Fix your Catalytic Converter for $10? 

I always pull my engine out to check the oil level

Cataclean does work. My driver's side cat was clogged and had no power. About a little over a year is now back on. So here i am throwing another bottle to pass the emissions test 😁

This trick has been well known. This is really only possible for downstream cats, not for air/fuel (upstream) sensors. This will many times help keep the code from coming back, but if the cat is actually clogged, it won't help with engine performance and other problems that come with a clogged cat.

I did the same on a 01 Honda accord. Drove it with the spark plug fouler for another 100k before I sold it. No code and passed every check 👍 Eff Ca!!

Tried it and last Saturday (8/6/2023) my Smog PASSED!! Thank you!

Freaking hilarious and incredibly helpful if you can "read between the lines"! Thank you for showing me with great detail what NOT to do! I "didn't" do what you recommended me 'not" do and it resolved my problem..

This works great. I did this 10 years ago and used the 90 angle adapters with it on a 2004 Golf. My coil pack keep cracking causing misfires causing permanent damage to my CAT. After 2 coil packs , you need OEM by the way, and 2 CAT pipes I did this.

Thank you for this video, I'm glad I know how to avoid accidentally doing this now to drive my old car in California, really saved me from that blunder

I did that sensor spacer to my 2014 Mustang back in 2014 when I straight piped it. It worked perfectly.

The extender worked for me for about a month then P0420 code came back.The nearest repair shop told me there was no law against replacing the cat with a straight pipe here in my corner of rural Canada! cheers from here!

Thank you to everyone for the support! To clarify a few things: I am a fan of clean air. I do NOT advocate removing the cat. Performance increase is reportedly in the neighborhood of 1HP. My working thesis is suggesting to (not!) do this on an old car where replacing the cats cost more than the car is worth. This will not work in states that do a visual inspection. Texas does not do a visual inspection. This will not work in states/counties that use a tailpipe probe. I'm surprised that is still done. No, this does not fix the cat. The cat is still bad and could get worse and affect the engine. But it *did* turn off the CEL. It doesn't always work, but in my estimation, it usually does. I have an idea on how to save the cat. Will post that in a few weeks.

I used a spark plug extender in the down stream sensor and sprayed cleaner in the upstream o2 sensor hole and also ran laquer thinner. This was on a beater 200K plus 4 cylinder Camry with a patched up blown head gasket with K-seal. Scotty Kilmer has good info on this as well. Thanks for the video!

I did the same trick about 10 years ago. I found it on the Mitsubishi Lancer forums. Using a spark plug fowler did the trick!

Thanks for showing me what I shouldn't do to pass emissions next year. I'm such a tree hugger and so worried about government emissions, I won't do that. I'll pay thousands to keep the dealer in business and save the environment.

Spark plug non fouler trick is as old as dirt but it does work well. The key is not to offset the secondary O2 too much so you get " secondary O2 sensor too slow " it has to be in the flow but not see the whole flow. Thanks to all cat thefts occuring around that is the only reasonable repair mode for older and worn out vehicles. Edit: For anyone wondering - my daughter catalytic converter was stolen along both O2 sensors right in front of the college dorm. I had to rent the trailer and haul the vehicle 250 miles home. I purchased a replacement cat (not oem) and sensors - it lasted 10 months before CEL - cat efficiency code was lit again . Yes my daughter is still in the same dorm 250 miles from home . Should I spend $1000 for an OEM cat that will be stolen again? I'll set up "go fund me page" for the ones that think I should do so 😂 - and finally fix it right...

I did this for a friend. On a Chevy pickup. Plenty of room. Had I known the there are O2 spacers, it would have saved me some time from drilling it out. Thanks for the info. Now my Cadillac has the the P420. It has less room, so I will look for the O2 spacer. This will save me about $1,200.00 + installation for just one. Catalytic converters are not sold in CA. Some stations don't do a thorough inspection. Thanks Mike.

Awesome, just awesome!! Thanks for sharing this and I won’t be doing this. I’m so glad you showed us what we shouldn’t ever do

If anyone is wondering will this work, the answer is most likely yes. This is especially helpful if you need a quick fix, of if your cat replacement will cost you thousands of dollars.

Works great. I already did this to my 2013 Subaru Outback with 305K miles. It's been almost a year now.

I soldered a resister and capacitor near the plug that also fixed the problem and wouldn't be noticed on an inspection.

