Cata-Clean

[BonzaiDuck]

WHY CATA-CLEAN?

"Garage" forum often trends toward new cars and sports-car toys among its threads. There are other threads in which posters solicit "how-to" information. There are many old-car enthusiasts here, despite the trending topics. Some economist once wrote a discussion about various types of demand, creating an item called a "solid-gold Cadillac". Anandtech gets many members from among the info-tech community, and there are often high-paying jobs in our category. People with more ducats to spend might want a sporty BMW late-model convertible, and are free to drop a lot of their ducats into their ride.

No judgment is made about preferences people have for their rides, or how much they want to spend. And some old-car obsessives such as I may share some attributes with a driver who could drop $80,000 on a 2005 Dodge Viper. But my priorities are measured in dollars-per-month and cents-per-mile -- and I studiously include my insurance bills in the calculations.

Even so, I am spoiled by my 1995 luxury SUV -- an orphaned Isuzu Trooper. I consider myself spoiled. I'll never again want to possess an economy subcompact, no matter how fun it is to drive certain makes and models. For this, I get derision from a former high-school classmate (1965 -- we're both 75), who thinks his judgment is superior to mine for his purchase of a 2017 Corolla five years ago. And a new Corolla will take you a long way -- without dispute. But I now prefer a very roomy mid-size SUV, and I'm on a fixed income.

So for those with new or recent-model rides, you might want to skip this thread. You don't need Cata-Clean; you won't need it until your ride exceeds 100,000 odometer miles and you have trouble passing a smog-test. You may even own a Tesla or some other EV, which makes Cata-Clean a totally useless and irrelevant product.

For the other old-car obsessives trying to hold on as internal combustion slowly becomes obsolete and the Great Petroleum Culture eventually shows signs of decline and death, you want your old ride to pass the annual or bi-annual smog test -- especially if you live in California. The original catalytic converter of these old cars acquires a carbon buildup on the Platinum parts (the catalyst), making them ineffective in reducing HC and NOx pollutants. You can then do one of maybe three things: Buy and install a new catalytic converter -- which may cost you $1,000; take your exhaust system apart and attempt to clean the innards of the cat-converter yourself with various products -- perhaps carburetor cleaner; or treat the car with Cata-Clean.

HOW IT WORKS

Contrary to bygone days of a mechanic's advice, some chemical products actually work. Cata-Clean works.

This is all fairly simple. The product will clean top-cylinders and fuel injectors in addition to the cat-converter in the exhaust system, and it will also clean the fuel system. It applies carboxylic acid to the respective parts to remove the carbon buildup.

Carboxylic acid apparently won't harm metal alloys, so it can be used periodically. But Cata-Clean is not exactly cheap:

Cata Clean at Amazon

If you're going to spend close to $30 per bottle on the stuff, you want it to work as advertised.

A PROPOSAL FOR OPTIMAL USE OF CATA-CLEAN

The directions for use tell you to burn the gas in your tank until it's only quarter-full. Then, you pour in the 16oz bottle of product, and run the car for at least 15 minutes -- hopefully up and down the highway. I don't know about you, but I might want to do this at night. I don't want to get stuck on the highway on a moonless night for running out of gas.

Apparently the manufacturer thinks the product works best in a certain concentration with the gasoline. You could, if you want, start with a half tank of gas and add two bottles, but that's $52, isn't it? The instructions tell you to maybe drive the car for 15 miles or so. One would really want to use up most of the product, but you don't want to be stuck on the highway at night, having forgotten to bring your cell-phone, when you need to call the AAA tow-truck. The OCD car owner (like me) could imagine all sorts of unexpected complications. Of course, you could carry a gas can in your car with a couple gallons of petrol.

So, plan your trip. Find a length of highway that will provide 15 miles in either direction, with gas-stations at either end. Be aware that once in a blue moon, and especially during these uncertain times, some gas-station may have "out of service" tags on each and every pump as they wait for a refresh from the big tanker. Can you imagine "looking around" for a gas station at 3AM with the needle on "Empty"? I don't want to think about it. But I really don't want to make preparations for a red can full of petrol sloshing around in my car.

