Cleaning Catalytic Converters with Sodium Hydroxide -EricTheCarGuy

[@johnshirley2717]

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.

[@writtenpieceopaper1]

Thank you so MUCH for posting this. This is exactly what I needed to do my own research. Your comment is pure gold.

[@kennethhathaway3090]

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

[@NeutronX101]

Catalyst cant be depleted but probably is damaged and blown away or removed with debris.

[@sumbumblefuck6245]

I'm also an operator at a 2x1

[@fabricioduarte5602]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@mrcrtking]

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.

[@relyt22ful]

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.

[@averyalexander2303]

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?

[@papichulohoy]

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.

[@atomicdmt8763]

worked for me also

[@joshramirez8349]

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.

[@fromstarlighttosunrise128]

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

[@usmale47374]

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.

[@Bangouaman]

I second you on that.. Thanks for trying.

[@mikerogers4327]

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

[@davidmazel5949]

Hi, how did you clean your cat? Whats purple lower ?

[@mikerogers4327]

@@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.

[@enzoi9569]

@@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 !

[@rickr7333]

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.

[@NOBOX7]

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

[@Krankie_V]

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.

[@jasonpearson7399]

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!

[@poiiihy]

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

[@williampearson7494]

Thanks Al !!!

[@_koviboss_535]

@@poiiihy what overheat means ? Overheated can't ve cleaned etc ? Theyre completely Done ?

[@philtrimby9574]

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.

[@ekner]

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.

[@jdwisdom9433]

In science, a "failure" is as good as a "success". Thank You! JD

[@ericthecarguy]

Here's another possible option if you have a P0420. Cleaning Catalytic Converters with Sodium Hydroxide -EricTheCarGuy

[@asmith1393]

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

[@OldiesFan10622]

Thank you for your hard work in determining what works (and what doesn't) by way of cleaning catalytic converters!

[@therealjammit]

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.

[@patw52pb1]

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?

[@therealjammit]

Kyle Elkins I forgot about aluminum. Thanks. I'll change my post to reflect that.

[@jeksdad5979]

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.

[@JohnMSawyer]

Sodium hydroxide is lye (drain and oven cleaner), which is pretty corrosive to aluminum and flesh at higher concentrations, so be careful if you use a more concentrated form of it. Oxalic acid (sold in some hardware stores now only as wood bleach) is much more effective at cleaning a catalytic converter than just about anything else. It used to be available as a radiator/cooing system engine flush, but I guess some people thought it was too strong (it will remove rust from inside your engine, allowing any freeze plugs that are being held together by the rust on their inner surface to develop holes and start leaking coolant). If you mix in some sodium citrate (the main component of most newer radiator/cooling system flush products), you get even better results than either one by itself, though oxalic acid alone does most of the work. This was the subject of a major study some years ago, which found this combination to be the most effective technique. The proper ratios: Oxalic acid: 1.68 ounces of oxalic acid per gallon of water (metric: 12.6 grams of oxalic acid per liter of water) Citric Acid: 2.8 ounces per gallon of water (metric: 21 grams of citric acid per liter of water) (Citric acid can be found as an anhydrous or a monohydrate; some sources say the monohydrate version is better for this use, though I don't know why.) Don't worry about making these ratios absolutely precise--I'm pretty certain that if you mix up the ratios a little more strongly, that it won't do any harm to the cat converter, and if you mix them up a little weaker, you'll get practically all of the same cleaning action. You can fill your cat and let it soak, and shake it every now and then to agitate the solution, or you can go whole hog and use a pump to circulate the solution through the cat. One warning: the outside housing of your cat is almost certainly going to be steel (I'm no expert on this, but maybe some newer types are made of some kind of high-temp aluminum?), and oxalic acid can strip off some rust protective coatings, allowing the steel underneath to rust (and quickly too--this happened to me), so don't get the mixture onto a steel cat's outside housing.

