The catalytic converter is an integral part of the vehicle’s exhaust system. That is why proper care is needed to help maintain its performance.

According to one product manager of a catalytic converter maker,  “symptoms of a failing ‘cat’ include the infamous, rotten egg, smell lingering long after the engine has warmed up, difficulty in starting the car, sluggish acceleration, a loss of power from about 80 km/h, and higher petrol consumption. Problems with a catalytic converter can stem from a number of causes. It may have been physically damaged, perhaps by a speed bump or excessively rough terrain. It can be contaminated (usually if leaded fuel is used by mistake), or the monolith can literally melt down if it comes into contact with unburned fuel. This can occasionally happen when the car is run on empty, push or tow-started, or has a defect in the ignition or carburetor system. In addition, the lambda sensor may have failed, causing the catalytic converter to operate inefficiently”

Some advice he gave to in catalytic converter maintenance are:

* Never push or tow-starting the car
* Not running the car on empty
* Using unleaded fuel only
* Avoiding very short journeys - which result in exhaust gas condensation which corrodes the metal parts
* Slowing down when driving over speed bumps
* Carrying out a regular visual inspection for broken welds and air leakages in the manifold pipes into the cat
* Keeping the vehicle regularly serviced.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 5:09 am and is filed under Maintenance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.