Catalytic converter protection in Culver City 

You will come across lots of vehicles on the road at present, and every one of them is a potent source of pollution. Significant problems can be created by the amount of pollution produced by all the automobiles, particularly in the big cities.

Clean-air regulations have been implemented by the federal government in the cities and the states for solving these problems and these regulations are intended to limit the amount of pollution produced by the cars out there.

The vehicle manufacturers have made lots of refinements to the car engines over the years as well as in fuel systems for keeping up with these regulations.

One significant change was made in the year 1975 when an interesting device known as a catalytic converter was introduced on the market.

The job of this device was to transform the harmful pollutants into less detrimental emissions before leaving the exhaust system of the vehicle.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A CATALYTIC CONVERTER?

Pollutant gases have been made from harmful molecules; however, all these molecules have been made from comparatively harmless atoms. Therefore, if it is possible to split up these molecules after leaving the engine of the vehicle and before they are pumped out into the air, the issue of pollution or at least a part of it could be solved.

This is the main function of a catalytic converter.

In fact, these devices are not that complicated as they might appear to be. The catalyst is actually a chemical substance which helps to accelerate a chemical reaction and does not change in the process. It is almost similar to that of an athletics coach who will be standing by the side of the track and shouting at the sprinters to run faster.

However, the coach is not going to run anywhere and he will be simply waving his arms while standing there while making the athletes speed up. The job of the catalyst in a catalytic converter will be to accelerate the pollution removal process. The catalyst is manufactured from platinum or any metal similar to platinum, like rhodium or palladium.

The catalytic converter is actually a big metallic box which is fastened to the underside of the vehicle and consists of a couple of pipes which come out of it. One of these pipes (the input of the converter) is connected to the car’s engine and brings in polluted and hot fumes from the cylinders of the engine. Another pipe (the output of the converter) is connected to the exhaust.

Once the gases start blowing over the catalyst from the engine fumes, chemical reactions will be taking place on the surface, thus breaking the pollutant gases apart and transforming them to other gases which will be quite safe to blow out harmlessly into the air.

One essential thing that you should note here regarding catalytic converters is the fact that they need you to make use of unleaded fuel since the presence of lead in the conventional fuel will be poisoning the catalyst and preventing it from absorbing pollutants present in exhaust gases.

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE CONVERTER?

The gases will flow via a thick honeycomb structure inside the converter which has been manufactured from ceramic and is coated with catalysts. The presence of the honeycomb structure implies that gases will be able to come in contact with a bigger part of the catalyst at any given time so that they will be converted effectively and more quickly.

Typically, a catalytic converter consists of a couple of different catalysts.

One of these catalysts is responsible for tackling nitrogen oxide pollution by means of a chemical process known as reduction. This will break up the nitrogen oxide into oxygen and nitrogen gases which are quite harmless.

Another catalyst is going to work by a chemical process known as oxidation and it will convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. One more oxidation reaction is going to convert the unburned hydrocarbons present in the exhaust into water and carbon dioxide.

3 types of chemical reactions will be going on simultaneously in effect. For this reason, we often talk about 3-way catalytic converters. After the job of the catalyst has been done, mostly oxygen, nitrogen, water, and carbon dioxide will be emerging from the exhaust of the vehicle.

WHY A CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS MORE LIKELY TO GET STOLEN?

At present, catalytic converters which come with copper, as well as other metals, have turned out to be a common target for thieves. This type of theft has become so popular mainly because of the comparative ease to steal, the value of the device, as well as their lack of detecting markings.

As mentioned earlier, catalytic converters are a part of the exhaust system of vehicles. Its main function is to minimize vehicle pollution. These devices are located underneath an automobile before the muffler on the exhaust pipe.

The stolen converters will be taken by the thieves to metal recyclers who will be paying approximately $50-$60 for every converter mainly because of the precious metals within them. However, some converters will also fetch as many as $250 in the long run.

The victims will be paying $1000 on average for getting the converters replaced. However, it might cost as many as $4000 as well.

WHAT AUTOMOBILES ARE USUALLY TARGETED BY THIEVES?

Any automobile which has been manufactured after 1975 can be a target for thieves. However, SUVs and trucks are also targeted by criminals as well. SUVs and trucks are preferred by the thieves since they are simpler to crawl under being higher off the floor.

SUVs and Toyota trucks which were manufactured in the 90s and 2000s are particularly vulnerable since the converters are exposed more as compared to an average converter.

It is possible for the thieves to unbolt or cut out the catalytic converters very quickly within only a few minutes. Some of the bigger SUVs and Toyota Trucks come with 2 catalytic converters too.

Preventive measures

You will not find it difficult to understand whether the catalytic converter of your vehicle has been stolen or not. You will hear a loud noise while starting the vehicle.

Driving the automobile without a catalytic converter might damage the engine in the long run. It will be a sensible idea to take your vehicle to a reliable auto repair shop without making any delay so as to avoid an expensive repair.

Here at Manuel’s Body Shop, we are currently offering catalytic converter protection on your vehicles, just contact us to learn more.

We offer financing so you can get your protection now and pay us later.