Bad Cat Converter

[BPatrick]

So I just took my car to a mechanic and they told me I have a.bad Cat converter. Saw it myself with black soot all around it. However tomorrow I'm supposed to be driving to Florida from AZ. My car will lurxh a bit when accelerating but besides that I should be find to drive it to Florida? Is there any short term fixes I can do to bipass the cat?

 

[ghohouston]

Soot around it? As in on the outside of the piping? That would be broken piping or the actual converter broken. Without seeing pics, hard to say whether or not it could be fixed by a welder. You could install a straight piece of pipe in place of it.

 

[AndyBees]

For what it is worth, prior to heading out on a very long road trip in the summer of 2016, I removed the exhaust from the 2002 ALH TDI engine in my Vanagon for hanger inspection, etc. While I had it off, I pressure washed it, including the CAT............ inside, end to end. There was a lot of soot come out. However, the pressure wash did not affect function. It worked just fine and still does to this day, almost 210k miles on it. (the chlorine odor it emits is the proof)

I agree with Ghohouston's comments.

 

[djr6789]

For what it is worth, prior to heading out on a very long road trip in the summer of 2016, I removed the exhaust from the 2002 ALH TDI engine in my Vanagon for hanger inspection, etc. While I had it off, I pressure washed it, including the CAT............ inside, end to end. There was a lot of soot come out. However, the pressure wash did not affect function. It worked just fine and still does to this day, almost 210k miles on it. (the chlorine odor it emits is the proof)

I agree with Ghohouston's comments.

Some garages in my area even soak DPF filters with traffic film remover and then pressure wash them. Even some of the main dealers do this.

 

[300D]

For what it is worth, prior to heading out on a very long road trip in the summer of 2016, I removed the exhaust from the 2002 ALH TDI engine in my Vanagon for hanger inspection, etc. While I had it off, I pressure washed it, including the CAT............ inside, end to end. There was a lot of soot come out. However, the pressure wash did not affect function. It worked just fine and still does to this day, almost 210k miles on it. (the chlorine odor it emits is the proof)

I agree with Ghohouston's comments.

Cleaning a cat is actually a scientifically proven thing. It involves an extended warm bath in citric acid and oxalic acid. I had my exhaust builder do this with mine and it turned out fantastic. He then cut and rewelded to fit a 2.5” pipe. But with that said, black anywhere along the exhaust is a sign of a leak. Which in of itself is not that big a problem. The cause of the lurching should be diagnosed by somebody who knows these cars well. Could be one of a wide variety of issues. I probably wouldn’t make that drive without figuring out exactly what is wrong.