Fuel Additive that can Clean Cat Converter??

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IndyFan

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Are there any additives out there that can legitimately clean or lengthen the life of catalytic converters? My Jeep burns oil, and one or both cats had to be replaced at about 76k miles.

I'm now running M1 0w40 to reduce consumption, but it is about 10% higher in phosphorus than regular M1, and even more so than an oil like M1 AFE. I'm just wondering if the higher phosphorus in the 0w40 will shorten the life of the cat, as the engine burns oil, and if so, is there an additive that can "clean" the cat.

I'm not sure if I'd be looking for an oil additive or a fuel additive, if it exists, so I'm posting in both forums.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
Burning oil will foul the cat faster than an additive can clean it


Another part of the idea was to prolong it, even if it won't clean it completely. Do you know of an additive?
 
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My experience with Cataclean

A condescending professional tech on another board continues to maintain that Cataclean doesn't work, but he can't provide an alternative explanation for my results. I told my service advisor at my BMW dealer about the product and he has now used it on several other cars and it has worked more often than not.
 
What inspections/smog laws apply in Indiana? Could you substitute a test pipe I it's place?

Redline is my favourite fuel add, butI'm not sure how it fares with cat cleaning. How are you measuring it's effectiveness? Scotty Kilmer advocates leaving it is bucket of strong laundry detergent overnight.

In the past I've removed the precat 02 and poured a gallon of brake cleaner into the exhaust (with the front of the car off the ground for a gravity drain AWAY from the engine) on an old beater that failed emissions and was due to be scrapped. It then passed and my brother got another year out of it.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
What inspections/smog laws apply in Indiana? Could you substitute a test pipe I it's place?

Redline is my favourite fuel add, butI'm not sure how it fares with cat cleaning. How are you measuring it's effectiveness? Scotty Kilmer advocates leaving it is bucket of strong laundry detergent overnight.

In the past I've removed the precat 02 and poured a gallon of brake cleaner into the exhaust (with the front of the car off the ground for a gravity drain AWAY from the engine) on an old beater that failed emissions and was due to be scrapped. It then passed and my brother got another year out of it.


None. Indiana doesn't require it. I'm more concerned with replacing a cat again down the road, out of warranty. I checked today, though, and it looks like I can get a Magnaflow cat for this application for about 125 bucks, so maybe I won't worry as much. I'd still like to prolong it, though.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
How are you measuring it's effectiveness?



I'm only measuring it by when I have to replace the cat. The first lasted 76k miles, but it didn't start noticeably using oil until 40k. A check engine light came on and the dealer replaced the cat or cats under warranty. I'm not sure if they replaced both, however, but I'm betting they did.

I've never had smokey exhaust or even any weird color or smell. There's no unusual amount of soot around the exhaust pipe, either. That's what's weird about it. I have replaced the PCV, which tends to reduce consumption for awhile, but not significantly.

I've poured over multiple Jeep forums, and no one really puts a nail on it. There have been many rebuilds under warranty, though, apparently for cylinder holes being out of spec, but I'm not even sure that's it. You've got to be burning more than 1 quart per 1k miles for Jeep to fix it. That's what my dealer said and that's what the consensus of experience seems to be on the forums. Mine has been close, but not quite there. It then sometimes only burns 1/3 quart. Highway driving seems to ease it quite a bit.
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
Guaranteed To Pass. Walmart sells it.

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-05063-Guarante...nverter+cleaner


That stuff looks interesting, as does Cataclean.

I'm thinking of maybe every 20k running something like this, and maybe the Redline at the end of each oil change interval, (6k) right before I change it.

I'll be getting plenty of highway miles on my trip to Moab, UT at the end of the month, and with slow crawling with highway like rpms, that should cook that cat pretty well.
 
The 3.8 is notorious for burning oil, the correct fix to prolong cat life would involve fixing the consumption. Failing that, strong regular doses of PEA cleaner will help.
When it finally fails replace it with a length of stainless tubing and never have to worry about it
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
The 3.8 is notorious for burning oil, the correct fix to prolong cat life would involve fixing the consumption. Failing that, strong regular doses of PEA cleaner will help.
When it finally fails replace it with a length of stainless tubing and never have to worry about it


What is PEA cleaner?
 
I've been doing a bit of reading and I'm wondering if I should be running Mobil 1 ESP 5w30. It has low ash, and low phosphorous, to protect the cat. Thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
And if you want something in the Xw-40 grade, then Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 is low ash as well.


I may give that a go. I'll check it out. It is probably easier to find than M1 ESP.
 
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Looks like M1 5w30 ESP has lower ash than the Valvoline. (.6 compared to .78) I also found it locally.

Honestly, I'm not sure if this will make a difference, or if there are any drawbacks to the low ash oils or M1 ESP. Maybe I'm overthinking it or maybe the difference in ash won't make more than a few thousand miles difference. Maybe I should just drive it, enjoy it, and then eat the cost of a cat when the time comes.

It does run nicely on the M1 Ow40, but then again, it has run well on every oil I've used. It my just be my imagination, but the M1 just feels a bit smoother.

I may just go back to M1 5w30EP. It has .8 ash, and is properly API certified for this engine.

I love this forum, though. There is so much good thoughts, advice, and kowledge here.
 
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I'm dubious that a cat really can even be cleaned. It either melts, falls apart, or uses up the substrate, no?
 
Getting the cat nice and hot by shifting down a gear or two and running the engine for 20 - 30 minutes on back roads or freeway at 4,000 - 4,500 RPM's will clean things up in the cat and engine's combustion chamber.
 
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