A catalytic converter is an important part of modern cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus matches modern pollution requirements. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may become clogged or breakdown, in which case a change or cleaning is necessary. In this article we are going to check out how to clean a catalytic converter on Mini Cooper? To achieve this, first of all, we will show you the scenarios in which it might be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper, then, how to accomplish this cleaning to recover the overall performance of the catalytic converter of your car.
Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper?
In this first section we will teach you why it might be valuable to clean the catalyst of your Mini Cooper . Indeed for some of you it may seem logical but the majority of you do not understand how it functions and the results dirty catalytic converter .
Role and functioning of the catalytic converter of a Mini Cooper
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The catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper has the task to get rid of harmful exhaust fumes associated with the process of your engine. Indeed, it is one of the main components that fight against the pollution discharged by your Mini Cooper. It will convert these harmful gases into water or nonpolluting fumes. In order to convert these gases, the catalyst of your Mini Cooper 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 consequently necessary to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper. If you are considering making adequately long trips to heat it up frequently (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will allow you to optimise the life of this part and preserve best engine efficiency.
Outcomes of a dirty or faulty catalytic converter on Mini Cooper
We will now discover what can be the results of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on Mini Cooper . This will allow you to distinguish the manifestations that should alarm you to a malfunction of your catalytic converter, here is the list of symptoms of a faulty catalytic converter:
- The catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper is clogged: As we stated earlier, if you make too short trips like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start functioning and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust fumes.
- Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your Mini Cooper may come on, do not think twice to seek advice from our article to find out how to switch it off.
- A faulty lambda sensor : The catalyst functions 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 as well have problems.
- A metallic noise originating from the exhaust: In the event that the catalyst is dead you should hear this noise which results in that the ceramic is damaged.
Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper
Before we finish with the step you are most likely most curious about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a Mini Cooper? We will teach you why it might be relevant for you to execute this cleaning. Indeed, a catalytic converter is a very expensive part (about 500 euros with the set up, the price can vary according to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you might be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . Finally, the last benefit 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 Mini Cooper?
Finally here is the step that you are probably most enthusiastic about in this content page, how to clean the catalytic converter of your Mini Cooper? Know that this procedure is very basic, and that there are two approaches to do it:
- Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your Mini Cooper on a regular basis: This approach is specifically effective for people who mainly do short trips . To do this, nothing could be simpler, from time to time, make a long trip (about 30 minutes to optimize 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 directly 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 later on do an exhaust gas analysis to examine that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the procedure. You can execute this procedure every 15 000km.
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If perhaps you have any further questions about the Mini Cooper, do not hesitate to consult our Mini Cooper category.
