Yep! Hopefully "good carbs" and "cats" that just keep purring right along.
anyone try lacquer thinner to clean a catalytic converter?
- Thread starter spstan
- Start date
Lot's of them. Mid 70's to late 80's. Owned a few myself.
Ah. Apparently US cars were required to have cat convertors in 1975, but in Canada it was 1988, and 1993 in Europe / UK.
And apparently cat convertors becoming manditory in Canada for the 1988 model year roughly corresponded with the vast majority if not all cars have fuel injection by that year.
And apparently cat convertors becoming manditory in Canada for the 1988 model year roughly corresponded with the vast majority if not all cars have fuel injection by that year.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
I believe the two cat systems came in after OBD-II was required, 1998.
73Coupe
Senior Member
Maybe this is where the term "cat burglar" came from .... someone under your car at night sawing away.
My first DD was an '84 LeSabre with a Quadrajet and cat, complete with heat shield below the floor pan.
My first DD was an '84 LeSabre with a Quadrajet and cat, complete with heat shield below the floor pan.
The first "two-cat" systems I knew of were on GM pickup/Suburban vehicles. The main cat (which was for HC and CO) added an extra cat near the rear axle for NOx reduction. When the main cat would overheat (high loads, as in horse trailer towing, for extended periods) would cause the front bead converter to come apart internally. The resultant release of the ceramic beads from their "holder" would then go into the muffler and then back to the rear NOx converter, which was had ceramic honeycomb guts. When that rear converter got clogged with the beads, the vehicle was prone to stopping where ever it was a that time. Sometimes in the middle of a freeway with the 12-horse horse trailer attached. Not Good. Ford had a similar system, too.
The front converter would get so hot, it would cook the carpet in the rh side of the cab, through about 3" of padding! So, the warranty fix was new factory carpet, a y-pipe back exhaust system (which included all of the welded-in converters), and other related items. As our dealer-owner was active in the National Cutting Horse Association, we saw lots of HD2500 "horse hauler" rigs with those failure modes.
For cars, there was ONE cat converter which had TWO internal sections. One ceramic was for HC & CO, with a rear section ceramic for NOx. Looked just like the prior HC & CO converters, but usually had an extra air injection pipe (attached to the normal AIR pump system) going to it.
Canada, then being a separate country as now, plus the European Union (and related) countries, each did things differently. Then as now. Related to vehicle emissions and fuel economy issues. Had it not been for cimate and atmospheric pollution interactions in 1940s California, the California Air Resources Board would not have been configured and have gained a waiver (from the USA Clean Air Act, which was signed by President Nixon) to have automotive emissions standards more stringent than the rest of the USA. As things progressed into later decades, other states decided to follow the California standards.
From what I could see, Canadian emissions vehicles were USA Federal-spec emissions vehicles without the cat converters on them, mostly.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
The front converter would get so hot, it would cook the carpet in the rh side of the cab, through about 3" of padding! So, the warranty fix was new factory carpet, a y-pipe back exhaust system (which included all of the welded-in converters), and other related items. As our dealer-owner was active in the National Cutting Horse Association, we saw lots of HD2500 "horse hauler" rigs with those failure modes.
For cars, there was ONE cat converter which had TWO internal sections. One ceramic was for HC & CO, with a rear section ceramic for NOx. Looked just like the prior HC & CO converters, but usually had an extra air injection pipe (attached to the normal AIR pump system) going to it.
Canada, then being a separate country as now, plus the European Union (and related) countries, each did things differently. Then as now. Related to vehicle emissions and fuel economy issues. Had it not been for cimate and atmospheric pollution interactions in 1940s California, the California Air Resources Board would not have been configured and have gained a waiver (from the USA Clean Air Act, which was signed by President Nixon) to have automotive emissions standards more stringent than the rest of the USA. As things progressed into later decades, other states decided to follow the California standards.
From what I could see, Canadian emissions vehicles were USA Federal-spec emissions vehicles without the cat converters on them, mostly.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
Millions of them! Every car from approx 1976 and newer, and half ton & 3/4 ton pickup trucks and vans.
One ton over a certain GVW weight didn't have them and could use leaded fuel.
My old man was cheap and wanted to save 10 cents or so a gallon and use regular fuel but didn't like the harsh ride of a one ton. Choose your poison
plymouthguy1960
New Member
I tried that on my '03 Chrysler Town & Country 3.8 V6 back in 2012. I put a full gallon in my tank and took a 250 mile trip. I still had the code and had to replace the Cat anyway. Inside wasn't melted so I guess it was contaminated to the point of no return.
73Coupe
Senior Member
Came across this display while touring the LeMay Museum in Tacoma last week.....
Very cool....ive seen them inside, but your photo kinda reinforces (at least in my mind) that you arent going to "clean that out" once it builds up lead or other impurities, no way..... maybe move it in deeper, but thats it.
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