I swear I didn't follow your instructions and put this on my car. My car is not now passing inspection. And I am definitely not driving my car with this "fix". 😉🤭

I literally just watched this out of curioslty. Keep up the videos! Very entertaining (and informative:). You'll do well at this.

I did this for my 2007 Accord. As for removing the spacer, I had two options. 1) leave the spacer, 2) spend $1500 for new cat and another $2000 the fix the Oil-burning issue. Guess which one I did.

For older Honda owners. If you have hesitation issues, have a look at the rubber intake boot just before the throttle body. If there is a rip or tear in the rubber, this will cause the Mass Air Flow sensor to get an incorrect air flow reading. This will cause varying degrees of engine performance issues. If there is a rip or tear, replace the boot. Chances are your performance issue will go away. Cost, about $20 CDN

I honestly didn't think this would work....but it did! Thanks my friend!

Cataclean worked on my Mazda. Passed emissions w/ flying colors. Just hit 374K miles, no engine light.

I used CataClean on a 2010 Honda Odyssey by following the instructions and it worked for me.

I used the Scotty killer recommended Lacquer thinner when the tank was at about half a tank. Like you said after a while the check engine light went off and stayed off for a month and a half.(probably about 2000 miles).

Funny stuff. I am soooo glad you followed the emission laws. NOW I know what NEVER to do.

We used to do this as common practice at a muffler shop i worked at. Keeps the warranty good . Meaning they never come back with that code again. Running mine 10 years now. Same cat..

In the UK you wouldn't get away with that sensor spacer / minimising readings trick. At the yearly MOT test in the UK, the car's emissions are tested with a calibrated gas analyser. What your car thinks is happening is irrelevant, the gas analyser makes it's own HC and CO readings and you pass or fail based on those readings of what's actually coming out of the car. Exhaust leaks are a fail too, of course. Interesting to see that Cataclean actually works to any degree, loved seeing Scotty Kilmer so many times in the scrolling of the internet BS 😀

Keep your air filter clean which could lead to that P0420 again. I use 'Dura Lube Severe Catalytic and Exhaust Treatment Cleaner Fuel Additive' with under a 1/4 tank of fuel. An older vehicle you can start to feel / hear when it's time to dump a 1/2 a bottle before the light comes on again. Do a treatment months before you have to do an emission test.

Actually that much carbon in the exhaust tip is NOT a sign of a bad CAT. It’s a sign of running much too rich. The CAT code is a symptom not the problem. Modifying the rear sensor signal will not fix the problem. The ECU not only uses the front sensor for fuel control but uses it to compare to the rear sensor to monitor the CAT. The front sensor after warm up should have a sine wave with nice high and low output with short frequency ( for not air/fuel sensors). Assuming all systems upstream are ok, if the front sensor becomes weak or fouled the ECU will see a sine wave too low with a slow frequency and assume a lean condition and add more fuel. The ECU will also see the front and rear signals too close to matching and set a CAT code. Often on a high mileage vehicle I have changed just the front sensor(s) , cleared the ECU memory ( to reset mixture control) to have the vehicle preform better, get better mileage and eliminate CAT codes. Remember sometimes codes are the symptoms not the problems and try to fix it right. 😊😊

Used to be called a sparkplug extension. Worked on an 03 straight piped kia spectra years ago. The 90° option worked better than the straight extension.

thank you so much. it works. passed the inspection!!

Even if I don't or ever required to fix 02 sensors, you were quite entertaining. You remained classy and you know how to keep our attention on the matter. Well done. You're a cool dude.

this really does work, and this video has a lot of great advice, if you have a p0420 code try to clean the converter first, if that fails the spacer trick will work if your car is older than 2009, gm and other cars have a different code about oxygen sensor slow switching from lean to rich, starting in 2009, the spacer will cause this code sometimes, new sensors might help as they might be faster with the delay caused by the sensor being out of the exhaust stream

Thanks Mike. Simple & correct fix to give people on a serious budget what they need done. I am certain this is what I will do now. I love how you mention pulling the engine lol. Gosh that stuff irritates me too. Thanks again.

Honestly for most Toyota cars with over 180k, might as well pull the engine if you need to. You can easily swap rear main seal and oil pan gasket before they become an issue, all while you drop in new cats. Longo Toyota was cheapest place I found for OEM cats.

I have twice added some spacers to the downstream sensors on different vehicles. Works absolutely wonderfully.

Haven't used this so many times that I have half a dozen assorted lengths on the shelf for the next car I buy that doesn't have this issue. BTW they do make 90° versions for limited clearance areas.

If your "check engine" light is on. Take your car out on the interstate's, and pull the transmission in 2nd, second gear, then run the Hell out of it for several miles, Repeat if light stays on. Also, use Premium 93 Sunoco gas, it burns clean. High rpm cleans the oxygen sensors and the catalytic converter.

Thank you for this video. It was very helpful and successful.

So many videos tell u to use spacers this is only one that explains why. Thank you

Awesome. I did the same thing to my Toyota Corolla, no more 420 codes. I'm glad that I finally looked up what a 420 code is. I thought I had to light up a doobie whenever the code was on.

"pull the engine" I guess it didn't happen. Dam it man you are funny. Behind all that humour you a good mechanic. Thanks for the plug spacer idea.

I love this shared experience, great video!!!

Definitely the funniest mechanical trick video I've seen on RU-vid, especially when he goes to look for the precision tool in the iPhone repair drawer. But hey for the real mechanics as he says at the end... we had a good laugh and that's already good!😜😂👍

I honestly thought your channel was bigger until I saw your sub count. You are definitely killing it with the jokes. Keep it up!

just about spat my coffee out laughing when he pulled out the iphone tooling :)

I fixed my Catalytic in a 2006 Xtrail by using a higher octane fuel. In Australia the lowest octane fuel is 91 but I used a tank of 98 and after a around a quarter of a tank or so all good. This runs the Cat hotter. Sometimes it can just be a bad batch of "dirty" fuel.

Wow. The channel I was looking for. Subscribed!

As they say in the 'airline industry' there is "always" a workaround Thanks for the info. It is people like you that give the internet 'RU-vid' some actual value in life, keeping old 'clunkers' viably and still on the many roads and leafy byways in America. North America. Can't forget Canada now, can we?

I feel extremely lucky that the last few catalytic converter failures all happened prior to them tripling in price. $350 replacement cats helped me be a good citizen.

Fantastic video. Excellent presentation. Exceptional content. Thank you.

Good idea- thanks!

I did this about 10 years ago on a s10 because the cat was removed. It was getting about 8 miles a gallon. Add the spacer it got 18 mpg.

Yhe technical content on this video was surprisingly interesting, and the lighting and camera angles were quite high quality. Fascinating that the mega corp Walmart is so brazen in their product marketing.

All that information! And a smile as we follow your instructions (which we never, ever follow of course) 😍😍😍

I forgot about those.. they do work pretty well

Man, you keep making videos like this and ill watch all of them 😂

I have done this it works. You can also go to radio shack if you can find one. Put a resistor in the downstream o2 sensor

This won't require the pulling of the engine, or the Cad, but it will require replacing the O2 sensor while you have it out and unplugged. The chances that the Cad isn't so dirty after all, only the sensor being dirty and corroded enough to set off the dash light alarm is about 50/50 and probably worth it in the long run. Adding the O2 spacer will then only do a better job of keeping the sensor out of the dirty exhaust air a little longer, and this will very often get you down the road safely. Running the Cad Cleaner would still be advisable, along with a quart of Techron injector cleaner, get it all done at the same time and get to the emissions test that much quicker.

I did the same many years ago with my mitsubishi lancer. it really works!

You're the best been doing that trick for years because sometimes you put a after market cad on that code comes back in a month and there is nothing wrong with it God blessed you and your family have a blessed day today PS they should worry about the alcohol in the gasoline burning out the cads

Thanks, I like how you enjoy your own mistakes like I do. Unfortunately, you can't do that at a job because some people just don't get it. Just because we laugh at the mistakes we make doesn't mean we want to repeat them.

Thanks for sharing. - take care

You deserve a subscription! Not just a thumbs-up. You are an artist & I like the way you act! Well-done

That iPhone screen tool is soooooo nice! I loved how you put it at the bottom of the box to build up the tension and intrigue. At first I was, like, wah? Then, I was, like, "Daayammmm!"

What a lot of people don't realize is that unless your catalytic converter actually comes apart inside they actually don't go bad just get clogged up from carbon and while its a pain if you can take your cats off and seal up one end water tight you can pour a good dish detergent in there and add water let it set about 24 hours and rinse and reinstall your cats especially if they are the OEM originals and the spacers well they are magic 🤣🤣.

Great tips! I pulled the engine in mine, made the job much easier.