[@JohnMSawyer]

Of course, while a catalyst is poisoned or depleted, the cat can't clean the exhaust. But many cats have plenty of usable catalyst left, and much or most of the contamination in that portion of the catalyst can be removed using oxalic acid, to the point where the cat can often pass emissions tests. This was specifically tested for, in the studies I mention (sorry I don't have the links handy). If someone can afford a new cat, that's the best approach, but cleaning them can be useful since many cats are pretty expensive.

[@cash1469]

Thank you ❤

[@nickb4302]

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

[@interceptfist]

you should retry the lacquer thinner again, now with 1:9 ratio. or try that on another car? thanks for the attempt

[@davidm3210]

A wise man once said, "I learned more from my failures than from my successes." EtCG breaking it down for the common man!

[@myron162]

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.

[@RedAndYellacuddlyFella]

There is a proven way to clean your cat, and it's cheap too. Oxalic acid and/or citric acid. Both can be bought online. Place the cat in a tub with a waterproof heating element and leave it to soak for 6 hours, and it will clean the cat. There is a study that can be found online that shows positive results.

[@MattsShop]

Leave your cat inside if you don't want it to get dirty.

[@beb1527]

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?

[@basharrikabi6409]

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 .

[@georgecooke9010]

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. ☺

[@walterbobruk2310]

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 !

[@boosts14]

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.

[@donaldasayers]

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.

[@srdjanmilojevic5108]

Hi mister. nobody saw what you say.interestin. this is like motor on water, nowone is listenin. thank you man greatin from Serbia

[@avernvrey7422]

Doing it wrong makes it last longer. Throw some firecrackers in to clean a cat out sparkly.

[@ericq9579]

I ran my accord on a bad battery and think i overworked my cat. Wonder if this trick will work

[@wtbm123]

The converter may not work , but it is probably the cleanest one in the state. lol

[@jnunez1203]

😂

[@davidmizak4642]

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!

[@GForceConnections]

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!

[@DaCoder]

I second this :D

[@bookreaderlabarr]

third on my end

[@buckaroobonsi555]

My Dad cleaned his main converter close to the engine on his 1995.5 Tacoma. He sprayed Gunk Engine Degreaser in it and let it sit 1/2 the day. Rinsed it out with a garden hose and let it sit over night. Next day he took a large 1 gallon can of B12 Carb cleaner and a plastic container. He used a glass to pass the B12 Carb cleaner through it over and over again for about 1/2 an hour. He cleared the codes and fired it up. Worked just fine. In fact a year latter it was still working. He is an over the road truck driver now that he left the military. about a 1 year latter his truck was sitting in the company yard and someone stole it and he got a new OEM exhaust via his insurance.

[@karmicmessenger]

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.

[@bash5995]

Whether it works or not, the experiments are fun to watch!

[@spelunkerd]

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.

[@bg147]

Good point. If there is money to be made, companies will sell it.

[@tmelvin9728]

it is federally illegal to sell a used cat. so even if you can clean then they couldn't be resold

[@o_ox_x4638]

spelunkerd not 100% true CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK are not allowed to do that. In addition your cats have a 5 year warranty

[@gouveiaclassicos]

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

[@flightofthefatman]

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! 👨‍🔧

[@smokeyriverband]

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.

[@billypilgrim7838]

+Tommy Thompson how about summers eve

[@davesministry7789]

+Tommy Thompson HIGHLY Explosive.

[@hotrodlincolnchannel6266]

I found the best way to avoid dirty cats' is to just not have any in your exhaust setup :)

[@gingerlarkin7340]

cant do that in California ive been stressing lol in Louisiana you can do that i did it to two vehicles so far

[@dimmacommunication]

yeah fuck the environment :)

[@lukem8692]

+dimmacommunication I'm not a greeny but we should probs start taking care of our earth a bit more....

[@dimmacommunication]

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.

[@consaka1]

+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.

[@frankgomez3105]

I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma I had to replace the front Catalytic Converter but after test driving the car it was still having problem, some of the ceramic debris about 2 cups broke up and went in to the second on. I took off the rear one put on a face mask, blew it out, hit it gently, washed it out, ran hot water till the flow of the water ran out the other end like a water fall and could see through it clearly. After about 2 hours of cleaning I reinstalled it and the car ran good. I was going to boil it in water but didn't have an large metal container to do that. But at this point I saved at least $700. Thanks for your insight information Frank

[@botella7771]

thank you for the video. man of integrity, great job....

