I want to clean my catalytic converter, could i pour in seafoam or laquar thinner and let it soak overnight?
I also plan to carbon clean me engine but im afraid it will clog up my catalytic converter so it woul be nice to know i can unclog it.
My catalytic converter is welded on so i cant do the dishwashing trick.
A catalytic converter cannot be cleaned, pouring a solvent in is a waste of time, never heard of trying dishwashing, but will not work. People who think you can clean a catalytic surface do not understand the chemical reaction that takes place on the platinum/palladium in the converter. You can try a miracle in a can but I would not waste my money
Dennis:
Can a clogged catalytic converter be cleaned? Yes. With enough time and solvents, you should be able to clear up the built-up carbon.
But the more important question is will it help to clear a CEL caused by a faulty converter? As SteveCBT noted, very likely not. The cleaning won’t restore and will likely damage the internal catalyst (platimum/palladium).
If you have the time and money to spend on cleaners, do give it a try, though keep your expectations low. I know I experimented with several crazy car repair ideas in my youth. I learned a lot from them.
Have you been watching Scotty Kilmer? If so, don’t. Ever. Not for one minute.
Some converters that get clogged will not be cleared up no matter what you pour into them.
I might ask a few questions. What kind of car, how many miles, any CEL on, oil consumption issues, etc?
You may be overthinking this carbon problem as it relates to the engine.
How can anyone watch a Kilmer video ? I tried and found it just to annoying too make it more than a few minutes .
He’s got 3.5 million suc…er, subscribers so I can only assume mass hysteria.
It’s been a while but I cut a few converters open to see why they failed and found that the catalyst was fused together in clumps. No amount of cleaning would have brought them back to life.
That is the key word
Scotty Kilmer definitely doesn’t need a caffeine boost . . .
I’ve done the same as Rod-Knox and found that also. With others carbon deposits were caked in the honeycomb so badly a diamond cutter would not have cut them loose.
And Kilmer is the option for the mechanically illiterate.
What would the wife say if a guy put a catalytic converter in the dishwasher . . . ?!
What would the wife say if a guy put a catalytic converter in the dishwasher . . . ?
You mean soon to be X wife right?
Since we’re discussing unconventional cleaning methods, here’s another one . . .
Years ago, one of the editors of Oldtimer Markt . . . an extremely popular european car magazine for classic car buffs . . . recommended kneading a hunk of raw ground beef with your hands to remove all the ingrained particles of dirt that other methods won’t remove
There were some “before and after” pictures
But the guy did acknowledge that the wife was NOT pleased that she now had to make other dinner plans 
I’ve heard of a few guys taking old Harley Davidson gas tanks which had rusted inside and filling them with dozens of steel balls. They wrap the tanks in a blanket, tape it all together, and send them for a 2 hour ride in a clothes dryer. Kind of like a rock tumbler…
I can’t even imagine the noise and house shaking going on. No word on whether their better halves were soon ex-better halves.
I watch the guy frequently. I certainly don’t share many of his opinions, but repairs are straight forward, although many times way too simplified. I do prefer South Main Auto Repair for its detailed trouble shooting
Scotty has more than one BILLION* views. Despite what those who hate him say, they’re not due to click-bait. (I marathon watched his videos over a weekend, and his use of click-bait is not that bad.) Like you, I find him interesting, entertaining, and to the point. His knowledge of the auto industry, and vehicles, is extraordinary. I’m not a DYIer, but enjoy him. I suspect he and I are at different ends of the political spectrum, but he’s smart enough to avoid politics, though sometimes things sneak it, as when he used as an insert when he was talking about stupid people a quick photo of Bernie Sanders. If that becomes more prevalent, I’ll stop watching. (I wonder what his neighbors think when he speed tests vehicles on the street where he lives.)
About the same as using her favorite kitchen tools and sewing shears to stir paint, cut heavy cardboard, funnel oil into an engine, … 
Add “Pine Hollow Auto” to that list, this guy seem not to take “no” for the answer 
After the transmission goes into the tub a catalytic converter doesn’t seem like a serious thing.
Even if the converter could be cleaned with solvent, pouring the solvent in the sensor hole would just result in it dribbling along the bottom of the converter and on to the rest of the exhaust.
You’d need a way to fill the converter, immersing the guts.
Me, I don’t have time for shortcuts, and I can’t afford the cheap way.
A billion views still does not make Scotty Kilmer a mechanic. He’s a BS artist and if someone were ever stupid enough to hire him as such I expect the poor guy who has to work next to him would soon be fired for inflicting a serious beat down on Kilmer. Me? My patience limit would be about 20 minutes. Maybe…