catalytic converter cleaning?

stink bug

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2006
Location
Sanfrancisco
TDI
1999 black bug
Hello again, I heard a while back that catalytic converters start to get clogged up after about 50,000 miles and it hurts the engine. I also heard that they can be cleaned by using some kind of citrus solvent.
True or False?????

Thanx, the stinker;)
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
Never heard of cleaning a cat....
Whoever you heard that from should go to the bottom of the
trusted list untill you have more info.
(way to the bottom!)
Bill
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
It's not how you clean the cat, it's how you cook it.

Some people "clean" their converters with a drill. Not an EPA santioned process, so ignore that sentence.
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
Retard the injection timing to the bottom of the graph. Drive with the engine set that way for about a week while taking a few spirited drives of at least 30 minutes. This will heat the cat and burn off any built up carbon.

CAUTION: Do not set the timing BELOW the bottom of the red-line in VAG-Com, I personally have seen melted turbine wheels as a result of too retarded timing (nearly at the bottom of the timing chart is the range the damage occured).

I do agree that this is needed from time to time. You can tell the cat is cleaned out when you smell the "water-ized" scent from the exhaust.

DB
 

Fortuna Wolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Location
Wilmington, NC
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI Auto Sedan
drivbi, will this also heat up the turbo and cook carbon off of the vanes? Or is this not recommended for cleaning the turbo?
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
Once the VNT vanes are jammed solid, thats it it will have to be torn down and de-carboned as well as remove the rust and scaling. Heating may burn off the carbon the guide vanes but will do little to unjam the mechanisms.

DB
 

stink bug

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2006
Location
Sanfrancisco
TDI
1999 black bug
If it does start to restrict emissions, could this be why inside my cab smells like diesel sometimes. Or is that normal for a bug with 50,000. I mean maybe this is a different subject all together. But all the bug's I test drove That had approximatly that much milage smelled funny inside. I guess that should maybe have been the post topic, as thats what I'm trying to find out.

stinky
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
If it smells like raw diesel fuel, you have a fuel leak somewhere, most likely those little hoses between each injector.

If it smells like exhaust, then my guess would be the cabin 'exhaust' vents in the rear quarter panels. They get stuck open with age.

FWIW, a lot of cars I've been in start to smell funny after a while. Usually it's the half-eaten cheeseburger under the seat that is the culprit.
 

ahibbert

New member
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Location
Ohio
TDI
2001 Jetta
cleaned-up catalysts

Now scientists from the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry in Madrid, Spain, have found that a dilute solution of citric acid can wash out the catalyst killers without damaging the platinum. When tested on a simulated stream of exhaust gases, the cleaned-up catalysts were as good as new, the team reports online in Environmental Science and Technology.
 
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