A catalytic converter is an important part of contemporary cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust gases and thus matches modern pollution standards. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may become clogged or malfunction, in which circumstance a change or cleaning is fundamental. In this article we are going to look at how to clean a catalytic converter on GMC Sierra? To achieve this, first of all, we will show you the situations in which it might be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra, then, how to perform this cleaning to recover the effectiveness of the catalytic converter of your car.

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Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra?

In this first part we will teach you why it might be valuable to clean the catalyst of your GMC Sierra . In fact for some of you it may seem logical but most of you do not know how it works and the outcomes dirty catalytic converter .

Role and functioning of the catalytic converter of a GMC Sierra

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The catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra has the task to eliminate harmful exhaust gases related to the procedure of your engine unit. In fact, it is one of the most important parts that fight against the pollution discharged by your GMC Sierra. It will transform these harmful gases into water or nonpolluting gases. In order to transform these gases, the catalyst of your GMC Sierra 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 important to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra. If you are considering making adequately long journeys to heat it up frequently (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will enable you to optimize the life of this element and maintain best engine unit effectiveness.

Results of a dirty or defective catalytic converter on GMC Sierra

We will now see what can be the outcomes of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on GMC Sierra . This will enable you to establish the manifestations that should notify you to a failure of your catalytic converter, here is the list of symptoms of a defective catalytic converter:

  • The catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra is clogged: As we said earlier, if you make too short travels like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start functioning and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust gases.
  • Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your GMC Sierra may come on, do not hesitate to consult our content to find out how to switch it off.
  • A defective lambda sensor : The catalyst works in close connection with the lambda sensors downstream and upstream of it, they will analyze the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will often times as well have complications.
  • A metallic noise caused by the exhaust: In the event the catalyst is dead you should notice this noise which results in that the ceramic is damaged.

Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra

Before we end with the step you are almost certainly most enthusiastic about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a GMC Sierra? We will teach you why it might be relevant for you to conduct this cleaning. In fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive part (about 500 euros with the set up, the price can differ depending to the engines). Furthermore to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you might be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . At last, the last interest is that cleaning a catalytic converter is not that expensive and doing it frequently will save you a lot of money.

How do you clean the catalytic converter from its GMC Sierra?

Finally here is the step that you are most certainly most interested in in this guideline, how to clean the catalytic converter of your GMC Sierra? Know that this process is very simple, and that there are two ways to accomplish:

  • Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your GMC Sierra frequently: This approach is especially useful for people who specifically do short trips . To do this, nothing could be easier, 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 discover some in a motor vehicle 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 frequently 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 conduct this process every 15 000km.

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To find more tips on the GMC Sierra, take a look at the GMC Sierra category.