When you replace your catalytic converter, it will be worth some money depending on how old it is because catalytic converters have an average lifespan of , miles.
If you want to know how much catalytic converters are worth when you sell your scrapper, ask a scrap yard and see what they offer you. Catalytic converters are valuable for their precious metals, such as rhodium, palladium and platinum. When you call a recycling yard to sell your catalytic converter, the price of rhodium and other precious metals will be revealed. This often comes out as a dollar amount per pound or ounce- these prices can vary depending on current market conditions.
In general, catalytic converters are worth more than scrap metal because their materials have a higher value. The amount of precious metals in the catalytic converter will drive its retail price. Catalytic converters contain three precious metals: platinum, palladium, and rhodium. In a standard catalytic converter, there are approximately grams of platinum. The rest includes some copper, lead and nickel — all with lesser amounts exceeding two pounds each.
Platinum accounts for about 0. There is also a second oxidation reaction that happens inside the catalytic converter, which turns any unburned hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water. What this all amounts to is less smoke and odour coming out of the exhausts of cars now than before catalytic converters were mandated by Australian authorities during the 80s for all cars sold here.
It is also worth noting catalytic converters are one reason we must use unleaded fuel in cars today, as leaded fuel, which is no longer sold in Oz, prevents the catalysts from breaking down the pollution in the exhaust gases. Zip Required. High School Graduation Year Required. Phone Required. Email Please enter your email address. I am currently in the U. Military, Guard, Reserves or I am a veteran.
Military Release Date Required. Get Info Get Info. Previous Step. Table of Contents. Who Invented the Catalytic Converter? What Does a Catalytic Converter Do?
What Is Inside a Catalytic Converter? There are two main types of catalysts that might be featured in a car: Reduction catalysts: Help reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by removing oxygen. Nitrogen oxides are broken up into nitrogen and oxygen gases, which on their own are harmless. Oxidation catalysts: Used to change carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide through an opposite process of adding oxygen.
Types of Catalytic Converters As mentioned before, there are two primary catalysts — reduction and oxidation — that can be used within an exhaust system to handle specific gases. There are two primary kinds of catalytic converters: Two-way: The two-way catalytic converter was present on vehicles in the United States until They only have oxidation catalysts, which help change carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide.
Hydrocarbons which is unburned and partially burned fuel are changed to carbon dioxide and water. Three-way: Since , the three-way catalytic converter has been used. This performs the same as the two-way converter with the addition of a reduction catalyst. As stated earlier, this is used to change nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen gases. How to Prevent Catalytic Converter Theft Catalytic converters are often the target of thieves because the part contains valuable precious metals.
Regardless of the type of vehicle you have, there are some steps you can take to help prevent theft: Park in well-lighted areas close to building entrances if a secure garage is unavailable. Weld the catalytic converter to the vehicle frame, which can make it harder to remove. Consider buying an aftermarket part similar to a metal cage that can be installed to cover the converter. Install a car alarm with a vibration alert sensor. Engrave your vehicle identification number VIN to the converter, which can help make selling the part harder and help alert you if your converter is stolen.
Frequently Asked Questions Why do people steal catalytic converters? How much platinum is in a catalytic converter? What about palladium or rhodium? How much is a catalytic converter worth? Signs of Catalytic Converter Issues So what happens when a catalytic converter goes bad? Some examples to watch out for include: Declining fuel efficiency: If a catalytic converter becomes clogged, it can reduce the amount of airflow through your engine.
To compensate, your engine might start to burn more fuel than usual, resulting in a noticeable drop in fuel efficiency. Check warning light: A check engine light can indicate a range of things. However, there is a diagnostic system on cars manufactured after that will test the catalytic converter. If your converter is malfunctioning, the air-to-fuel ratio sensors might trigger the warning light to come on. Smelling rotten eggs: The catalytic converter might experience internal damage that causes it to have a hard time converting exhaust gases.
Issues starting the engine: The exhaust gases in your vehicle have to escape. A clogged catalytic converter can prevent this from happening as effectively. The main aim for an exhaust system is to get the exhaust gasses away from the engine in a smooth and swift fashion, with restrictions and expansions like a large catalytic converter only causing turbulence and therefore disturbed, slower airflow.
Sport cats do their best to solve this issue by decreasing the chamber size and creating a much smoother surface within the chamber to allow for the gasses to flow quicker and easier through it. To keep emissions down, the ceramic matrix within the honeycomb construction is much finer than in a normal cat, thus making sure that the catalysts can effectively convert the relevant nasties to where they need to be to meet emission rules.
Small increases in power can be achieved by switching to a sports cat, with the engine cycle being freed-up to maximise its efficiency. The straight answer in most cases is no. Many petrolheads out there decide that the catalytic converter is producing a severe blockage within the exhaust system that needs to be eradicated and therefore delete the cat from the system altogether, replacing it with a straight pipe.
Although this will ramp up the volume of your powertrain and potentially eke out a few more horses from your engine, in most countries, driving a car without a catalytic converter is deemed illegal. Cat stripping is also another form of decatting, which is the process of removing the honeycomb innards of the cat to simply reduce the amount of restriction inflicted on the exhaust gases. Most people who go down the route of a full cat delete decide to chance it and simply have a cat waiting to put back in place for when MOT time comes around.
But get caught by a keen police officer with a flashlight and it could be game over. And considering the horsepower gain could potentially be counted on one hand depending on the size of the engine, a sports cat seems like the much more viable option if you really feel like the stock cat on your car is holding your powertrain back. The impact of decatting will be amplified in a turbocharged car however, as the removal of a precatalytic converter would allow an increase in flow of exhaust gasses into the turbocharger.
Catalytic converters work best when at high temperature, so a precat is a smaller version found higher up the exhaust system to help break down emissions at start-up when the engine is running very rich.
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