Catalytic Converter Repair

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Catalytic converter repair can be difficult to find. If you live in an emissions area of our country, catalytic converter repair can also be essential to you being able to drive your car legally and continue to have the ability to renew your registration.

The catalytic converter was first introduced on production automobiles in the 1970s as a way of reducing harmful emissions from motor vehicles. Many other methods of reducing emissions have also been used over the years including lower engine compression ratios and air injections systems. These other systems reduced engine’s efficiency significantly, we’re costly and could be hard to maintain so the catalytic converter is one of the few emissions reducing devices that is still used today.

Catalytic converters are devices that are installed in your vehicle’s exhaust system that act as a catalyst causing a chemical reaction with the exhaust gases. This chemical reaction turns harmful emissions into harmless compounds that will not pollute the air. Early catalytic converters were designed to help reduce hydrocarbon and carbon dioxide emissions for automobiles. As technology advanced and emissions regulations got more strict, new catalysts were developed. The catalyst used in automobiles today is called a three-way catalyst as it also helps reduce harmful nitrogen compounds.

Even though the catalytic converter in your car is a simple device, it can be a costly one. This has to do with the components inside your catalytic converter. In order to create the chemical reaction in your exhaust gases, catalytic converters are made up of platinum, the same metal used in expensive jewelry, along with other rare metals like palladium and rhodium. These metals are formed into a lattice work that your exhaust gas passes through which can be relatively expensive to manufacture.

As you can see, there can be good reason for the high cost of catalytic converter repair. Along with the part being expensive, exhaust work can also be an expensive job. Due to the severe temperature swings in your exhaust system, and its exposure to moisture under your vehicle, exhaust systems often rust quickly. That means bolts can be extremely difficult to remove should you have a catalytic converter that is bolted in, and if not you need to pay for the expertise of a welder to complete your catalytic converter repair.

Since your catalytic converter is designed to create a chemical reaction, it can wear out over time. Eventually, all the chemicals designed to react with your exhaust gas will have completed their reactions and will no longer help clean up your vehicle’s emissions. At this point, the only option is to have a new catalytic converter installed that has a fresh batch of metals ready to react.

Before you go out and spend money on a new catalytic converter, it can be worth checking to see if that is really the reason for your vehicle’s poor emissions. If your vehicle’s engine is running correctly it can be producing an overabundance of harmful emissions so much so that your catalytic converter just can’t keep up. This could happen in your vehicle is running rich or lean, or if the engine’s timing is off due to a bad sensor.

If you suspect your engine is running poorly and that is what is causing high emissions, add BlueDevil Fuel System Cleaner to your fuel. BlueDevil Fuel System Cleaner will clean your vehicle’s fuel system and combustion chamber reducing harmful emissions and allowing your vehicle’s engine to run its best.

You can find BlueDevil Fuel System Cleaner at any of our partnering local auto parts stores like: