A catalytic converter is an important component of recent cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus meets modern pollution standards. However, it is possible that it may turned out to be clogged or malfunction, in which circumstance a change or cleaning is essential. In this article we are going to look at how to clean a catalytic converter on BMW 4 Series? To do this, to begin with, we will explain the scenarios in which it may be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series, then, how to carry out this cleaning to retrieve the overall performance of the catalytic converter of your car.

clean-catalytic-converterbmw-4-series

Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series?

In this first part we will describe why it may be important to clean the catalyst of your BMW 4 Series . In actual fact for some of you it may seem logical but most of you do not know how it works and the consequences dirty catalytic converter .

Role and functioning of the catalytic converter of a BMW 4 Series

.
The catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series has the objective to get rid of harmful exhaust fumes related to the procedure of your engine unit. In actual fact, it is one of the main components that fight against the pollution discharged by your BMW 4 Series. It will transform these harmful gases into water or nonpolluting fumes. In order to transform these gases, the catalyst of your BMW 4 Series a mesh of precious metals which, when the gases pass at high temperature, will break them down by chemical reaction . A catalytic converter can only work from 400°, it is therefore necessary to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series. If you are considering making sufficiently long journeys to heat it up regularly (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will enable you to optimize the life of this component and preserve ideal engine unit performance.

Consequences of a dirty or faulty catalytic converter on BMW 4 Series

We will now see what can be the consequences of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on BMW 4 Series . This will enable you to establish the symptoms that should alarm you to a breakdown of your catalytic converter, here is the list of symptoms of a faulty catalytic converter:

  • The catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series is clogged: As we stated earlier, if you make too short trips like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start working and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust fumes.

  • Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your BMW 4 Series may come on, do not hesitate to seek advice from our content to find out how to switch it off.
  • A faulty lambda sensor : The catalyst works in close connection with the lambda sensors downstream and upstream of it, they will review the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will generally as well have problems.
  • A metallic noise caused by the exhaust: In the event that the catalyst is dead you should hear this noise which means that the ceramic is damaged.

Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series

Before we end with the step you are most likely most enthusiastic about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a BMW 4 Series? We will describe why it may be relevant for you to perform this cleaning. In actual fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive component (about 500 euros with the installation, the price can fluctuate according to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you may be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . At last, the last benefit is that cleaning a catalytic converter is not that expensive and doing it regularly will save you a lot of money.

How do you clean the catalytic converter from its BMW 4 Series?

Finally here is the step that you are probably most enthusiastic about in this content page, how to clean the catalytic converter of your BMW 4 Series? Know that this process is very simple, and that there are two approaches to accomplish:

  • Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your BMW 4 Series regularly: This technique is specifically beneficial for persons who principally do short trips . To do so, nothing could be less complicated, from time to time, make a long trip (about 30 minutes to improve the efficiency of the process), thinking of making your engine go up in revs so that the temperature in the catalyst increases and it can be cleaned.
  • To use a catalyst cleaner: You can locate some in a car center for about 20 euros. All you have to do is add it to your fuel straight in your tank with about half a full tank. Afterwards you will have to drive on a long distance for at least 1 hour at mid-range by trying to go regularly at high rpm . If you can before and afterwards do an exhaust gas analysis to verify that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the process. You can perform this process every 15 000km.

.

If you have any further questions about the BMW 4 Series, do not hesitate to consult our BMW 4 Series category.