[@richardpalmer8664]

from the beginning of your first attempt although not getting the rear hotter than the front, the rear temperature did increase by almost double

[@knurlgnar24]

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 KZbin do it.

[@misterbulger]

how about salt and alcohol or seafoam?

[@kaleshivam]

I used black harpic in catalytic converter and it worked awesome !

[@potatoradio]

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...

[@jdubstash]

really appreciate you doing all these experiments. From the lacquer thinner to soap to sodium hydroxide.

[@aspjake123]

Eric your videos are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to learn us!

[@tomasnokechtesledger1786]

John Lauer teach us?

[@aspjake123]

Yes, my way of having some fun.

[@dangoodman123]

John Lauer Well, that ought to learn ya, durn ya! :-)

[@tomasnokechtesledger1786]

I think yer sure, haha ;)

[@aspjake123]

Lol, durn Tutin!

[@catsshadows]

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.

[@billthompson5644]

You explain everything perfect, great job as usual.

[@mounbakko5871]

… the purpose for this as stated, makes this effort very worthwhile… educational and informative… thanks for sharing your effort.

[@jsmcrawler]

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.

[@l4d2160]

+jsmcrawler heh, etcg meets nurdrage x}

[@quinnhaynie7767]

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.

[@quinnhaynie7767]

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.

[@StrangeStories12]

*Lye will do it, but it has to be a strong solution, about 5 lb in 5 gallons of water. Then it has to soak submerged for at least a week. After that let it sit submerged in pure vinegar for about 1 hour. After that submerge it in boiling water. Let it sit for about 3 hours. Then rinse it both directions very thoroughly. Lye is a very strong alkaline, that will dissolve the carbon gunk, the vinegar will then neutralize the lye. The hot water just rinses everything out. If you imagine how hard it is to clean an old pan with burnt on oil... that's why it's so hard to clean a cat. If you do it properly and thoroughly you will have good results. I've successfully fixed about 60 cats with this method*

[@theroyalcrownedtiger2946]

Could try using a steamer machine and steam clean it. No residue.

[@derekcarson7976]

Beautiful sky view during rinse.

[@eichrj]

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!

[@ericthecarguy]

Robert Eich Fabricating Exhaust Parts -EricTheCarGuy

[@AlexFlockhart]

Man good on you for acknowledging negative comments from a previous video. All part of the troubleshooting process.

[@ArcolaBridge]

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.

[@ciscokidfab7595]

Eric you and Scotty are great mechanics and problem solvers. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

[@justabouthadit5872]

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!

[@dav3fk]

....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....

[@ericthecarguy]

dav3fk P0420 How To Diagnose A Bad Catalytic Converter -EricTheCarGuy

[@dav3fk]

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).

[@ericthecarguy]

dav3fk The rotten egg smell is actually from the sulfur in the gasoline and not the catalytic converter.

[@rivalrepairs]

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.

[@dav3fk]

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.

[@willthomas2609]

thanks Eric the Lacque thinner worked, I used 4gallion it WORKED save me $500 dollars, thanks so much!!!

[@aa2398a]

A+ FOR EFFORT, THANKS FOR UPLOADING

[@chargermopar]

I cleaned the one out of mom's 1977 Aspen with lye mixed with water boiling in a cast iron pot. Rinsed it and put on the car, it worked fine after it dried out.

[@appealingpit]

I removed my cat, no issues at all now.

[@sonicamakaru7616]

No high fuel consumption?

[@Chavezoid]

And the sensors? Did you remove the O2 rear sensor?

[@gweedomurray9923]

The check engine light runs full time now ?

[@ecmjr]

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!!

[@skipwoday]

I used Blinker Fluid to clean my Cat. Worked great 👍

[@Chavezoid]

Yep, gonna ask my daughter to go buy me some blinker fluid.

