After the P0420 & P0430 Codes... Can the Clogged CAT Be Saved?

mrrsm

Original poster
Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,769
Tampa Bay Area
If you have exhausted all other means for solving WHY the “reduced efficiency behaviors” of your Catalytic Converter have thrown either a P0420 or P0430 CodeAND…. You want to try One Last Ditch Effort at avoiding the terrible expense and inconvenience of having to Replace the CAT… Lend an EAR to THIS information.

In Bygone years...there may have been a minor Dust-Up between “Eric The Car Guy” and “Scotty Kilmer” over whether or not is was even possible to CLEAN an Errant Catalytic Converter. It seems like common sense that pouring in various Exotic Solvents bearing HIGH VOC content and HEAT generative abilities might actually BURN OUT the left over residues coming from the Excess Unburned Hydro-Carbon Contaminants. But… nothing was ever conclusive and in many cases, making these efforts ...did more harm than good.

51WlvSaDTrL._AC_.jpg51xil9GWh-L._AC_.jpg


So… Time Passes… And if you own a Very High Mileage GMT360 (as most of them are by now...) and these P0420 and P0430 Codes raise their Ugly Heads... you might still be asking, “Is there ANY CAT Cleaner Product on the Market NOW that can actually WORK? Well… Try giving these options a chance to Rescue your CAT from “The Metal Bone Yard” and avoid having to perform this expensive CAT R&R:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHB2Z88/?tag=gmtnation-20

713W-LknkDL._AC_SL1500_.jpg81wkam39WlL._AC_SL1500_.jpg618zU9hYpSL._AC_SL1500_.jpg71fUQOUXzHL._AC_SL1500_.jpg71QJtiEbeGL._AC_SL1500_.jpg81K9ertdtfL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


And HERE is an Alternative Technique Video and Product to perform an Effective CAT Cleaning:


Finally… THIS would be my choice ($120.00) for a Very Versatile, Adjustable Pneumatic Fluid Pressurization Tool Kit that can also be used in MANY other ways such as for De-Carbonizing Piston Heads, Valve Seats and Impacted Compression Rings (ALL Causes of Clogged CATs and Gummed Up Lower Engine Crankcases) as well as for EFI Chemical Cleaning under Pressure and of course in THIS Case ...for Cleaning Out CATs with a variety of Chemical CAT Cleaners of Your Choice… Thusly:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHB2Z88/?tag=gmtnation-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLJP493W/?tag=gmtnation-20

71lz8-YA6oL._AC_SL1500_.jpg71-H0qDC8AL._AC_SL1500_.jpg61VCNVWlKHL._AC_SL1500_.jpg71w2iREYBjL._AC_SL1500_.jpg71w2iREYBjL._AC_SL150G0_.jpg71ivhAQQVpL._AC_SL1500_.jpg716pup9t3wL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


AUTOOLPNEUMATICFLUSHKIT.jpg

For those interested in obtaining the Large Screen TESLONG Dual Fiber-Optic Camera shown in the Video above:


810+tddgNZL._SL1500_.jpg71mj4V7LmaL._SL1500_.jpg71AkuG3PvxL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Last edited:

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,374
Ottawa, ON
And none of these actually say they can/may fix a P0420 code.
 

mrrsm

Original poster
Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,769
Tampa Bay Area
Hence the Expression... "One Last Ditch Effort..." I plowed through the purchase reviews over on Amazon... Indeed the results are either Hit or Miss. But... One Way or Another, the Problem must be dealt with...and making such a relatively inexpensive, innocuous and logical attempt at this Old CAT Salvage still appeals to my Mechanical Sensibilities. Otherwise ... Let the Wallet Rape ensue.
 
I plugged the OEM catalyst on my '03 Trailblazer 4.2L, about five hundred miles from home. Took about sixty miles to go from 80 mph to "engine barely ran", car couldn't manage walking-speed.

Had an aftermarket cat welded-in, in the middle of nowhere.

I kept the OEM cat instead of selling it to the shop. When I got home, I had my automotive machinist buddy throw it in his parts-cleaning oven while he was de-greasing a load of engine blocks and heads and such.

I can now see from end-to-end instead of it being a black-hole of carbon. It is absolutely NOT plugged any more. However, I never got it reinstalled to see if it still "converts".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mooseman

mrrsm

Original poster
Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,769
Tampa Bay Area
Assuming the “Bake Oven” did not exceed these "Noble Metal" Melt Point Limitations… it seems possible to use that technique to fully destroy residual Hydro-Carbons. However, with the standard addition of Cerium Oxide Coatings inside of most Spark-Ignition Style Catalytic Converters necessary to hold onto additional Oxygen available during times of "Air Excess" when passing through the exhaust stream improves the O2 Sensor Stability… its presence might invite damage or performance loss from having such Dramatic High Temperature "Burn it Out to Clean It Out” Methodology.

Melting Point of Rhodium: 3,567 °F
Melting Point of Palladium: 2.830.82 °F
Melting Point of Platinum: 3,214.8 °F

This is VERY IMPORTANT and worthwhile Read ...with Fundamental Science backing up the stated data as an excerpt from the Authors' Book:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/catalytic-converter

From THIS Publication:

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: christo829

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,347
Posts
638,199
Members
18,553
Latest member
keithdm

Members Online