Lacquer Thinner as a cleaner

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dphflytyer

New member
I have an '01 4runner with 292K miles with the original cat converter. The truck runs great. I read somewhere online that a gallon of lacquer thinner to 10 gallons of gas is a great way to clean the injectors as well as the cat. From what I read there was zero damage to the engine and performance was significant. Don't wanna wreck my engine. My questions is has anyone tried this and what were the results. What dilution ration did you use? Thanks
 
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I would seafoam it before trying that. Your cat might be just fine anyways. I run seafoam every couple of months with good success, its good proven stuff.
 
Understood...just curious cuz you said it was running great. I didn't know Seafoam cleaned the cat too. I use it about 2x per year and it has worked well on the intake, etc... Hopefully it will help me reach your mileage with no real issues too.

Good Luck!
 
Not all Lacquer Thinners are the same so watch out.
I've used Toluene and methanol before to bump up octane rating with no problems. Not sure what the cleaning effects were.
 
No cleaning required

dphflytyer said:
I have an '01 4runner with 292K miles with the original cat converter. The truck runs great. I read somewhere online that a gallon of lacquer thinner to 10 gallons of gas is a great way to clean the injectors as well as the cat. From what I read there was zero damage to the engine and performance was significant. Don't wanna wreck my engine. My questions is has anyone tried this and what were the results. What dilution ration did you use? Thanks
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In the 23 years of wrenching i have never heard of catalytic converter that needs cleaning the only time you replace it is when it gets clogged up,fall apart or stolen.there are a lot of stuff out there to clean injectors and i could swear by seafoam and berryman stuff,don't worry about it just wait till it falls off or stolen (i hope not).
 
I have had a lot of vehicles, belonged to a "Street Machines" car club; had to quit when I traded my Dodge Charger for a Corvette.

Anyways, I've never heard of adding lacquer thinner to my fuel, I truly think that I'd have heard about it if it were effective or beneficial. Catalytic converters are not something to clean or mess with in any way. They work, in part, as a chemical reaction and precise heat conditions.

At 292k I'd suggest you just keep doing what you've been doing and steer clear of any secret recipes and quick fixes. :bash:
 
TheDurk said:
I think this all started with this video on YouTube from a guy named Scotty Kilmer, a self-promoting expert mechanic. I don't endorse it and I have never tried it. I just post it for those who might be interested.

Fixing Bad Catalytic Converters With Inefficiency Code P0420 - YouTube

Here is his web site:

www.scottykilmer.com

I sure wouldn't try it unless the only alternative was junking the truck.
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Can't be any worse then running ethanol (which is in all gas).

The premise of running acetone, xylene, or methyl ethel ketone (Just a really refined benzene) is that it will get the convertor really hot. It will supposedly burning all the impurities off of it. Carbon, and the other byproducts of burning oil past the rings and valve seals.

If you have a bad cat, it can't hurt it to try it.
 
Singtoe said:
Can't be any worse then running ethanol (which is in all gas).

The premise of running acetone, xylene, or methyl ethel ketone (Just a really refined benzene) is that it will get the convertor really hot. It will supposedly burning all the impurities off of it. Carbon, and the other byproducts of burning oil past the rings and valve seals.

If you have a bad cat, it can't hurt it to try it.
Click to expand...

OK, good point. The key here is dead cat. Because excessive temperature (typically due to unburnt fuel from a badly 'tuned' engine) is what breaks down the substrate and kills cats. Definitely not something to do in a problem-free truck.

Ethanol caused a LOT of problems in Brazil when they first started cutting their gas with it back in the late 70's. Mainly in carbs, though, so FI systems may not have that problem and modern materials are better than what was in Brazilian 1970's VW's. But even so, the Brazilians never went beyond 25% blend for gasoline cars, even when they had the ethanol available.
 
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