[@rolandomarte7569]

More details please about the blinker fluid.thanks

[@timmgiles]

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.

[@wdmickjr]

do you have any trees dying nearby?

[@michaelf7760]

Why? do you want to hug them?

[@edlingja1]

Modus Operandi Studios What?! Look at all that green!

[@wdmickjr]

no.

[@zacks240sx]

🤦‍♂️

[@Highnz57]

It's plant food. Makes trees grow better

[@GentiluomoStraniero]

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.

[@nos1000100]

so when are you goin to do a video on how to fix somthing on a diesel?

[@ericthecarguy]

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.

[@nos1000100]

Well i hope you get one lol. Switch things up a bit. Good job on the videos btw

[@nos1000100]

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.

[@barrymcdougal4816]

THANKS FOR BEING HONEST --- IT IS GENERALLY A CASE OF EXPECTING TO BE ROBBED BLIND BY MOST AUTO REPAIRER'S.

[@aspade01]

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?

[@ericthecarguy]

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.

[@dangoodman123]

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.

[@jdrissel]

Cody's lab successfully recovered Platinum from dust on the highway so I think you are correct that there is no Catalyst left in that catalytic converter.

[@FrenchValleyAirport]

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.

[@zoppp621]

Well if its already dead, it doesn't hurt to try these methods....

[@FrenchValleyAirport]

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.

[@zoppp621]

Sodium hydroxide isn't expensive, its just lye. And to replace the converter you need to lift the car anyways.

[@FrenchValleyAirport]

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..

[@mike42md]

Might try aiming the interferometer of the heat gun closer to the cat! NTW, that laser is not actually measuring the temp? The laser is just a pointer. The air(all of it) between the temp gun and the cat is included in the readings. It actually reads out the average temp of all the stuff between the tool and a solid object. Any A/C draft or box fan moving air can throw off your readings! Oh and Eric your attention to details is awesome. You video on cleaning the cat with soap and water helped me fix my tribute back pressure issue which blew a hole in the egr valve body! I found the contents of the front exhaust manifold cat had crumbled apart and deposited in the rear cat under the suv! I believe Your CAT "Meow" is clean... ( at least that's what she said! Bruhaahaaahaaa! ) My Rear/downstream Cat was caked up solid so much that i couldn't see the honeycomb type of holes when i took the rear cat off the vehicle. The soap trick worked good enough to get the exhaust to breath again ( I could see light going through 1/2 the cat afterwards). I was able to take reading with my temp gun that were just like what you were looking for (400 or so in the front and 500 or so in the rear = 100 temp difference! And to think this cat is in the car to absorb the unignited fuel that was actually acting as a coolant in the combustion chamber (Really!- ever play with R/C gas engine and run it extremely lean and measure the temp? that proved of the purpose of the cat to me! This is the real reason we still have crappy mph when using internal combustion engines. ( gotta get some HHO stuff man - I know you can do it! Here's the secret - what happens when a vacuum drops the barometric pressure in an electrolysis container with water inside?)

[@PoorManMods]

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

[@PoorManMods]

here is the video i am talking about, i just uploaded it $4 Catalytic Converter P0420 "code" Fix | Trick your ECU | Pass Emissions

[@tmelvin9728]

such a great thing to tell all of the internet. your breaking federal laws dumbass

[@Solmangrundy]

Emission standards dont apply to everywhere in America. Cat-delete is pretty common in the countyside since emmision checks arent required for state inspection.

[@mikebakee4388]

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.

[@hellcat1988]

You didn't stand on one foot with a dead bird in your hand facing east while humming happy birthday. Maybe that will work!

[@MarzNet256]

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.

[@onlyfourthpelton2349]

I am a catalytic converter core buyer out of Sacramento CA. I can give you $150 for that cat.

[@Tshizzle42o]

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.

[@aguilayserpiente]

James Pelton Will you buy my catalytic converter? I live in Oakland, CA.

[@jamesmedina2062]

Shit! I only got 30 bucks for my old Mazda 6 converter

[@dirtcheapmedia3390]

@@jamesmedina2062 certain cars cats are worth more than others

[@kingnongmo14]

Does it look like his front tire on the Acura at 10:00 has positive camber? Or is it just the camera angle?

