have to many chunks

[@jonkingz5737]

chicken soap! :D

[@hadleyslife7351]

Skip Kot hahaha omg 😂😂😂

[@maylopez6426]

I'm just replacing my catalytic converter now on my 2011 Ford 150 truck Scott Kilmer said it can be cleaned, thank you for this video I see I can't clean it.

[@Jaydizzle870]

Very thorough process, sir! Especially the safety tips. God bless!! BTW, I'm a '40s kid, heh, heh...

[@supermetaltastic]

I'll save you half an hour. He tests the cat by comparing the reading from two oxygen sensors. Doing both an oxygen storage test and a reving the engine while watching the second oxygen sensor fluctuate wildly (bad cat). He cleans the cat with lacquer thinner/acetone/xylene solvent mix, dawn soap/water, Lye, and lacquer thinner solvent mix/xylene/acetone . He reruns the tests and it still tests bad. He concludes cleanings catalyst converters is a waste of time.

[@zlord1199]

Your an ass

[@valentinogallego4091]

👍

[@ubergama30]

@@zlord1199 *You're a dumbass

[@ChrisJones-kf1li]

Right. May only be proving that the after Cat O2 sensor was bad. Scotty hasn't let me down yet. I'ma lean on Scotty's side on this one and give it a shot. Maybe the heat, exhaust pressure and chemical reaction is what does the trick and not just sitting it in a bucket giving it a half-ass go at it.

[@jonathanbolagner5253]

I used a bottle of taquilla on my cat. and smell really really good!!!

[@guardrailbiter]

Meow?

[@dfinite4089]

Seriously? Not sure if you are only kidding or actually did it and it worked?

[@Han-es8qu]

Deep and complete analyses.

[@claudiofigueiredo6357]

Might’ve had a damaged comb instead of predicted gunk build up. It'd be nice to open it up once you've renewed it. Top video bro

[@girohead]

Props for jumping to the content, these other clowns start off with a minute of introduction graphics and music.

[@michael47lamb]

Good video, very amusing. In 25 years of working on cars I can tell you all that NO CHEMICAL of any kind makes a spits worth of difference to how well a cat or O2 sensor works. The ONLY thing I found that makes some improvement is heat. I frequently "burn" O2 sensors to get the built up crud off the elements. This works about 80% of the time to get an old O2 sensor working again. I use a propane torch for this. Make the sensor tip glow evenly orange and then cool naturally. Works like a champ usually. Dont burn the wires or yourself though! As far as "burning" a catalytic converter goes, I have not tried that since getting enough heat into all the channels is about impossible to do. Lots easier to just buy a new cat.

[@methree3821]

Mr Lamb, you have my vote 👍🏽

[@JodBronson]

I spent 2 days trying, that is a no-go either. My Cat was really expensive so I cut it and put a universal one on. Imagine, going from $695.00 to $49.50. If anyone sees this post. Get your pipe measured, buy the same fitting and then cut it and put a universal one on. P.S. Mine is a Mini Cooper so parts are an arm and a leg!

[@michael47lamb]

@@JodBronson Welcome to the bizarre world of British engineering LoL. I suggest you sell your Cooper while it is still worth something to someone else. There is nothing but an expensive future in it. I have never met anyone who really likes Cooper engineering.

[@JodBronson]

@@michael47lamb - I know, you are 100% correct! I have been modding to the regular stuff. YUP, I have been using lots of stuff from other cars about the same year or -4/+4. You know most of them are THE SAME parts because of patent, and just slightly mod for other manufactures and models.

[@michael47lamb]

@@JodBronson Not too surprising many parts from other years are the same. Once the Brits find a bad idea they tend to stick with it. LoL

[@abelnavarro4324]

Great chemistry lesson 👍🏾

[@NathansHVAC]

Good video. Thanks for doing it. It saved me a lot of time.

[@AikidoTubeSock]

How difficult was it to remove the converter? It seems that bolts getting super hot then cooling repeatedly would make for a pretty tight bond. Did you use Liquid Wrench or other penetrating oil? I may have to remove mine a-la the Scotty Kilmer method.

[@bigsparky8888]

My cat has been replaced 3X already...costs are killer high in CALIF...THE SMOG TEST IS NOW DONE UNDER ACCELERATION ONTO A FREEWAY...HOW CAN THIS BE FAIR...IT IS NOT FAIR AT ALL...DEPENDING ON THE MAN DOING THE DRIVING CAN PUSH THE GAS PEDAL TOO HARD CAUSING EXCESSIVE NOX & HYDROCARBONS...IT IS AN EXPENSIVE BITCH TO OWN A GREAT RUNNING CAR THAT IS OLDER AND A 5 SPEED TO BOOT...DANG IT ALL ANYWAY...NOT FAIR...