Thanks - you are very smart - sorry I have Diesel and all half years Problems - with the exhaust gases - without any Enginelight in the Display.

my buddys old work van, a 2003 Ford E350, had its cat stolen last year. my buddy was short on money and we just straight piped it, he had 7 months before emissions, so he figured he had time to replace the cat. 7 months come and go quick and they snuck up on him. we were about to order a cat but he said he would take it in for kicks and grins... and it passed! with no cat- go figure

Cataclean works sometimes. But it doesn't clean out your converter. I actually disconnected the exhaust pipe in front of the converter and I could see the converter was full of a thick film of carbon.this has to be cleaned out.

awesome video: dont stop , keep on keeping on by joe dirt

Informing and entertaining. Thanks!

Great fix... you sir just won my subscription...!!!!

I used a cleaner also....but a different brand....ANYWAY It started working fast!!....in less than 30 miles the temp gauge dropped back to normal. I dont think it will magically clean everything out but I'll probably use it once or twice a year and keep my car very drivable with no damage to anything probably another 100,000 miles at least.without having to spend alot of money 😁👍 After all, it is a magic Jeep...lol

Ngl I am in love with this channel even though I just watched two videos. Sir, Youre going a long way, I can assure you that !

I use Cataclean and it does work , don’t wait till you’re sitting on the side of the road . I use it about once a year and my gas mileage improves also .

There is no smog testing where I live, so guess what was deleted from my car. A quick ECU tune and no check engine lights or codes.

Here’s another good trick (I haven’t tried it but heard it from a trusted professional source). _Note: this only works if your engine has 2 cats and one is still good._ Find a wiring diagram and intercept the signal wire from the sensor after the good cat by splicing in a length of wire that you’ll run over to the other bank’s sensor after the bad cat. Cut the signal wire coming from the sensor on the bad bank and splice in the length of wire coming from the good bank so the good signal goes to the ECU from the bad bank. This leaves the signal from the bad bank out of the loop completely and the ECU will see 2 good signals coming in.

Good jo, I found the video illuminating and humorous!

For P420 few things people don't do. 1) Change all oxigen sensor around 90,000 miles. 2) Change spark plugs each year. 3) Use 91 octane gasoline. 4) Change air filter. All these will extended the life of the catalystic converter.

Your presentation was quite entertaining. And thank you for exposing another "fix" to look out for when buying a used car from a shady dealer or individual. Of course, if they removed the spacers afterward there would be no way to tell, other than the tailpipe carbon inspection.

Great idea. You just gotta hope that when you get your smog test that the tech doesn't go around and check all the sensors for that specific item like they do here in So Cal.

California checks visual and computer and tailpipe. The guy saw my new catalytic converter (MagnaFlow, and sounds better than OEM) on my 2003 Camry and sure took his time after last week's fail from the old cat. I did fix a small exhaust leak from the old worn out manifold gasket after installing the new one and got a few horses back, so I can't really complain.

I fixed my 2007 honda fit P0420 code by erasing all codes (there was only one). After erasing the code, it didn't come back for more than a year. I felt so stupid for using lacquer thinner. But now I feel better, because you may have wasted even more time than i did.

You are funny and your story’s are entertaining. Thank you! I am subscribing for more fun and valuable story time!

So, you have turned all of us "shade-tree" mechanics into "backyard" mechanics. Works for me since I do not own a garage. I really appreciate the pace of your videos. I would have pulled the engine.

Glad I watched. Great vid and commentary.

Mike. Howdy from Australia. I have a faulty TABBY, I did what you said, the Exhaust Police Seized him yesterday, is this a Normal Event?. Loved the presentation mate, really Funny and very informative.

I like this guy ,he has a good sense of humor. 👍

Thank you; I would never, ever try that. As a matter of fact I'll start NOT doing that this weekend...

Also quite common on Lexus is an exhaust leak ahead of the downstream o2 sensor. I fixed my 430 code by repairing a cracked weld in the exhaust and it has never come back.

Foking love this!!! I need this on my 2005 Subie

I found a better way with my V8 BMW 840. Apparently here in the UK , you dont need cats if you run on LPG, so I removed them and put them in the bin. There is a decibel limit but the testing stations don't have decibel meters, so I also put the silencers (mufflers to you! ) in the same bin. I then fitted straight through pipes and for the next 10 years I never had to use a doorbell.

полезное видео в развлекательном формате - отличная работа! спасибо! отдельное спасибо за внимание к деталям!

I have been doing this for years!! It really does fool the rear O2 sensor. Works good for those who punched the cat out as well... BUT DON"T DO IT!

Highly Entertaining ! Bravo!!