[@davit7799]

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.

[@rahulchaudhari8550]

Yes it works

[@trini_boi2414]

Yeah but the cost to do all that might add up to the same price as replacing it

[@sfcd4757]

I wonder if a good ultrasonic cleaner will all this stuff would work? Obviously depending on if the screen isnt damaged or gone etc...

[@arneeide9219]

That cat is probably in perfect condition.

[@gweedomurray9923]

Judging by how clean it looked at the end I would say your washcoat is all "washed" out ! Had a thought while viewing your process; if the converter is carbon-ed up from burning oil then you might try the Chlorinated carburetor cleaner that comes in the gallon size can with the strainer basket you set the metal parts in. They always warn you, on the label, about not putting gaskets or leather parts in, just the metal and plastic pieces. I have used that cleaner and it really does clean off the varnish and carbon deposits. The best replacement Cats are OEM, California and New York and now the Maine designated ones. El cheapo Cats have a thin washcoat and that may be good enough to get the car through the end of its service life or if you are selling and the buyer can thus pass an E test. Here on the front range of Colorado there is a nine county area that requires a dyno style E test.

[@bobbrua8758]

I take the cats off and hammer out the insides vehicles run great hey like your videos

[@gusleighhinton4074]

When i was a kid we used Caustic Soda Crystals and water to clean out the bike exhaust pipe and silencer section really worked well. hope it helps or try it on the tube for all of us . make it strong and leave for an hour. cheers Gus uk.

[@shaunmclaughlin8066]

try cocacola haha

[@JnJShiffler]

I got my catalyst below efficiency threshold fault on my 96 Taurus Wagon to go away after removing cat, fully filling up with SeaFoam, soaking overnight and fully rinsing. The car does burn oil, so that's the root problem. A couple years later fault came back and cleaning did not work again. Welded in a universal cat then. Had first put new O2 sensors in before anything. The 1 gallon of laquer thinner in 1/4-1/2 tank on my PT Cruiser also got rid of same fault twice, but it comes back later. Cataclean worked twice as well, but not for long. On the PT fault seems to go away in colder winter months all by itself too. That's my experience.

[@evilcowboy]

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.)

[@fuckgoogle4704]

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.

[@TEAMCREAM_96]

FuckGoogle+ just a ignorant person who hasn't seen the need for emission control devices or what the actually do

[@Sixrabbbit]

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

[@MrTheHillfolk]

evilcowboy New cars with a gutted cat probably run cleaner than a 70s turd with a cat.

[@N0WYO1]

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.

[@bensutton2168]

Thanks for your honesty! Keep up the good work!

[@thepspmaster999]

Just cut out all the cats. Works great

[@consaka1]

+damon cree except for the code

[@DarkKnight-tz9lg]

There is only 1 thing that will strip carbon instantly from a catalytic converter and that’s foam or gel oven cleaner. It literally strips it back to as new. Running an RX-8 rotary wankle engine myself, I can go threw 2/ sometimes 3 catalytic converters per year, the carbon build up is similar to solid coal, and a real problem for the rotary engine. When the cat is blocked the back pressure starts to kill the engine…..fast. Therefore a clean cat is essential for the car itself and he engine. Oven cleaner is literally the only thing that strips it fast. Takes about four hours soaking but the result is like new. Hope this helps some of you guys and gals out there. It works for me.

[@benjaminbutler6293]

Bought 1 can of Thompsons Black Powder Rifle cleaner.Filled 2 ea Catalytic Converters with foam.Foam evaporated, refilled. Continued til can was empty.Sprayed cats out at a car wash with a high pressure hose. All kinds of crap came out of it.9 months ago, still running fine.

[@philtucker1224]

I appreciate all of these ideas and experiments as it allows the car owner time to accept the fact that they really do need a new CC and it’s time to find that 500 bucks…😟🤔

[@oldgriz816]

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.

