cats Catalyic

billyboy · 10-05-2008, 02:08 PM

My daughter's Jetta seems to blow a little oil out the exhaust.Seems to be fairly common Jetta issue. This has led to the catalytic converter getting fouled which in turn makes the "check engine light" go on. I asked the mechanic if he has ever heard of the possibility of cleaning the cat out maybe with a hot tank or some alkaline type de-greaser and putting it back into service. He didn't know, since they usually just replace parts and don't really care about the economy of the fix. The cat for this car is about a $700 fix. Fortunately it's covered under the warranty at this point, but probably won't be the next go around. Anybody got any ideas on this? thanks

old man neri · 10-05-2008, 02:40 PM

I have often wondered this as well. I did a search but all I cam up with was this

1. Thoroughly clean the toilet.
2. Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both lids lifted.
3. Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
4. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape).
CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for any
purchase they can find.
5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a 'power wash and rinse' which I have found to be quite effective.
6. Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.
7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.
8. The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet, and run outside where he will dry himself.

I don't think this is what you are looking for but it is funny.

billyboy · 10-05-2008, 02:42 PM

Thanks

DanielDudley · 10-05-2008, 03:10 PM

Sounds like the cat is the symptom, not the problem. Where is the oil coming from? If they won't fix the problem under warranty, I expect your daughter should sell it or trade it before the warranty expires.

DanielDudley · 10-05-2008, 03:12 PM

Also, a thought. Does she go for a lot of short hops ? Maybe she should take the car out a couple of times a week and light up the cat for an hour.

billyboy · 10-05-2008, 03:22 PM

I googled the question and came up with some widely varying opinions. I can't try the cleaning this time since the dealer is going to replace it. I will try the high speed run when I take it to the shop which is about 30 miles down the highway. I wish she would sell it, problem is that she is going to loose quite a bit doing that. I think the oil is coming past the rings. I also googled that and there is a lot of complaining from jetta owners on oil consumption.VW says it's normal of course.

SlowToady · 10-05-2008, 04:33 PM

I don't know anything about cleaning a cat, but...

What model year is the Jetta? There is a KNOWN issue that VW has issued a TSB for, that address the fact that piston rings on 2.0L engines were installed UPSIDE DOWN at the factory, and this causes excess oil consumption, about 1 quart every 1000 miles; that is PFH for a 105HP 2.0L I4. Note that my 2001 Golf with the 2.0 uses....1qt/1000mi. If the vehicle is under warranty, you should take it to the dealer with a copy of the TSB and complain until they fix it. If you don't say anything, they won't, because replacing piston rings @dealer labor rate is NOT inexpensive. I don't recall the TSB number off the top of my head, but you can find it on VWVortex.com.

The oil consumption is particularity bothersome to me because I run Mobil 1. At $6/qt, I don't want it burning anything! Apparently the dealer "forgot" to mention that TSB to me, and I'm long past the warranty coverage. I have no plans to fix it, and will just drive it until it gives up the ghost. It's just shy of 100K, so that might not be too much longer:-P

Good luck...

billyboy · 10-05-2008, 04:39 PM

Thanks for that, the oil consumption is bad. I particularly hate it since it's my daughters car which means it falls to me to try and get her to stop for a minute to check the oil because she won't.

KNS · 10-05-2008, 05:40 PM

What year and how many miles on the Jetta? I believe that the Federal Emissions Systems Defect Warranty mandates that the manufacturer cover catalytic converters, engine control modules, and the onboard diagnostic system for eight years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. In California, it's seven years or 70,000 miles. I found this somewhere in a BMW service bulletin so it may be only for BMWs...?

BMW Service Bulletin 01 02 00, issued March, 2000.

KNS · 10-05-2008, 05:47 PM

Edit: I believe it's for all vehicles and not just BMWs (makes sense).

legion · 10-05-2008, 05:47 PM

If you weren't in CA, I'd recommend taking off the muffler, sharpening a 3' piece of rebar with an angle grinder, and going at it with a sledge hammer.

billyboy · 10-05-2008, 05:58 PM

It's got 76k on it. The engine warranty is for 60, of course. Supposedly they are required to fix the cat, according to my mechanic friend. The cause...leaking rings or upside down rings is past warranty.

VincentVega · 10-05-2008, 06:12 PM

I would install a generic cat before forking over the $$ for the stealer unit. As said above, if the car is using that much oil it sounds like you will be doing this again before long.