Jason Combs

i have a 2000 civic ex ...A p0420 code came back and i was wondering if soak my cat in laundry detergent and rinse it out would that fix it instead of buying another one

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Use Tide.

doctorake

????

tony_2018

Oxyclean works best with sarcasm.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

are you insane?

mithious

This actually made my day.

shotoutacc0rd

How are you gonna know if you don't try OP? Personally I would think an actual cleaner like simple green would work best but try whatever you want! Throw the hole thing in the laundry machine for all we care.

just make sure you get it emission tested before and after to see if it does anything.

andoxviii

iTrader: (1)

Bahahaha.

In all fairness, Tide did work quite well in those circumstances.

DWBCustomsVA

Replace the cat, and both o2s

shotoutacc0rd

Why with the seriousness? Anyway thank you for actually saying something technical, as replacement is the proper procedure.

personally IV drilled holes in em on pre-obd2 vehicles to reduce the resistance from clogs if money was a problem at the time

midorigreenmobi

I believe your stuck with having to replace it. But no worries, once you've done it, you shouldn't need another for a long time. If cost is is you issue, try craigslist for people parting out there cars.

You could try a bottle of Drano as its the best pipe clog remover, or throw a febreeze stick on over the check engine light and go with that.

Seriously tho, just kidding on that. I just needed to throw that in there. Just replace the cat and have a happy car. Good luck in your endevors.

lostforawhile

the 02's ca go in the dishwasher should clean them right up troll

lostforawhile

best way to do this, attach a hose to your intake, go to the car wash, put in the quarters and put it on foaming brush, now start sucking up the foam, will clean everything from the intake to the exhaust, should fix your converter problem.. permanently

SeeOne

New cat. Expensive but comes with the territory. And in case you're wondering.... running cat-less on anything less than a wild build isn't even noticeable, as I have learned through much experience. Just saying that so you don't feel like you're blowing money to kill horses. You're not.

Jason Combs

This is so suppose to be a forum were people help each other I thought . So for everyone who gave actual helpful answers thank you . I seen a video were this guy did it named Scott killmore or something. Anyway we don't have emissions or anything here so I was wondering if I straight pipe it would it be more money to install a cat later on

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

You know, you could have done it and found out yourself for free before even posting this.

But if you did other things than looking at videos maybe you would have seen this.
There are a number of things that could be causing this p0420 catalyst efficiency code. The most common thing is the catalytic converter itself is no longer functioning properly. The other likely thing is the rear O2 (oxygen) sensor is no longer working properly. Other things could include exhaust leaks, damaged exhaust pipes, damaged O2 sensor wiring/connectors, plugged catalytic converter, etc.

OptimisticWay

...hook up an OBD2 code reader. With the car running it will relay live info like the readings on the O2 sensors and which one is malfunctioning if any. You can get a laser temp reader from Harbor Freight and test the temp of the catalytic converter.

Eric the car guy is a hack and a shade tree mechanic, but has a video on this.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

If you install a straight pipe, it's a simple bolt-out bolt-in procedure. No welding required, so reverting will be the same.

OptimisticWay

Here is a website for free Harbor Freight Coupons. Use the 25% off anything you buy if they take it.

http://www.dealsoff.com/harbor-freight-coupons/

TomCat39

I got my infrared thermometer at Princess Auto for 10 bucks.

I got my Hz enable digital multimeter from China for 17 bucks, everything locally was 70 bucks.

Now something for the OP... Citric acid may help:

"Researchers have found that a simple wash of citric acid can spruce up exhausted catalytic converters in diesel-powered cars, renewing their pollution-busting properties."

Quoted from here:

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/0504...050425-10.html

It may help with gasoline cats but not sure.

OptimisticWay

"When washing my catalytic converter, I prefer Tide. Because if it's good enough to put on NASCAR, dagnabbit, it's good enough fer me!"

Quote taken from every Nascar Driver that ever drove the Tide Car.

Jason Combs

its kind of easy to tell when it doesnt go up hills and my engione is pretty hot and when i take it to a mechanic and he tells me its my cat . That is the code for the cat messing up correct? Yeah i thought so. Please no more smart "funny" comments thanks. Try and act like adults

Jason Combs

Thanks ill probably do that kind of low on funds for a new cat. The exhaust shop told they could straight pipe it for free if they take my cat to scrap

Jason Combs

If i did buy a replacement what are the differences between a Magnaflow New York/Catalytic Converter ($230.00) and the Walker New York/Catalytic Converter ($169.00)

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Since you know everything. The answer to your question is no. Just because it's throwing that code doesn't mean it's your cat. Just because some mechanic tells you it's your cat doesn't mean it's your cat. Do you know how many times someone has come on here telling us that the mechanic told them a bunch of bullshit? The car is running like **** because of the code and the ECU is in probably in limp mode, yes. But you haven't even tried to eliminate any of the other things like exhaust leak before assuming it's the cat. Do you know how many people have thrown this code, bought a cat and still this code is thrown?

So again, you know everything so here's hoping you guessed right and the cat fixes it. If not...