[@faffaflunkie]

A five gallon container of _Industrial Purple Cleaner Concentrate_ from the home improvement store costs about _five percent_ of what a _cat_ does- and if it _doesn't work-_ you'll still have enough cleaner left to clean the driveway, which you need to do anyway. So really- you can't lose.

[@MrThundermouth]

Just a tip. If the crankshaft sensor in the front at the drivebelt is loose it may cause such overheating. Consider the engine running warm. The air expand and the engine get too little oxygene and too much fuel. The ratio is screwed. After a while the engine run dead. Before that even happens unburned fuel thrust into the exhaust system and get stuck in the catalytic conveter. It ignites and cause a meltdown of the catalyst cells if not spotted in time.

[@YTInnovativeSolution]

I have successfully brought some cat converters back from the dead.. some... I used the Snap-On MotorVac setup and ran the vehicle for 45 minutes, at idle and at holding at various higher RPMs for a few minutes at a time. I last did this in 2001 and I think the MotorVac chemistry has changed since then, but I'm not sure without taking a google search break in mid-comment. After the MotorVac service, the fuel tank is filled with high octane and a single can of BG Chemicals 44K was added. Regardless of trying to raise the dead, ALL of my customers gave feedback about how much better their car runs and the improved/restored fuel mileage. How good a tool or service can be is defined by the technician. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences Eric!

[@MrS22222]

I'd say it's pretty tough to clean things that change things at a molecular level. The way catalytic converters work fascinates me. Maybe ultrasonic will clean the microscopic crevices enough into inject oxygen again.

[@MrS22222]

@ it's just so trippy to me that a stationary object when heated up can inject oxygen atoms into hydrocarbons, breaking them up and turning them into pure water and carbon. Stars are pretty dynamic, but I'm sure something similar happens right when they are formed, starting the reaction. You're onto something there. I'm not sure that I've heard of that type of heat gun, I'm only familiar with the electric types. Could you tell me what they are called? Also, yeah, the substrate coating in that catalytic converter is probably just gone. It does stop sticking to the steel eventually over time.

[@mintproject4282]

The best way to keep your catalytic converter in good shape is to use only 89 octane fuel from reputable gas stations. Always buy the name brand cat converters they generally last allot longer and are manufactured to higher standards and materials. occasionally run a complete fuel system treatment through the fuel.

[@hurricane_laine]

All that washing! Going to pay $500.00 for a new one plus labor. Then get an oil gasket replaced. Fix things before they start breaking. It's a 01 yota Camry/177k miles. Need tires & stuff but too good a vehicle to let go. Stay green on the soil. Appreciate it for a DIY girls! Thanks.

[@thothheartmaat2833]

i did the gallon of lacquer thinner in half a gas tank in my 04 f150 and drove it on the highway. with that truck if you turn the overdrive off you can run it in 3rd gear and it will stay steady at 2500 rpm at about 65 mph so i ran it on the highway rather than idling for 30 minutes which is supposed to be better for the truck. ive been watching my o2 sensors in the torque app and seeing all kinds of strange readings recently.. the old post cat sensors were spiking around like they say happens when your cats are bad instead of running steady around .45 like theyre supposed to. i experimented with defoulers and when i do that it idles around 0 volts which im guessing will mean the o2 sensors wont complete the reediness test. after i did the lacquer thinner pour in and got on the country road to the highway it almost immediately started running the way its supposed to around .5 on the sensor that i had in its normal position fully in the pipe and that one was spiking all over before i did the pour. i had my other one in one defouler and it was reading 0 but then a little later they were both running steady at about .6 while driving with little fluctuations here and there but then idling the one with the defouler goes to 0 so i think im just going to put the sensor back in the pipe and hopefully they both read normal because i think based on my experience with the lacquer thinner it cleaned out my cats pretty much immediately.. my transmission used to have problems and wouldnt do overdrive so i was stuck in 3rd gear for most of my driving a long time ago and it would run in 2500 rpm everywhere i went so i wonder if thats why i never had cat problems because it was always burning off the carbon.. maybe you just need to do that once in a while or somewhat regularly..