Catalytic converter or catalyst is a part that does not play a direct role in driving the vehicle. It is necessary to ensure that the level of harmful substances in the exhaust gases meets the current environmental safety standards.
In fact, there are other ways other than buying an original catalyst, but some have reduced the environmental standard (e.g. Euro 4), which was the same as the car with the factory installed at the factory, while allowing savings. There is a need to be clear about the effects of a "catalyst repair" method to make the right decision, as the lowering of the standard may lead to difficulties in passing the inspection and other surprises.
Catalyst failure and vehicle impact
The reason for the failure of the catalyst may be several, but they break down always the same-inside the honeycomb material of the cordier with the responsive layer is lost, and the exhaust gases do not pass through the catalyst at the desired speed. This leads to changes in the backpressure in the exhaust system and the irregularities in the injection system.
The hundredths are usually misused as a result of numerous infusions of fuelwood with high lead content, soot from burnt oil, entering the combustion chamber through wornable oil rings or caps, or mechanical damage to the catalyst casing when part of the internal structure is destroyed, and the debris is lost to the intact hundredths.
Diagnosing a catalyst
Unfortunately, it is not easy to do so at home. In modern cars, the control unit does this itself and stores information under the appropriate code in memory. You can only see this code by going to the computer diagnostics using a specialized scanner. If there is no way to go to computer diagnostics, and the accelerant is red-hot, threatening to set a fire, it is only to remove it and check it "on the clearance." It is difficult to remove a catalyst without a lift, and a successful result is not guaranteed, as not any catalyst design allows to visually assess the state of the hundreds-inside may be the curvature and partition, and you will not see the clearance on the other side, even if the catalyst is "healthy".
Solutions to the problem
It's simply impossible to remove the catalyst from the exhaust system. If the vehicle is new, it is equipped according to the high environmental standard with the second oxygen sensor of the electronic control unit for the amount of oxygen in the exhaust after the catalyst. Removing the catalyst and replacing it with a piece of pipe, you would completely break the injection system, because the control unit cannot calculate the correct ratio of petrol and air to the fuel-air mixture, and the mixture will be enriched (to reduce the temperature in, since the ECU would count as a missing catalyst).
If the vehicle is not new and made in the light of a lower environmental standard and without the use of a second lambda probe, the composition of the mixture at the time of the removal of the catalyst will still be incorrect, as the reverse pressure in the exhaust system, and hence the conditions of the combustion chamber, will change. In other words, the mixture will remain the same as it was, and the conditions of its combustion will change. Unburned residues from the exhaust system will be unobstructed, will be reheated by the system and will soon be removed from the system.
The first way. Replace the failed catalyst with a new one. This operation should be aware that catalysts are factory and universal. The universal catalyst can be picked up by the brand of the car, and it will rise as well as the original, but the length of service of such details is lower, as is the price.
The second way. Replace with a turbine-type flame arrester. There is plenty of such details in the market, but it is preferable to buy the original part. For example, GM produces Lactti cars for different markets, including those where environmental safety regulations are not as severe as in Europe. Instead of a catalyst, a full-time flame arrester can be purchased for other regions. This method is most often used for cheapness, but the effect on the injection system is unpredictable and depends on the experience of the people who have taken repairs.
In addition, vehicles equipped with a second oxygen sensor, besides the flame arrester, need to be placed also known as "deceptors", that is, the emulator of the second lambda probe, as the ECU will "prepare" the correct mixture only after receiving this signal. The cost of repair is dependent on the cost of the flame arrester and the deceptors and may approach the cost of the new staff catalyst plus work to replace it.
The third way. "Disguish" a spoiled catalyst, mechanically removing the hundredths of it. This method also implies the installation of a "decoy" if the second oxygen sensor is provided in the vehicle. However, even if it is not, it is necessary after "disembowel" to turn the catalysts into an improvised flame, filling it with a high nickel stainless steel grid. The steel of this brand is distinguished by a high tumour, it does not burn fast, and allows to get rid of the ringing and vibration inevitable in case of the installation of an empty body of a former catalyst.
In addition, the filled old catalyst retains the ability to maintain a normal level of reverse pressure, allowing for the normal operation of the first lambda probe. If there is no second sensor, this is the only way to keep the fuel consumption at the same level and not to interfere with entity characteristics.
Of course, alternative repairs seem to be cost-attractive. However, in making a decision, it is necessary to understand that only replacement of a regular catalyst with a new similar feature will allow for further inspection of the toxicity of the exhaust and is compared with the standards set by the standard that your vehicle complies with.