Run the car for the 15 miles, then add exactly 1 gallon of gas, and make the return trip. You could maybe do this two or three times. The additional gasoline won't dilute the product as much as a complete fill-up -- as the instructions recommend after their prescribed number of minimum minutes and miles.

That should just about do the job. You might want to spend another $27 together with the gasoline bill every two or three months, and repeat perhaps within a week of the next smog-test. Suppose you spent $100+ on Cata-Clean treatments over a year's time. Is that not better than the trouble of replacing a cat-converter (and possibly ancillary parts) for either the price of the part plus your time and labor or the $1,000 expense? Suppose, like me, you worry about the availability of a cat-converter for your very old or orphaned ride?

See, I rather doubt that Isuzu Parts Center in Missouri has a 1995 cat-converter for me, although they keep inventory of their warehouses around the world, and have occasionally found brand-new parts for me in Japan. If their web-site says "Add to Cart", your selections more often than not will result in receipt of an e-mail that says "Sorry, but this part is no longer available." But -- even so -- who wants to pay $1,400 for an OEM part? And would an aftermarket part for $200 really be satisfactory?

Until next smog-test, I prefer the chemicals.

 

[RLGL]

An awful lot of words to push snake oil.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

An awful lot of words to push snake oil.

I have no business or other ongoing relationship with their personnel. If I'm "pushing" it, the intended audience is "old internal-combustion" car owners, trying to squeeze the last juice from a stone. There are some sensational longevity and maintenance experiences with certain old vehicles.

I was faced with possibly replacing the cat-converter next time around for HC (% or PPM can't remember) over the state allowable limit. Last December, it was 59 just behind a 60 limit. The NOx has always fluctuated between 1/4 and 1/2 the state limit.

I did not count on noticeable performance improvements after a couple treatments with Cata Clean, but I had to notice at least a couple of them.

So in case anyone wants to use it, I have very promising expectations. Since I can't get an equivalent smog test right away because the state has made no provision for it, I have to wait until December 2023. I'll probably use another three bottles of this stuff, maybe four. That's $100+ over a year.

The cat-converter replacement would likely cost about $1,000. If the cat-converter is restored, that's a major replacement avoided.

There's no such thing as a free ride, but you want the next best thing, no? Maybe not if you have title to a Lamborghini . . . That's all good, but if you don't and go with the option of wringing as much as you can from your aging vehicle, I say -- go for it.

 

[mindless1]

Old topic but I just noticed it.

The thing is, no, a vehicle with a properly working engine and pollution control, does not build up carbon at a rate where the cat isn't a lifetime part, unless it rusts out. Granted I'm talking ideals here, certain engines do just "burn oil", and/or have fuel dilution or other inherent design/flaw problems. No engine is perfect *forever*.

If you need to use a product like this because your cat is fouled, it doesn't fix the problem that fouled it. Maybe (if it's not snake oil) it might help a vehicle marginallly almost passing an emissions test to do so, but soon enough the vehicle is right back where it was.

I hate to state the obvious, but if your engine is putting that much... oil or unburnt fuel through the cat to foul it, it rightly should fail emissions because it's not just the cat fouled, it's that your exhausting that out your tail pipe.

Ultimately if the goal is avoid emissions problems, don't live in CA unless you want to pay a pretty penny to adhere to all their requirements with the list growing longer every year.

Now let's suppose Carboxylic acid works miracles. That doesn't mean you want it dillute in your fuel, instead you'd want to take the cat off and soak it in a solution of that right before the emissions test, and maybe switch to a higher viscosity "high mileage" oil so you aren't burning as much. In a warm climate you can usually jump up at least a grade, not having cold start wear issues as much. It will hurt your fuel economy a little but in an old engine burning oil and probably other associated wear, it's probably the better long term viscosity anyway.